A Wealth Tax Consumes Capital
byIt seems one cannot make a name for one’s self on the Left, unless one has a proposal to tax wealth. Academics like Tomas…
How the GDP framework creates the illusion that by means of money pumping the central bank can grow an economy
byIn response to a weakening in the yearly growth rate of key economic indicators such as industrial production and real gross domestic product…
The Disaster of Negative Interest Policy
byThose who had hoped that things could not get worse with the monetary policy of the European Central Bank (ECB) have been proven wrong….
Do banks require savings to accommodate demand for lending?
byThere is an emerging view held by many commentators that it is banks and not the central bank that are key for the expansion…
The Ghost of Failed Banks Returns
byLast week’s failure in the US repo market might have had something to do with Deutsche Bank’s disposal of its prime brokerage to BNP,…
Price Controls Attack the Freedom of Speech
byWe increasingly live in a new “dark age” of economic ignorance, and even stupidity. Few things exemplify this trend as much as the call for price…
How fractional reserve banking contributes to increases in money supply
bySome commentators consider fractional reserve banking as a major vehicle for the expansion in the money supply growth rate. What is the nature…
How Is Negative Interest Possible?
byGermany has recently joined Switzerland in the dubious All Negative Club. The interest rate on every government bond, from short to 30 years, is…
Can boom-bust cycles emerge in a free market economy where gold is money?
byFollowing the Austrian Business Cycle Theory (ABCT), the boom-bust cycle emerges in response to a deviation in the market interest rate from the…