After the Federal Reserve raised interest rates another 25 basis points, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell assured everybody that the collapse of SVB and Signature Bank “are not weaknesses that are at all broadly through the banking system.” That raises a question: if that’s true, why did the Fed bail out the entire banking system?
The fact is Powell’s spin isn’t true. Furthermore, the breakdown in the banking system is a sign of a much bigger problem, as Ron Paul points out.
During testimony on Capitol Hill, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank may have to raise interest rates higher than previously expected to bring down price inflation.
Despite the speed of Fed hiking and the enormous amount of debt in the US economy, most people in the mainstream seem convinced the central bank can keep hiking rates without breaking the economy.
Economist Thorsten Polleit disagrees.
While price inflation has eased modestly from its peak, Americans are still dealing with rapidly increasing prices, and that is squeezing their pocketbooks. And of course, the pain falls disproportionately on the working poor and people living on fixed incomes.
As Ron Paul explains, rising prices and a more aggressive IRS mean servers in the restaurant industry are getting hit with a double whammy.
Any suggestion of returning the monetary system to a gold standard is immediately met with howls of protest. “It’s impossible!” were told.
But Bettina Bien Greaves who was a translator, editor, and bibliographer for economist Ludwig von Mises’ works argues that there is no practical reason we couldn’t return to a gold standard. The objections are almost all ideological. “If this basic obstacle could be overcome, however, a return to gold money would become a realistic possibility,” she wrote.
Virtually everybody agrees that government spending is necessary to support the economy and society in general. We may debate vigorously about what exactly the government should spend money on, but few people will entertain the thought that maybe the government shouldn’t spend money at all. Most fail to even acknowledge that even the best government spending comes with a cost.
The fake debt ceiling fight is on and the Biden administration has ratcheted up the scare tactics. One of its strategies is to make you think the world will collapse if the US defaults on its debt obligations. After all, the US always pays its bills on time — so we’re told.
A default would certainly be problematic. But despite what you’re being told, it’s not unprecedented. The US government has defaulted before.
Most people believe the Federal Reserve stabilizes the economy and our money. In reality, the central bank incentivized debt and destroys wealth. Is there a way to sidestep the destructive forces of central banking and fiat money?
T.W. Thiltgen believes there is a freedom train we can escape on — gold.
There is a relentless push to raise the minimum wage, both at the state and national levels.
Minimum wage advocates somehow think that their wishful thinking can override basic economics. But no matter how much they tell you otherwise, supply and demand are a thing. Raising the cost of labor will mean less labor employed, all other things being equal.
But every so often, we get an economic study that claims basic economics has been overturned.
Fight!
The kids are throwing punches in the halls of Congress and there doesn’t seem to be a responsible adult willing to step in to stop it.
We’re talking about the debt ceiling fight that kicked off last week when the US government bumped up against its statutory borrowing limit.
We talk a lot about the Federal Reserve. Its policies have a significant impact on the economy and it moves markets week after week. For instance, over the last year or so, the Fed’s “inflation fight” has created headwinds for gold and silver.
But what exactly is the Federal Reserve?
