John B. Taylor: “It is a spending problem, not a tax problem.”

Central-bank independence is very important, but it doesn't seem to have been enough to prevent these swings towards more interventionist discretionary policy compared to a rules-based policy.

The powers are 'almost like a virus in the body politic of municipal democracy,'

This notion is absurd. We cannot simply wish our problems away.

Data certainly suggest that large institutions get this advantage and that it has increased since the financial crisis.