Money and Banks

Tom Woods discusses his blockbuster book Meltdown.

"There is no incentive for bank depositors to go to the trouble of determining a bank's soundness if the government is going to guarantee deposits."

From Part V of Defending the Undefendable, “Financial.” Read by Jeff Riggenbach.

From Part V of Defending the Undefendable, “Financial.” Read by Jeff Riggenbach.

From Part V of Defending the Undefendable, “Financial.” Read by Jeff Riggenbach.

From Part V of Defending the Undefendable, “Financial.” Read by Jeff Riggenbach.

Government interventions are at the root of the problem as they disrupt the incentive structure that bankers face, limiting their propensity to abide by this sensible practice. The explicit guarantee by the Central Bank of Iceland altered bankers' risk preferences, and resulted in the risky undertaking being gingerly assumed to be sustainable.

The real threat to humanity comes from governments growing ever more powerful in the name of fighting climate change.

Presented as part of the Mises Institute’s Brown Bag Seminar series on April 15, 1997 in Auburn, Alabama.

Presented as part of the Mises Institute’s Brown Bag Seminar series on November 20, 1996 in Auburn, Alabama.