Inflation

We have reached this point: the government keepers of money do not even understand what money is or why inflation is harmful. To them, the real threat to the economy is “deflation.”

The child-like obsession with buying stuff that American society is often criticized for around Christmas is a sought-after result of our government’s monetary policy.

President-elect Donald Trump has declared that he will raise tariffs his first day in office. Our economy, however, does not need government-created roadblocks to trade. Instead, we need free exchange and sound money.

One of the fallacies pushed by monetary economists is that a growing economy needs a growing supply of money in order to prevent deflation, which they claim is as harmful as inflation. However, as Austrians point out, there is no “optimum” amount of money in the economy, since prices adjust.

In replying to a previous article by Frank Shostak, Douglas French writes that if an increase in the supply of gold ultimately leads to an expansion of bank credit, that is enough to start the boom-and-bust cycles, even if there is no central bank to accelerate the process.

The state and its friends reject the scarcity principle and uphold its polar opposite, the Santa Claus principle.

The Fed lowers interest rates ostensibly to “stimulate” the economy. But while the Fed claims it is strengthening the economy, it actually weakens it through its easy-money policies.

The Federal Reserve continues to be the not-so-silent partner to the government's reckless deficit spending scheme. While the Fed tries to force down interest, US bond yields are rising, as the markets recognize these bifurcated policies.

The Federal Reserve says it can manipulate the money supply to ensure “price stability.” This worsens the boom-bust cycles and undermines the economy.

Capitalism is characterized by the private ownership of capital, coming from Lockean homesteading principles, and not from state coercion and force.