Latest / The Fiscal Policy Podcast with Fexingo: Government Budgets, Stimulus, and Public Spending
Why Government Bonds Are the Most Powerful Tool You Cannot Use
Lucas and Luna dive into the strange economics of government bonds — specifically, why the US Treasury market is the deepest, most liquid financial market on earth, yet ordinary investors can't buy bonds at auction directly. They trace the problem back to 1917 and the Liberty Bond Act, walk through the role of primary dealers like JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, and examine a 2023 Federal Reserve study showing that retail investors lose 15 to 50 basis points on yields by buying through intermediaries. The episode closes with a simple workaround — TreasuryDirect — and a caution about what…
The skinny
The skinny isn't ready yet — notes appear once the transcript is processed.