Money and Banks

How capitalism came to mean big profits but not big losses. 

A world central bank and currency can only further destabilize the global economy. 

 Half of U.S. currency is held overseas. What happens if (when?) it is repatriated?

As the "experts" counsel Japan to gun the money supply, an Austrian has a better idea.

If the stock market crashes, will the Fed flood the economy with money?

Winter's economic crisis in Asia was blamed on "go-go capitalism" and "crony capitalism," but those explanations don't get to the root cause. The Asian meltdown stems from structural defects deep within the world monetary system itself. These are defects that no amount of bailouts, exchange controls, IMF power, or even U.S. monetary discipline can repair.

My Latin professor once taught me the golden rule of Roman emperors, Vulgus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur. It means the masses want to be cheated, so let's cheat them. Machiavelli built his theory of government partially on this credo.

The Federal Reserve is the most powerful yet least questioned of all Washington institutions. It can make or break elections, bail out entire governments, send the stock market to the stratosphere, or bankrupt whole industries. Yet it operates with less oversight than the CIA.

People made fun of Gerald Ford's buttons that said "WIN," meaning "Whip Inflation Now." The buttons and the accompanying propaganda campaign implied that consumers' bad vibes were the cause of inflation. Ha, Ha.

American money was never more sound, or banking more free, than 200 years ago. Since then, it's been a long, steady decline from the gold standard and competitive banking to our Fed-run system of inflated paper currency, deposit insurance, and perpetually shaky banks on the dole.