Sound Money Project
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Good Money
“This is the true and remarkable story of private coinage and banking in Britain in the early years of the Industrial Revolution (1775-1850). Making money was a business in demand. The needs of business for small denominations were changing. Merchants needed small denomination coins in copper and silver. The Royal Mint couldn’t be bothered. It…
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“Financial Reform Bill is a ‘Disaster’: Sen. Gregg”
“The financial regulatory bill is a “disaster,” and its proposed consumer protection agency would create a Fannie and Freddie “on steroids,” Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H. told CNBC on Monday. “The bill is a disaster because it doesn’t address the fundamental underlining causes of the economic issue, which were real estate and underwriting,” he said. “This…
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Hayek on Sound Money
Great quote by Hayek: “With the exception only of the period of the gold standard, practically all governments of history have used their exclusive power to issue money to defraud and plunder the people.”
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The Return of Financial Repression?
Financial repression was used extensively by governments in the post-war period and is still common today in emerging markets such as China. As Cato scholar James Dorn writes in a recently posted commentary, “Financial repression is a hallmark of China’s market socialism.” Given developments in the wake of the financial crisis, the big question is…
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“Monetary-Policy Disasters of the Twentieth Century”
“The Federal Reserve System was created in 1913 and soon did what central banks almost always do: it started printing lots of money. During World War I the Bank of England inflated its money supply, and as a result a significant amount of gold flowed out of Great Britain to the United States in the…
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Less is More
It’s absolutely mind-boggling to think that Congress can successfully regulate something as complex as the entire financial industry. I don’t believe it for a second. These are the same legislators who just lost billions in TARP funds. These are the same political leaders who directly and purposefully threw money away on failing companies around the…
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The Fed’s Balance Sheet
The Wall Street Journal has created a good graphic illustration displaying the development of the Fed’s balance sheet during the financial crisis. Assets on the balance sheet are currently $2.333 trillion, of which the main part consists of mortgage-backed securities, Fannie and Freddie debt and government securities. Some noteworthy developments: During the first phase of…
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Applying Hayekian Ideas: Leonard Read and I, Money
“In a recent blog post, Peter Boettke argues that in reading F.A. Hayek it is important to distinguish between Hayek and Hayekianism. Because Hayek, as a lifetime learner, did not always apply his ideas as fully he possibly could have, Hayek the man was at times less willing to take the ideas as far as…
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“Can the Government Regulate Inflation?”
“In a recent column, Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman claimed that the government needs to have two important duties in finance. First, it must keep interest rates low; second, it must strictly regulate where the newly created money goes. Now, as one who believes that government cannot simultaneously make water run downhill and uphill,…
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The Euro – a Greek Drachma in Disguise
The Euro keeps tumbling as international investors are loosing faith in the Eurozone. The currency has so far fallen 14 percent against the dollar this year. There is fear that contagion could trigger “Greek” debt crises among other EU countries with weakening fiscal positions, and that European banks could realize substantial losses as a result.…
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Good Money
“This is the true and remarkable story of private coinage and banking in Britain in the early years of the Industrial Revolution (1775-1850). Making money was a business in demand. The needs of business for small denominations were changing. Merchants needed small denomination coins in copper and silver. The Royal Mint couldn’t be bothered. It…
-
“Financial Reform Bill is a ‘Disaster’: Sen. Gregg”
“The financial regulatory bill is a “disaster,” and its proposed consumer protection agency would create a Fannie and Freddie “on steroids,” Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H. told CNBC on Monday. “The bill is a disaster because it doesn’t address the fundamental underlining causes of the economic issue, which were real estate and underwriting,” he said. “This…
-
Hayek on Sound Money
Great quote by Hayek: “With the exception only of the period of the gold standard, practically all governments of history have used their exclusive power to issue money to defraud and plunder the people.”
-
The Return of Financial Repression?
Financial repression was used extensively by governments in the post-war period and is still common today in emerging markets such as China. As Cato scholar James Dorn writes in a recently posted commentary, “Financial repression is a hallmark of China’s market socialism.” Given developments in the wake of the financial crisis, the big question is…
-
“Monetary-Policy Disasters of the Twentieth Century”
“The Federal Reserve System was created in 1913 and soon did what central banks almost always do: it started printing lots of money. During World War I the Bank of England inflated its money supply, and as a result a significant amount of gold flowed out of Great Britain to the United States in the…
-
Less is More
It’s absolutely mind-boggling to think that Congress can successfully regulate something as complex as the entire financial industry. I don’t believe it for a second. These are the same legislators who just lost billions in TARP funds. These are the same political leaders who directly and purposefully threw money away on failing companies around the…
-
The Fed’s Balance Sheet
The Wall Street Journal has created a good graphic illustration displaying the development of the Fed’s balance sheet during the financial crisis. Assets on the balance sheet are currently $2.333 trillion, of which the main part consists of mortgage-backed securities, Fannie and Freddie debt and government securities. Some noteworthy developments: During the first phase of…
-
Applying Hayekian Ideas: Leonard Read and I, Money
“In a recent blog post, Peter Boettke argues that in reading F.A. Hayek it is important to distinguish between Hayek and Hayekianism. Because Hayek, as a lifetime learner, did not always apply his ideas as fully he possibly could have, Hayek the man was at times less willing to take the ideas as far as…
-
“Can the Government Regulate Inflation?”
“In a recent column, Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman claimed that the government needs to have two important duties in finance. First, it must keep interest rates low; second, it must strictly regulate where the newly created money goes. Now, as one who believes that government cannot simultaneously make water run downhill and uphill,…
-
The Euro – a Greek Drachma in Disguise
The Euro keeps tumbling as international investors are loosing faith in the Eurozone. The currency has so far fallen 14 percent against the dollar this year. There is fear that contagion could trigger “Greek” debt crises among other EU countries with weakening fiscal positions, and that European banks could realize substantial losses as a result.…
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