Optimal Money Flow: A New Vision of How a Dynamic-Growth Economy Can Work for Everyone

Marsh (Brain on Fire), economics professor emeritus, delivers a lay-reader friendly examination of the ways economics and politics intersect in this timely take on solutions for steering economies back from recession. Marsh highlights the positive role government can play in nurturing a sound economy, both on the national and international stages. Readers will appreciate his well-reasoned discussions of the advantages of immigration and trade, in terms of mutually beneficial partnerships between nations, though they may be skeptical of Marsh’s ambitious “My America” plan of providing Americans with Federal Reserve bank accounts, into which the Fed could deposit funds when recession threatens. Marsh argues that this would provide the Fed with a more direct method of stimulating the economy than the current approach of slashing interest rates. An unexpected but most welcome side benefit of Marsh’s book is his ready sense of humor, seen in his account of a robbery that concluded with Marsh lecturing the thief on his criminal occupation’s inherent cash-flow problems. In light of the financial repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic, readers should appreciate this optimistic book’s look at the importance of building a resilient economy well-prepared for extraordinary circumstances. (June)