This article originally appeared in the January 2013 edition of The Free Market. Reprinted from Mises.org In the beginning of The General Theory, John Maynard Keynes says that his ideas will no doubt be rejected because they are so novel
Inflation
The Futility of Bank Regulation
It’s been over four years since the financial crisis ripped through the American banking system like a viral disease and put the world economy in a coma. From that fateful Autumn when Washington took off the blinds and showed its
A Final Farewell to the Penny
It is as timely as ever to take a quick stocktaking of the penny�s role now that it is officially removed from our lives. While many are quick to point out that we don�t have to be weighed down by
A LeaderShift: What we need in our country today
It’s time for power to go back to where it belongs; to the people. With politicians and the business elite making all our decisions for us, we are losing our freedoms each and every day, and our standard of living
Austrians Don’t Blow Bubbles
Reprinted from The American Conservative Remember the golden days of 2007, when we were all investment prodigies? Though I couldn’t balance a checkbook or drive a car, I had raked in 25 percent increases each year on my 401k since
Fractional-Reserve Banking’s Risky Deal
CIBC and President’s Choice Financial recently announced an “aggressive” interest rate offer on savings accounts. In a bid to attract clients from their rivals the partnership will pay 2.6 percent interest on all new deposits. While normally people are wary
It’s Official: Global Economic Policy Now Firmly in the Hands of Money Cranks
Reprinted from DetlevSchilter.com The lesson from the events of 2007-2008 should have been clear: Boosting GDP with loose money – as the Greenspan Fed did repeatedly between 1987 and 2005 and most damagingly between 2001 and 2005 when in order
Explaining the Relative Loss of Canadian Manufacturing
Andrew Jackson laments that there is little cause for optimism in the recent study published by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute explaining that Canadian manufacturers have maintained competitiveness despite a strong loonie. In particular, Mr. Jackson points to the loss of 464,000
How the Fed’s Bubbles Slaughter the Middle Class
When central bankers dedicate their existence to re-inflating asset bubbles, it shouldn’t at all be a surprise to investors that they eventually achieve success. Ben Bernanke has aggressively attempted to prop up the real estate and equity markets since 2008.
Two Pitfalls of Devaluing the Loonie
The strength of the Canadian loonie is increasingly seen as a negative aspect. Policy makers and export-oriented industries are united in calls for a weaker Canadian dollar in a bid to keep the economy strong through international trade. Allowing for
Why the Greenbackers are Wrong
Reprinted from TomWoods.com One of Ron Paul’s great accomplishments is that the Federal Reserve faces more opposition today than ever before. Readers of this site will be familiar with the arguments: the Fed enjoys special government privileges; its interference with
Incredible confusions Part 1: ‘Positive Money’
Reprinted from DetlevSchlichter.com I am usually inclined to encourage the inquiry of the fundamental aspects of money and banking. This is because I tend to believe that only by going back to first principles is it possible to cut through
Incredible confusions Part 1: ‘Positive Money’
Reprinted from DetlevSchlichter.com I am usually inclined to encourage the inquiry of the fundamental aspects of money and banking. This is because I tend to believe that only by going back to first principles is it possible to cut through
Send in the Clowns- How Unsound Money Gives Us Weak Leadership
The adverse consequences of fiat money credit expansion keep piling up. Sometimes it seems that almost everything wrong with society today can be traced back to unsound money. I know that I may sound like the heroine’s father in the
False Remedy: Price Fixing
Reprinted from What You Should Know About Inflation. NY: D. Van Nostrand Co., 1960, 1965. As long as we are plagued by false theories of what causes inflation, we will be plagued by false remedies. Those who ascribe inflation primarily
The Pound Gets Pounded
Reprinted from LewRockwell.com As the global currency war intensifies, the majority of attention has been paid to the 17% fall of the Japanese yen against the U.S. dollar over the past few months. The implosion has given cover to the
The Anatomy of the Bank Run
Excerpted from Chapter 79 of Making Economic Sense It was a scene familiar to any nostalgia buff: all-night lines waiting for the banks (first in Ohio, then in Maryland) to open; pompous but mendacious assurances by the bankers that all
Krugman’s Call for a Housing Bubble
Reprinted from Mises.org In 2009, Lew Rockwell posted this quote of Paul Krugman’s from a 2002 New York Times editorial: To fight this recession the Fed needs…soaring household spending to offset moribund business investment. [So] Alan Greenspan needs to create
Inflation Has Two Faces
Reprinted from What You Should Know About Inflation. NY: D. Van Nostrand Co., 1960, 1965. It must be said, in sorrow, that the American public, generally speaking, not only does not understand the real cause and cure for inflation, but
What Die Hard Teaches Us About Gas Prices
I sat down to watch the 1988 action film Die Hard recently as it’s one of my favourite Christmas films of all time. Partway through, I saw something interesting that got me thinking about gas prices. During a scene early
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