Money and Banks

The William H. Peterson Lecture, sponsored by Robert L. Luddy.

With huge debts and an immensely inflated supply of dollars, the US is vulnerable to its own "Suez moment" in which foreign regimes can nullify American foreign policy without firing a shot.

In recent decades, the tech sector has brought us newer and better goods and ever-dropping prices.

A recent report commissioned by the prime minister of Iceland calls for limits on the money supply through ending fractional reserve banking and deposit insurance. Unfortunately, the report also calls for nearly unlimited control of the money supply by the central bank.

Thanks to the central bank, those who worked hard and “played by the rules” all their lives now face an uncertain future as inflation c

In recent decades, the tech sector has brought us newer and better goods and ever-dropping prices. In an unhampered market, the same would happen across the entire economy. But, the Fed won't allow this to happen.

In this lecture from last week's Sound Money seminar at the Mises Institute, Jonathan Newman explains the basics of how the central bank's distortion of interest rates and the money supply brings booms and busts.

At his new blog, Ben Bernanke is coming up with new excuses as to why the current recovery is so weak and why mega-low interest rates — and thus a lack of options for middle-income savers seeking interest income — aren't his fault.

"Sound money and free banking are not impossible; they are merely illegal," Hans Sennholz wrote. Today, the barriers to competition in money and free-market banking are numerous, but even a few non-radical changes could open up a new world of options and competition for bankers and consumers.