Native Kansas City journalist Christopher Leonard returns to the Library to discuss his new book The Lords of Easy Money with Kansas City Star journalist David Hudnall. Leonard says that reporting for the book began after he learned that the Federal Reserve had printed 350 years’ worth of money over 4½ years. The practice is called “quantitative easing” and done through the bank accounts of 24 Wall Street institutions. But, he explains, QE has distorted the domestic financial markets, created a greater disparity between rich and poor, and spurred riskier loan activity at banks. 

The Lords of Easy Money story is largely framed by the professional record of former Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank president Tom Hoenig, who lives in Brookside. Hoenig worked at the Fed for 38 years and was the only executive in the organization to vote against keeping interest rates at zero while continuing to print huge amounts of money.  

Leonard also has spoken at the Library about his two previous books, The Meat Racket: The Secret Takeover of America’s Food Business and Kochland: The Secret History of Koch Industries and Corporate Power in America. He lives in Prairie Village and directs the Watchdog Writers Group.