Volcker: "Central banks are not exactly the harbingers of free market economies ... central banks were created as a means of financing the government." #QotD

"Central banks are not exactly the harbingers of free market economies... not at the cutting edge of a market economy; they were Johnny-come-latelies. ... Central banking is almost entirely a phenomenon of the twentieth century.... central banks were looked upon and created as a means of financing the government, which I do not think people have in mind when thinking about central banking today.”

~ Paul Volcker (Federal Reserve Chairman from 1979 to 1987) who died this week, speaking in 1990 on 'The Role of Central Banks'
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