Earlier this week Aaron Ross Sorkin wrote an interesting article at the New York Times where he draws the connection between many of the political trends in this country—Trump and attacks on trade, rise of democratic socialist politicians, and the rise of general skepticism of the “expert class”—to the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.
Of course issue that has been driven to the forefront of American politics since 2008 has been heightened awareness about growing income inequality in the country. Naturally the American left looks at the issue and gets it completely wrong, but that doesn’t mean that the issue isn’t completely without merit. There is in fact a faction in America that could be considered as the “unjust rich” who benefit directly as a result of a parasitic government and the modern financial system.
This is all why I think one of the most important contributions Austrian economics offers to modern political discourse is connection between monetary policy and income inequality.
At Mises University this year, Dr. Karl-Friedrich Israel gave an excellent lecture on this topic, looking at the relevant data that exists, analyzing the work of non-Austrian scholars like Thomas Piketty, and focusing on the ways artificial credit expansion directly feed into this issue. Consider sharing it the next time a friends quotes Bernie Sanders or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on the topic.
Read more about the topic:
Central Banks Enrich a Select Few at the Expense of Many by Thorsten Polleit
How Central Banking Increased Inequality by Louis Rouanet
How Central Banks Widen Wealth and Income Gaps by Hal Snarr
More from Karl-Friedrich Israel:
How Much Do Central Banks Cost Us?
Inflation May Be Causing a Long-Term Rise in Unemployment
Five Reasons for Central Banks: Are They Any Good?
