Category Archives: Inflation

Updated: Time Mag's Mafioso Of The Year

Debt, Federal Reserve Bank, Inflation, Ron Paul

Is The “Fed Head.” The dubious honor Ben Bernanke has earned for counterfeiting more money than any other figure in the “history of the world”; for being more powerful than the president—who “at least has to come before Congress” every now and then when demanding funds—for enjoying complete freedom from any oversight, and for being an instrument of fiat, easy money, inflation and the business bubbles (or cycles).

Still, Ron Paul, that impish giant—also a “student of the Fed” and its most effective critic—remains positive, while insisting that Ben Bernanke is Time’s Man of the Year not because he saved us, but because he afflicted us with ever easier money and lower interest rates; doubled the money supply and has hastened the collapse of the dollar.

Update: Ron Paul again on the work of the Money Mafioso:

Legal tender laws force the people to become subject to this risk for the benefit of the rulers. Artificial demand for currency allows the authorities to create arbitrary amounts of it to pay for wasteful projects, like frivolous wars and an ever-expanding public sector. This saps the private economy of jobs and purchasing power, yet the temptation proves too great for politicians, time and time again. Our government is no different. Although our dollar has taken nearly a century to lose 98f its purchasing power, the fact that we are all obliged to participate in this slow burn of the economy on pain of imprisonment is anathema to the principles of liberty.

I introduced the Free Competition in Currency Act last week to free the people from these governmental threats. HR 4248 would repeal legal tender laws, prohibit taxation on certain coins and bullion, and repeal certain laws related to coinage. The prospect of people turning away from the dollar towards alternate currencies should provide incentive for Congress to regain control of the dollar and halt its downward spiral.

Updated: Time Mag’s Mafioso Of The Year

Debt, Economy, Federal Reserve Bank, Inflation, Ron Paul

Is The “Fed Head.” The dubious honor Ben Bernanke has earned for counterfeiting more money than any other figure in the “history of the world”; for being more powerful than the president—who “at least has to come before Congress” every now and then when demanding funds—for enjoying complete freedom from any oversight, and for being an instrument of fiat, easy money, inflation and the business bubbles (or cycles).

Still, Ron Paul, that impish giant—also a “student of the Fed” and its most effective critic—remains positive, while insisting that Ben Bernanke is Time’s Man of the Year not because he saved us, but because he afflicted us with ever easier money and lower interest rates; doubled the money supply and has hastened the collapse of the dollar.

Update: Ron Paul again on the work of the Money Mafioso:

Legal tender laws force the people to become subject to this risk for the benefit of the rulers. Artificial demand for currency allows the authorities to create arbitrary amounts of it to pay for wasteful projects, like frivolous wars and an ever-expanding public sector. This saps the private economy of jobs and purchasing power, yet the temptation proves too great for politicians, time and time again. Our government is no different. Although our dollar has taken nearly a century to lose 98f its purchasing power, the fact that we are all obliged to participate in this slow burn of the economy on pain of imprisonment is anathema to the principles of liberty.

I introduced the Free Competition in Currency Act last week to free the people from these governmental threats. HR 4248 would repeal legal tender laws, prohibit taxation on certain coins and bullion, and repeal certain laws related to coinage. The prospect of people turning away from the dollar towards alternate currencies should provide incentive for Congress to regain control of the dollar and halt its downward spiral.

Boobs Inadvertently Affirm Austrian Business Cycle

Business, Debt, Economy, Federal Reserve Bank, Inflation

The lower-rung boobs informing the higher-ups—the economy’s monetary central planners—require empirical studies to confirm what the Austrian School of Economics, headed by Ludwig von Mises, had deduced through reason (i.e., via praxeology) almost a century ago.

Bloomberg.com:

“[L]ow interest rates spur banks to take on too much risk, according to a study by the Bank for International Settlements. …

The study showed several ways in which low borrowing costs over an extended period can cause banks to take on more risk. It found that if market interest rates are kept below the benchmark rate for 10 straight quarters, the probability of an average bank defaulting increased by 3.3 percent. …

Central banks may have previously ignored the effect that low interest rates have on risk-taking because of a lack of empirical evidence that such a link existed, Gambacorta said.

The risk of banks defaulting jumped by more in economies where interest rates remained low for an extended period before the recent financial crisis, the report by the Basel, Switzerland-based organization said.”

The bankrolling by Barack of bad loans, on our backs, continues Give bankruptcy judges more power. It is suggested that gov. purchase more of the bad loans at a discount from the banks.”

Fed Chief Fights For Fiefdom

Debt, Economy, Federal Reserve Bank, Inflation, Socialism

Single-handedly has Rep. Ron Paul familiarized Americans with the Federal Reserve’s handiwork, and the havoc its monetary policy visits on the value of their coin and worldly goods. Three hundred and thirteen congressmen now sponsor Paul’s Audit the Fed Bill!

Mitt Romney worries that auditing the Fed might impede the Counterfeiter-in-Chief’s status as an independent, private institution. I mentioned Romney in a previous post for his knack for epitomizing the oil-and-water relationship the Republican front runners have with first principles. This is an an example. Romney is against an audit, he told Larry King, as he would like the Fed to remain … private. Where does one begin…

Like any public functionary presiding over a run-away bureaucratic tier, the chairman of the Fed, Ben S. Bernanke, is fighting for his fiefdom. In an editorial in the WaPo he fretted (or, rather, dissembled), “that a number of the legislative proposals being circulated would significantly reduce the capacity of the Federal Reserve to perform its core functions. Amen.