Money and Banks
Presidential Money Mismanagement from FDR to Nixon
Recorded at the Reassessing the Presidency seminar; March 2004. (40:45)
Money and Prices
Many believe that if governments would just issue greater quantities of money then all problems would be solved. In truth that would create unsurmountable problems by lowering the purchasing power of each money unit. Money is the one good that is not made better by increasing its supply.
The Feds Before the Fed
Before there was the Federal Reserve there was the second Bank of the United States (1817–1836). Since the late nineteenth century, historians and economists have lauded this institution for its salutary control over the currency, its regulation of the state banks, its prudent stewardship of the government’s funds, and its example of a fruitful private/public partnership in the field of central banking.
Payday Lending: Serving the Unbanked
The Center for Responsible Lending says that payday lending is a predatory business in that it lures borrowers into a "debt trap." Mike Foley says this view is all wrong: pay-day lending provides liquidity when it is most needed, and an an opportunity to establish a positive credit history.
The Dollar vs. Gold
There is a fly in the ointment of economic recovery: a dollar that just won’t seem to stop its fall. The impression that this trend portends something ominous is bolstered by the inverse relationship of the dollar’s value on international exchange and the price of gold. As the dollar has fallen in the last year, gold has risen.