Ryan McMaken joins the show to explain the economics of central banks—specifically the way our Federal Reserve destroys people’s savings by inflating the money supply and causes the boom/bust cycle through its manipulation of interest rates. People will often object, says McMaken, that without a central bank unbridled capitalism would take the U.S. back to the economic dark ages, but he points out that we have had one for most of America’s worst financial crises, including the great depression and the crashes of the 70s and 80s. Central banks are the cause of the problem, not the solution.

Discussed on the show:

• “Money-Supply Growth Slows in February” (Mises Wire)
• “Inside Job (2010)” (IMDb)
• “Left and Right: The Prospects for Liberty” (Mises Institute)
• Hate Inc.: Why Today’s Media Makes Us Despise One Another

Ryan McMaken is a senior editor at the Mises Institute. He has degrees in economics and political science from the University of Colorado, and was the economist for the Colorado Division of Housing from 2009 to 2014. He is the author of Commie Cowboys: The Bourgeoisie and the Nation-State in the Western Genre.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Kesslyn Runs, by Charles Featherstone; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

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