Following World War II, Congress imposed mandates on the Federal Reserve in the areas of employment, inflation, and interest rates. Not surprisingly, the Fed has failed in all three areas. It is time to recognize failure and abolish the Fed altogether.
Mainstream economists define inflation as the increase in an imaginary “price level” that is relatively neutral in its effects. Austrian economists, however, know better, as they realize that the effects of inflating the money supply are anything but neutral.
Politicians and central bankers assure us that they are diligently “fighting” inflation. Actually, they are fighting inflation the same way that an arsonist fights against the fires he just set. Government is the inflation arsonist.
Fiat money and state coercion have prevented us from seeing the threat to our well-being that would be apparent with sound money and true liberty.
Keynesians claim that through the “multiplier,” a country can spend itself into prosperity. All that is needed is for government to tax, borrow, print money and spend, and prosperity will follow. Austrian Economists, however, are not fooled by such myths.
Is the US headed for hyperinflation? Mark Thornton dives into the national debt crisis, historical collapses, and the three stages of financial doom.
While monetary authorities and the government claim that they are “fighting inflation,” the truth is that inflation is an important tool for political and economic elites who are centralizing political life.
Economists like to claim that expectations of more inflation lead to, well, more inflation. Such beliefs ignore the fact that inflation is an increase in the money supply and that general price increases result from fractional reserve-created monetary expansion.
Warren Buffett is well-known for his investment acumen, and he often makes public statements in favor of capitalism. But his loyalty to the fiat monetary system undermines everything else that he claims to represent.
Charles Rist was an economist of nearly a century ago who recognized the dangers behind President Franklin Roosevelt‘s attempts to demonetize gold. We are still paying the price for FDR‘s actions.
