My essay in today’s American Spectator Online looks at why Ben Bernanke should not be confirmed to a second term as Chairman of the Federal Reserve:
Two planks in Bernanke’s recovery strategy: Expand the money supply like a banana republic dictator and throw sackfuls of cash at failed companies with a proven track record of mismanaging their assets. The justification? According to the late John Maynard Keynes, this is supposed to restore the “animal spirits” of the cowed consumer, the benighted creature who foolishly imagines that after a period of prodigality and mismanagement, maybe a country should rediscover its inner Dave Ramsey.
The full essay is here.
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I prefer Milton Friedman’s take on the Great Depression, Keynes, Gold and the Fed. MV=PT has his license plate said. There is an old video of Friedman on this subject on Youtube.
Cromwell
December 7, 2009
10:59 am
Cromwell, you ought to give Austrian econ a chance. Friedman was just Keynes with a greater respect for money.
Roger McKinney
December 7, 2009
5:40 pm
Cromwell and McKinney:
Friedman in methodology was like Keynes, however, many of his conclusions are the same of the Austrians. Even though Friedman had his take on the Great Depression, much of his writings, like Money Mischief, actually tell a different story than one would expect. His analysis of Money policy of the 1800s and his views on Gold, as a medium of exchange, have some similarities that one would miss if one just knows of his view of the Great Depression.
Cromwell: here are some essays on the Austrian Theory of the Trade cycle. I recommend Rothbard’s, since it is the most readable and most comical.
http://mises.org/tradcycl.asp
And just some readings of Austrian theory in general:
http://mises.org/misesuniv.asp
Rejtan
December 9, 2009
12:21 pm