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Prospects for continued monetary autonomy. Whether the Fed's autonomy is at risk because long-standing support for its independence has eroded.

Abstract. As a Congressman from Texas from 1929 to 1976, Wright Patman supported Populist‐type legislation which aided farmers, small businessmen and consumers. His perennial target in the postwar era was the Federal Reserve System. He resented the central bank's political independence and believed that "high"interest rates brought about by monetary policy actions benefited banks and harmed ordinary citizens. Rather than attacking the Fed's control of monetary policy directly, Patman tried to improve Fed accountability to Congress by subjecting the Fed's budgetary process and expenditures to government audit and/or the Congressional appropriations process. Despite numerous investigations, reports, and pieces of legislation, Patman's crusade failed to achieve its objectives. Nevertheless, his persistent criticism over 25 years undoubtedly created an atmosphere for change. Eschewing the indirect approach, Patman's political heirs in Congress demanded and received more accountability (and less secrecy) from the Fed regarding monetary policy objectives. Ironically Patman's abortive crusade may have paved the way for their later success.

The Federal Reserve System should maintain absolute independence from government supervision in the matter of monetary policy. At present, the formation of monetary policy is but one of five functions fulfilled by the System. These functions & the expenses incurred for each of them are examined, as are the expenses of the Board of of Governors, based on expense & employee data collected for the 22 years from 1952 to 1973. It is probable that some functions could be handled less expensively by other government agencies, but the Reserve System is reluctant to give them up. This reluctance could jeopardize its control of all functions, including formation of monetary policy, for which independence is crucial. S. Stanton.

In the last half century, North Carolina and the South have experienced rapid economic growth. Much of the best analysis of this progress came from two North Carolina-based research organizations: the Southern Growth Policies Board and MDC (originally a project of the North Carolina Fund). Their 1986 reports are two of the best assessments of the achievements and limitations of the so-called Sunbelt boom. On November 17, 2011, the Global Research Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Institute for Emerging Issues at North Carolina State University co-hosted a public discussion to build on these classic reports and to offer fresh analyses of the current challenges facing the region. A Way Forward, which issued from this effort, features more than thirty original essays containing recommendations and strategies for building and sustaining a globally competitive South.