Money and Banks

The First World War was critical to boosting the influence of that child of progressivism and Wall Street corporatism: the Federal Reserve System. 

Can an increase in the supply of gold cause a boom-bust cycle? Mises believed it was theoretically possible but highly unlikely. Rothbard, on the other hand, said as long as gold is money and there is no fiduciary media, such a scenario was not possible.

Commercial real estate in the US faces major problems despite efforts by the Federal Reserve System to prop it up. Bonds used to finance commercial real estate markets are being hit especially hard, and there is no relief in sight.

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.”

Federal oversight of each recycled metal transaction would be an intrusion into the daily life of the individual and business on an unseen scale.

Not all news from the gold and monetary fronts is bad. In fact, gold made a number of advancements in seven states, including exemptions from taxes and attempts by states to restrict Federal Reserve behavior. Gold is alive and well.

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.

Mises Fellow Kristoffer Hansen joins Bob to discuss the controversy surrounding Mises' perspective on fractional reserve banking and free banking.

Despite claims from the Keynesian “experts” that gold is a “barbarous relic,” the markets are saying that gold is more valuable than ever.

Jonathan Newman is interviewed by Kerry Lutz on the Financial Survival Network.