Many followers of the Austrian school have made a critical error in forecasting the future. For, although Austrian Monetary X-flation plays a part, Austrian Credetary X-flation must be understood as well.
by Jake, the Champion of the Constitution Originally published Tuesday, April 7, 2009 at http://www.nolanchart.com/article6260.html
This article will briefly expand upon the introduction of Austrian monetary inflation and deflation as introduced in Part 2. There we learned that Rothbard defines monetary inflation is defined as any increase in the economy’s supply of fiat paper money. This is the current best definition of Austrian monetary inflation in the modern world of floating fiat currencies. Austrian monetary deflation would likewise be the decrease in an economy’s supply of money.
(Rothbard at far right, Burt Blumert at far left. Mr. Blumert, founding publisher of lewrockwell.com and a champion of monetary freedom, died last week. Here is a tribute to Mr. Blumert from Lew Rockwell (2nd from left.) photo from mises.org)
However, Austrian monetary X-flation is NOT the only effect on the price levels of goods and services. If it were, the mathematical example given in Part 2 would be observed in reality – if one could magically double the money supply overnight, the price levels of all goods and services would double very quickly thereafter.
Quote of the Day: “The economy is so bad the Mafia has started laying off judges.” — anonymous Internet joke
A bill with a nice-sounding title, such as the “Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA),” passes Congress. Later, when its defects come to light, even the law’s victims assume that the bill had “good intentions,” but was “poorly written.” I saw this sentiment expressed often while reading blogs about the CPSIA.
But I think these assumptions about “good intentions” are a little naive. After all, if Congress really had “good intentions” they would have taken the time and care to write a better bill that wouldn’t have deprived poor children of second-hand winter coats. The fact that they didn’t tells me that . . .
Their motive was good publicity, not good intentions.
The more Congress refuses to introduce, consider, or pass the RTBA, the less we can credit them for “good intentions.” We must tell our personal elected representatives that . . . Read More »
Wow, this one is a doozy! A ton of new bills were introduced in Congress on Friday: 188 in total. For those who haven’t read this series of articles from the beginning, there are a few things to keep in mind…
When taking a look at the list below, keep in mind that the U.S. Constitution, which created our Federal Government, clearly enumerated 18 specific functions that it is given. For all other things, the 9th and 10th amendment make it clear that the individual states have the power. Note that it states in the Constitution that it is the Supreme Law of the Land, which can be usurped by no other. This means that all opinions to the contrary made by the Supreme Court are technically invalid. Throughout the past couple of hundred hears the Supreme Court has rule one way or another on some “interpretation” of the Constitution, but in fact no interpretation is necessary, as the intention of the founding fathers are quite clear. For example, if the “general welfare” clause or the “interstate commerce” clause was intended to be used as a catch-all for any arbitrary piece of legislation, then the 10th amendments which reads:
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
would be completely meaningless. So simple logic, in addition to the writings of Madison and other founding fathers, dictates the notion that the Federal Government was set up to have very little power, and that these United States are intended to be a loose federation of sovereign states.
Only due to politician’s greed and overwhelming desire for power does the Constitution get relegated to the trash heap.
So, despite the noble intentions of many of these bills, it doesn’t mean they are legal.
No one is bound to obey an unconstitutional law and no courts are bound to enforce it.
– 16 Am. Jur. Sec. 177 late 2d, Sec 256
Of the bills introduced yesterday, these are ones that are clearly not legitimate functions of the Federal Government [as always, my commentary will appear in red]:
HR1892 – To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 102 North Main Street in Cedarville, Ohio, as the “William ‘Brent” Turner Post Office’.
HR1929 – To establish the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Investigative Commission to investigate the policies and practices engaged in by officers and directors at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac responsible for making the decisions that led to the enterprises’ financial instability and the subsequent Federal conservatorship of such enterprises. [Keep in mind that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been basically nationalized, which is, of course, unconstitutional.]
HR1925 – To designate as wilderness certain Federal portions of the red rock canyons of the Colorado Plateau and the Great Basin Deserts in Utah for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.
HR1924 – To amend the Indian Law Enforcement Reform Act, the Indian Tribal Justice Act, the Indian Tribal Justice Technical and Legal Assistance Act of 2000, and the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to improve the prosecution of, and response to, crimes in Indian country, and for other purposes.
HR1922 – To require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to hold at least 1 public hearing before issuance of a permit affecting public or private land use in a locality.
HR1921 – To establish an Office of Public Advocate within the Department of Justice to provide services and guidance to citizens in dealing with concerns involving the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and for other purposes. [Fantastic! Create another layer of bureaucracy to help people deal with bureaucracy...]
HR1978 – To authorize the Attorney General to make grants to improve the ability of State and local governments to prevent the abduction of children by family members, and for other purposes.
