Booms and Busts

Most people have heard about statistics or polls that report on the state of the American consumer and something called “consumer confidence,” but

Contrary to mainstream economists, credit expansion that is not backed by real savings leads ultimately to an economic downturn. 

Do Austrian theories also apply to financial markets?

Donald Trump’s leaked plan for the Fed has sparked a panic. But the real risk, from the establishment’s perspective, is not that Trump will turn the Fed into a political organization but that he will expose the fact that it already is one.

Tom Woods has put his considerable skills to work exposing the dangers caused by the Federal Reserve System. George Ford Smith reviews his latest book that gives intellectual ammunition to his case.

As artificially low interest rates damage the economy, progressives in Congress demand more of the same. In the vernacular, they want the economy to “take the hair of the dog that bit them.” Of course, this only makes things worse in the long run—which is where we are today.

One of the great myths of US history is that Herbert Hoover was a laissez-faire president. In truth, he intervened in the economy more than any of his predecessors, creating the crisis known as the Great Depression. His successor made things even worse.

Two new books, The Lords of Easy Money and The Price of Time, while not specifically Austrian, present readers with financial scenarios that mesh well with the Austrian business cycle theory.

As artificially low interest rates damage the economy, progressives in Congress demand more of the same. In the vernacular, they want the economy to “take the hair of the dog that bit them.” Of course, this only makes things worse in the long run—which is where we are today.

While Vivek Ramaswamy was unsuccessful in his Republican presidential primary bid, at least he helped to demystify the Federal Reserve. This is not the usual political rhetoric the public receives.