💰 Nixon's Pressure on Burns: Evidence from the Nixon Tapes

This article uses transcripts from Nixon’s White House tapes to examine the pressure President Nixon exerted on Federal Reserve Chairman Arthur Burns to implement expansionary monetary policies before the 1972 election. The author analyzes economic data from this period, including interest rates, money supply growth, and GDP, to demonstrate the resulting economic boom. This boom, while contributing to Nixon’s electoral success, ultimately led to significant inflation and economic instability. The study explores whether Burns acted due to political pressure or independent economic judgment, ultimately concluding that the incident highlights the risks of unchecked discretion in monetary policy. The article also reviews existing literature on the political business cycle and the independence of the Federal Reserve.