Interviews

Wiliam White was interviewed by Ed D’Agostino of Mauldin Economics on  August 2, 2024. The conversation was centered around White’s view that a combination of negative supply shocks, and the need for massive expenditures to confront national security, environmental and other requirements, would in the end have to squeeze consumer expenditures. Higher interest rates would be part of the process for doing this. Transitioning to an Age of Scarcity will create formidable political challenges to the democratic order. The interview itself, and the transcript, are attached below.

https://youtu.be/d2GG2u7agsE

Chris Sheridan, host of FS Insiders Podcast, recently interviewed William White about his most recent INET Working Paper. White reviewed the various shortcomings of the current framework; not least, how it has contributed to ever bigger credit bubbles and and ever higher stocks of both public and private debt. In spite of these developments, central banks showed no willingness to reassess either the framework itself or the set of false beliefs on which it rested. White expressed the hope that the conduct of monetary policy could be improved while maintaining the current institutional structure. However, he felt that it was also appropriate to assess seriously alternative and more radical options like the introduction of a “narrow money” regime. The widespread introduction of central bank digital currencies might facilitate such a change

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/4z8kmp8g1je5nrxeto75l/Bill-White-FSN-Interview.mp3?rlkey=cmj8y4g6fwjr6nxy1v6ziyk02&dl=0

MNI Market News posted on 3 March a podcast with William White, conducted by Greg Quinn of the Ottawa bureau. White listed a variety of reasons for expecting future aggregate supply to be constrained, and for future investment needs to strengthen. This implied a sustained need for higher real and nominal interest rates, raising fears of both financial instability and fiscal unsustainability. White suggested that fiscal restraint, directed primarily to reduce consumption, could aid in the battle against inflation and would also help ensure longer run fiscal sustainability.

https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vbW5pZmVkc3BlYWs/episode/ZGE4NGQzY2UtYjlkNy0xMWVkLWI2NDAtMGYzZGMzZWZkMDY5?sa=X&ved=0CAUQkfYCahcKEwjA6Nu8jsD9AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ

An interview given by William White to Mark Dittli of “The Market” was posted on 23 February. Faced with secular forces likely to lead to a more inflationary future, central banks should raise nominal rates to allow real rates to adjust upwards. However, high levels of both private and public debt (encouraged by earlier monetary easing) imply that higher rates bring significant risks of financial  instability as well as the unsustainability of public finances. White suggests measures to help avoid these risks, but they imply pain for consumers. Political authorities might rather choose policies of “financial repression”. After World War II inflation rose, but interest rates were held down and the real burden of debtors  was reduced over a number of years at the expense of savers. In todays world, the political implications of such redistributive policies could be important.

https://themarket.ch/interview/william-white-financial-markets-could-get-a-terrible-reckoning-ld.8478

William White and Joseph Wang (“Fed guy”) were recently interviewed by Jack Farley on Blockworks Macro. Both provided an assessment of the Fed’s recent policy moves and the balance of risks looking forward. White was particularly  concerned about a series of prospective, negative supply side shocks that would worsen all of the policy tradeoffs facing central banks. To complement monetary restraint, he suggested that governments in advanced economies should rely more on reducing consumption through fiscal measures. As well, better procedures to facilitate orderly debt restructuring would be required for an emerging “era of shortages”.

Alan Dunne of Top Traders Unplugged (TTU) interviewed William White on 21 October 2022. TTU is a long running podcast for investors, with more than 7 million downloads since inception. White spoke about what he perceived to be fundamental shortcomings in past monetary policy in the advanced market economies, and some of the attendant risks going forward. Recent events in the UK gilt edged market  underline the risk that future inflation control could be compromised by financial dominance or fiscal dominance or both. Anticipated negative supply side shocks will aggravate existing policy tensions.

https://www.toptradersunplugged.com/podcast/william-white-global-macro-series-november-2nd-2022/

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the breakdown of the Bretton Woods system, William White gave an interview to Daniel Stelter, the host of “Beyond the Obvious”, one of Germany’s most popular financial podcasts. The discussion covered the reasons for the breakdown of the Bretton Woods system, the shortcomings of the Non-System that followed it, and proposals for a new system that would not be based on a nationally issued currency, like the US dollar. The discussion also covered currency issues within the euro zone, as well as “narrow money” solutions to both domestic and international problems.

https://think-beyondtheobvious.com/the-world-needs-a-restart-of-the-financial-order/