HR1977 – To require the Consumer Product Safety Commission to study drywall imported from China in 2004 through 2007, and for other purposes.
HR332 – Providing that the House of Representatives will focus on removing barriers to a prosperous economy and therefore renew the dream. [Reading the full text of the bill it all sounds nice, but it's really nothing more than platitudes. Nothing will come of this. It's not recommending anything concrete.]
HR1971 – To provide for the elimination of duties on certain comforter shells
HR1970 – To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to exempt unsanctioned State-licensed retail pharmacies from the surety bond requirement under the Medicare Program for suppliers of durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS).
HR1969 – To promote freedom and democracy in Vietnam. [Oh god. Oh god, no! Haven't we gotten ourselves into enough jams with this interventionist crap?]
Quote of the Day: “The economy is so bad even people who have nothing to do with the Obama administration aren’t paying their taxes.” — anonymous Internet joke
On Friday, April, 2 the House and Senate passed separate budget plans. These two budgets differ in detail, but what they share is far more important. Both versions . . .
* Authorize spending on vast new programs
* Make multi-trillion dollar budgets a seemingly permanent condition
* Run multi-trillion dollar deficits far into the future
But, lest we panic, its important to understand that these budgets DO NOT, by themselves, enact any new programs, or spend any new money. They simply set the stage for that to happen. Passage of specific legislation for things like “cap and trade” must follow, and then appropriations bills to fund those new programs. In addition . . .
The budget battle isn’t finished. The House and Senate must still resolve their differences and then vote on the final result. There are many milestones still to pass. At each milestone we can (we must!) exert pressure, and voice our disapproval by withdrawing our consent.
You are not alone in this. Other groups are doing the same thing. Many bad parts of this budget may yet be beaten, especially since the Republicans are united in opposition, and many Democrats are being made nervous by the growing volume of opposition . . .
* All 176 House Republicans and 20 Democrats opposed the budget
* All 41 Senate Republicans and 2 Democrats opposed it
* Change the votes of just 7 Senate Democrats and the budget could still fail
They were forced to take it by the Bush administration through a State-sponsored extortion plan. Read about that here.
This is getting completely ridiculous. We’re all Fascists now.
Someone asked me today, who do you think was the worst President in U.S. history? I told him Woodrow Wilson, but I’m beginning to think the answer to that question is best answered with: The worst U.S. President is ALWAYS the current U.S. President. Each new administration stomps on the Constitution, removes freedoms, and expands on the power of the previous administration. When will this destructive snowball of power stop rolling? For America’s sake, I hope it stops soon.
In a new video message from Ron Paul today he is critical of the reaction to North Korea launching a rocket that has the rest of the world up in arms, but mostly just the U.S.
It’s not shocking that Ron Paul takes a non-interventionist stance on this event as he does consistently when events like these occur. This non-intervention is the area where Ron Paul distinguishes himself from the neo-conservative warmongers. They may agree with him on limited government (although mostly they just pay lip service to it), but they openly chastise him on foreign policy. Of course, Barack Obama is a neo-con Democrat now, or is that redundant?
During the general election I called John McCain, Bush 3.0 (along with many Democrats) . Now Barack Obama is proving to be Bush 3.0 when it comes to foreign policy. This is yet more proof that there is only one party in America. Sure they call themselves Democrats and Republicans, but they argue over technicalities, and only represent the status-quo. There should be a new symbol for the party of the State, a donkey’s head with an elephant’s ass.
This is not your usual Ron Paul video. He seems a bit uncomfortable being the one expected to initiate the questions, but as the discussion moves along he becomes more comfortable (or maybe it’s me that feels uncomfortable with Ron Paul in this role).
There were some fascinating moments. The discussion regarding Thomas Jefferson and how his presidency did not quite match his rhetoric was one of these moments. The discussion of Herbert Hoover and Woodrow Wilson are others. During the discussion we also find out which U.S. President Ron Paul thinks was the worst in history.
The full interview is embedded below. It is almost 60 minutes long. If you have problems with the video below you can watch it directly on youtube. There are some audio/video sync problems in part 5 (FYI).
Instead of answering the question directly the author analyzes the behavior of gold during times of inflation. The conclusion is that gold (at times) goes down during inflationary events:
Zoom out and the big picture gets even more interesting: The March 20, 2009 high in gold is below the February 20 high, which itself was well beneath the March 2008 all-time peak. Since then, the Fed’s campaign to breathe new life into the economy via cash infusions and credit creation has been tireless. (Last estimate: $12.8 trillion.)
In the end, the evidence speaks for itself. Gold has not fulfilled its promise as hedge against “inflation,” or an economic safe-haven. This scenario, while shocking to the bevy of gold bugs who swarmed around the metal at the onset of the Fed’s bailout binge — is no surprise to EWI subscribers.
