The Fed

Jonathan Newman rejoins Bob to explore more of the mechanics and political implications of the Fed's current state of insolvency.

While central banks use administered interest rates in hopes of emulating the natural rate, these efforts are always going to fail. Without free markets, there is no natural rate.

The boom-and-bust cycles are not natural to a market economy, contra Keynes. Instead, government through monetary manipulation creates them—and then politicians blame markets themselves.

Fractional reserve banking allows the Federal Reserve to manipulate the money supply, leading to booms and busts. Central banking is not a defense against business cycles; it is a major cause of them.

While court economists such as Paul Krugman insist that inflation is government's way of ensuring full employment, in reality, inflation is one of the many ways governments steal from productive people.

As the US economy sours, look for a wave of new bankruptcies. The Fed cannot pull any rabbits out of its monetary hat this time.

The affordability crisis is upon us. Housing, food, you name it, life is becoming expensive. The government blames business, but perhaps government officials should look in the mirror.

Andreas Granath joins Bob to discuss his recent article explaining the different definitions of "inflation" and why it matters.

Forget Vegas sports betting for reckless speculation. When the Fed officials make projections, the markets assume they are accurate. However, as Jerome Powell himself admits, forecasts are speculative at best.

The common belief is that inflation is the general rise in consumer prices. However, rising prices are a symptom of inflation, which really is expansion of the money supply.