Since the first assault on Turkey’s finances in 2018, which I wrote about multiple times (here, here, and here), I’ve been the lone voice telling everyone that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is a lunatic but he’s a lunatic with a plan. That plan is to de-dollarize the...
Monetary Policy
Money, Expectations, and Economic Growth
by Frank Shostak | Jan 5, 2020 | Economics, Featured Articles
In various writings, Milton Friedman argued that there is a variable lag between changes in money supply and its effect on real output and prices. Friedman held that in the short run changes in money supply will be followed by changes in real output. However, in the...
The Fed Looks Increasingly Concerned About Liquidity and Growth — Even If it Says Otherwise
by Ryan McMaken | Nov 3, 2019 | Economics, Featured Articles
The Federal Reserve lowered its benchmark interest rate on Wednesday, cutting the target federal funds rate by 0.25 percent to a range of 0.5 to 0.75 percent. The Fed's rate-setting committee, the FOMC, has now cut rates three times this year. The committee's rhetoric...
The Penalty For Saving
by Claudio Grass | May 30, 2019 | Economics, Featured Articles
In previous articles, we have outlined in great detail the many faults of the current monetary policy direction of major central banks and the large-scale economic impact of keeping interest rates artificially low. Among the worst offenders is the ECB, that is...
Trump, the Fed, and a Trillion Dollar Game of Hot Potato
by Alan Mosley | Oct 19, 2018 | Economics, Featured Articles
This Tuesday, President Donald Trump further fanned the flames of his already contentious relationship with the Federal Reserve, referring to the central bank as his “biggest threat.” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, a Trump appointee, caught the ire of the president. Of...
This Chart Explains Why the US Debt Trajectory Is Unsustainable
by Zero Hedge | Feb 21, 2018 | Economics, Featured Articles
Earlier today we discussed a report by Goldman Sachs which, when summarized, suggested that unless something significant changes in the coming years, the current US fiscal policy will lead to a debt catastrophe. In an unprecedented warning, the bank which spawned...
3 Forces Driving Interest Rates Higher
by Eric Schuler | Feb 12, 2018 | Economics, Featured Articles
In the past two weeks, interest rates have gone up sharply, sparking turmoil in the stock market. To take one example, the rate on 10-year Treasury bonds went from 2.66% on Jan. 26 to close at 2.85% on Feb. 12. The recent moves have brought key interest rates up to...
Why Good News Was Bad News for the Market
by Eric Schuler | Feb 6, 2018 | Economics, Featured Articles
Over the last two trading days (2/2 and 2/5), the Dow Jones Industrial Average has lost more than 1,800 points, or about 7%. Meanwhile, the S&P has lost 173 points, or more than 6%. These sharp downward moves have many people looking for an explanation. No big...
Alan Greenspan, Sellout
by David Gordon | Apr 24, 2017 | Economics, Featured Articles
Sebastian Mallaby is the Paul A. Volcker Senior Fellow for International Economic Relations at the Council on Foreign Relations. One can be sure, then, that his new comprehensive book, The Man Who Knew: The Life and Times of Alan Greenspan, reflects an Establishment...
The Fed Does Nothing
by C. Jay Engel | Feb 2, 2017 | Economics, Featured Articles
2017 is off with a drab whisper as the FOMC, as expected, kept the Fed Funds rate target unchanged at .5-.75%. Further, there was no mention of the alleged three 2017 hikes, which “experts” might consider as to be dovish move. The Press Release was optimistic about...
Blog
Blame Mexico? Blame Neocons! Blame Big Pharma! Blame the USA!
ABC News: If fentanyl is so deadly, why do drug dealers use it to lace illicit drugs? I have an alternative explanation. America has been fighting endless wars almost the entire century. Many have come home from these never-ending wars with injuries and pains. Doctors...
My Testimony Before the Maine State Senate
In support of Ld 1054, Defend the Guard legislation: Thank you all so much for the opportunity to testify before your committee today. Today is the 20th anniversary of the beginning of Iraq War II. The consensus now is that we should not have done it. Iraq was not...
These Iraq War Supporters Are Still in Congress
On March 19, 2003 the United States began its military invasion of Iraq. The Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq passed Congress in October 2002, with 296 congressmen and 77 senators voting in favor of giving President George W. Bush carte blanche...
Laci Green is Wrong: Democratic Competition vs. Free Market Competition
In environments where there's a lot of competition, people tend to lie out their ass and you can apply this to any competitive situation. Take capitalism. As industrialization took full effect, the Federal Government had to interfere because there was so much false...
Empower the Workers: Decriminalize Economic Activity Between Consenting Adults
The most reliable and effective protection for most workers is provided by the existence of many employers. As we have seen, a person who has only one possible employer has little or no protection. The employers who protect a worker are those who would like to hire...
Chris Rock’s New Special Exposes His Political Ignorance
A common claim among Democrats is that, "It's not that people don't want to be educated, they just haven't been given the opportunity, thus government spending on education needs to increase." If there were ever a group of people capable of "educating" themselves it...
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