This paper develops a model determining some motivational peculiarities of an optimal monetary authority, an authority inducing a socially optimal inflation rate. The model initially assumes that discretionary policy is desirable and that all possible authorities have the same information. Section II rationalizes the assumption of the desirability of discretionary policy under rational expectations. The assumption of rational expectations is seen to strengthen rather than weaken, as its proponents are wont to assume, the case for discretionary monetary policy. Section III relaxes the assumption that all possible monetary authorities have the same information and thereby immediately exposes a dilemma unique to problem of finding an optimal monetary authority: Individuals possessing the efficient motivation are so peculiar that it is unlikely to find one that also possesses anything close to the information required to carry out first best discretionary policy. The model serves to rationalize both the unusual motivational characteristics and the poor performance of observed monetary authori