The many evils of ethanol

This MSNBC article notes how the price of wheat is being driven up not just by the devaluation of the dollar, but by “increased demand” for ethanol.

The article fails to mention that the demand for ethanol has not just magically increased on its own, but has increased only because massive government subsidies have made it more relatively attractive. Nor does it mention that ethanol is also now much more attractive to farmers because it receives fat subsidies that wheat-growing does not receive.

Bennie and the Monetary Jets

How does Bernanke jump-start the banking system? Bernanke decided that, instead of waiting for timid customers at the discount window, he would announce a series of auctions called Term Auction Facilities, or TAFs, where the high bidders would get the bank reserves. This maintains the bank’s privacy, or at least reduces the onus of approaching the discount window, and it guarantees that new reserves will enter the system. Some commentators say that the Fed has merely taking charge, rising to the occasion, and attempting to “shake it loose together.” However, others would say this is all an act of desperation. If desperate circumstances call for such drastic actions, then Bernanke’s actions — rather than words — indicates that we are in desperate circumstances. Stick around to find who’s right and who’s wrong.

The TAF frenzy

A wild debate has broken out at the WSJ blog concerning whether borrowings from the Fed’s new Term Auction Facility is or isn’t inflationary. The background is that since December, non-borrowed bank reserves have plummeted while borrowings from the Fed’s TAF have soared. The debate concerns what all this means. Mark Thornton will offer his analysis on Monday.

John T. Flynn and the Myth of FDR

Throughout his long presidency, writes historian Ralph Raico, FDR was hotly opposed, even pilloried, by a host of intelligent, respected, and patriotic men and women. The most consistent of his adversaries formed a loose coalition known today as the Old Right. There is little doubt that the best informed and most tenacious of the Old Right foes of Franklin Roosevelt was John T. Flynn.

An Early Hazlitt book

Henry Hazlltt’s The Way to Will Power (1922) is darn near impossible to find, so we are grateful to Gil Guillory for giving us this PDF of the book. The scan is awful but that is not Gil’s fault. It is a mucky edition. If I recall correctly, Hazlitt was later a bit embarrassed by this book, and it was never reprinted. I’m not sure he was right to embarrassed at all. I’ve not spent much time with it, but it seems like an effort to apply the Stoic system of ethics and virtue to modern life.

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