While the stats given do not lie, I take issue with the general claim that “Gold has not fulfilled its promise as hedge[sic] against inflation or an economic safe-haven“. The author makes the mistake of assuming that “trading” in gold is the same as accumulating gold for wealth preservation. Sure, if the value of gold goes down it is worth less and those who are trying to trade gold for profit are going to be hurt. But those of us accumulating gold will just purchase more.
Why? The simple answer is, because gold always has value. It certainly has fluctuations in value, but it has always had value and it will likely always have value. No one can make that claim about fiat currencies with a straight face.
Once or twice a year I make the mistake of deluding myself into thinking that it would be a good idea to pick up something “cheap” from Walmart. Usually it ends up turning out to be anywhere from simply a poor experience to a full-blown fiasco, usually due to inept employees or incompetent customer service.
Recently, I happened to be in need of a spare propane tank for my outdoor barbecue grill. Someone suggested to me that I could pick up one cheaply at Walmart. So the other day I went in and found a shiny new 15 lb. tank on the shelf for $35 (which I didn’t think was particularly cheap, but that’s not the point of this article).
Then I checked out the prices for propane. It said $17.42 to exchange my empty tank for a new one, or $43.92 to fill my empty tank. I couldn’t find anyone nearby to help me get it filled, and I was in a hurry, so I put it in my cart, wheeled toward the register, paid for the empty tank, and left.
Today, I went back to get it filled, and in talking to a Walmart employee I learned that the $43.92 actually included the cost of the tank, and in fact they will not fill an empty tank I bring in.
So if I exchanged my brand new, empty, tank for a full, used one it would cost me another $17.42 for a total cost of $52.42, which is $8.50 more than if I just buy a full tank out of their stock. So I decided to do that, and simply get a refund for my new, unused tank.
So I stashed the full tank in my car, retrieved the new one that had been rolling around in my trunk for the past couple of days, and headed back to the store. As I approached the store, tank and receipt in hand, I noticed signs on the front door stating “No propane tanks inside store! — Federal Law“. Well common sense, of course, dictates that since my tank had never been used and has no propane inside, the sign does not apply to my case. Besides, there are several more such empty propane tanks, identical to the one I was holding, sitting on the shelf inside the store. In the back of my mind it registered that common sense rarely applies to Walmart employees or Federal law, but I was determined to get my refund.
Yesterday in Congress, sixty-five new bills were introduced. Due to recent controversy, and for those who start reading this series of articles in the middle, I will include the following boilerplate information in every article.
When taking a look at the list below, keep in mind that the U.S. Constitution, which created our Federal Government, clearly enumerated 18 specific functions that it is given. For all other things, the 9th and 10th amendment make it clear that the individual states have the power. Note that it states in the Constitution that it is the Supreme Law of the Land, which can be usurped by no other. This means that all opinions to the contrary made by the Supreme Court are technically invalid. Throughout the past couple of hundred hears the Supreme Court has rule one way or another on some “interpretation” of the Constitution, but in fact no interpretation is necessary, as the intention of the founding fathers are quite clear. For example, if the “general welfare” clause or the “interstate commerce” clause was intended to be used as a catch-all for any arbitrary piece of legislation, then the 10th amendments which reads:
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
would be completely meaningless. So simple logic, in addition to the writings of Madison and other founding fathers, dictates the notion that the Federal Government was set up to have very little power, and that these United States are intended to be a loose federation of sovereign states.
Only due to politician’s greed and overwhelming desire for power does the Constitution get relegated to the trash heap.
So, despite the noble intentions of many of these bills, it doesn’t mean they are legal.
Of the bills introduced yesterday, these are ones that are clearly not legitimate functions of the Federal Government:
S-759 – A bill to amend the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century to reauthorize a provision relating to additional contract authority for States with Indian reservations.
S-760 – A bill to designate the Liberty Memorial at the National World War I Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, as the “National World War I Memorial”.
S-761 – A bill to establish the World War I Centennial Commission to ensure a suitable observance of the centennial of World War I, and for other purposes.
S-762 – A bill to promote fire safe communities and for other purposes.
S-763 – A bill to amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, to authorize temporary mortgage and rental payments.
S-764 – A bill to amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, to increase the maximum amount of assistance to individuals and households.
S-769 – A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to improve access to, and increase utilization of, bone mass measurement benefits under the Medicare part B program.
Liberty Maven
This article will briefly expand upon the introduction of Austrian monetary inflation and deflation as introduced in Part 2. There we learned that Rothbard defines monetary inflation is defined as any increase in the economy’s supply of fiat paper money. This is the current best definition of Austrian monetary inflation in the modern world of floating fiat currencies. Austrian monetary deflation would likewise be the decrease in an economy’s supply of money.
“. They discussed the book and the general topic of Presidential (Executive Branch) power.
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