It was just a century ago — the Panic of 1907 — that set in motion the events that gave us the Federal Reserve System. For many years, Austrian economists have been arguing that not only do we not need this institution, but that it does a lot of damage by its erratic attempts at managing the nation’s money supply.
The Fed played a central role in our current debacle by keeping interest rates artificially low for years and thereby stimulating the very interest-sensitive real estate market.
Establishing the Fed was one of our greatest blunders, but we can’t “turn back the clock” of course.
Or can we? For the first time I can think of, a “respectable” mainstream publication has run a piece advocating a return to gold. Last Saturday’s Wall Street Journal has this pieceby economist Judy Shelton.
Back in the 90s, Bill Clinton called for a “national dialogue on race.” There was never any point to that, but there really would be a point to a national dialogue on our monetary system.
