Presented by Walter Block at "The Great Depression: What We Can Learn From It Today," the Mises Circle in Colorado; sponsored by Limited Government Forum of Colorado Springs and hosted by the Ludwig von Mises Institute. Recorded Saturday, 4 April 2009.
80 Years Later: Parallels Between 1929 and 2009 | Walter Block
Posted by admin on July 10th, 2010
Posted in Depression Videos 
Block is one well-informed guy. Impressed.
the MEDIA depression
@ftorresgamez well spoken and along the same lines, private interests focus on providing the most people with the most goods at the right price to maximize profit. It's not like the owners of companies are hording all the goods, money and are holding their workers at gun point....
YEAH ! JA CALL ME ?
lol......cretin
I hearby propose that AntiDallard be the only one to live under a totalitarian fascistic state, so as to protect us from the ravages of unbridled Anti Dallards (which should be Pro-Dullards).
I'm an anarchist, but keep being unbelievably uneducated. It's good amusement for the rest of us.
FUCK OFF. ya right wing fuck.
Are you willfully ignorant or just plainly so?
How about the dark depression
Fannie, Freddie, the CRA and the Fed pumping out fiat money at almost zero cost and governments running record deficits were unregulated and unrestrained free market economics eh?
I think not
it was unrestrained , unregulated, free mkt free for all economics, that imploded. we need a big state to prtect us from the ravages of unbridled capitalism
Also, in regard to the interest rate, it is not a reflection of the supply and demand of money in today's world. Rather, it is a tool used by a central bank in order to expand credit more or pull it back a bit. Since 1913, the dollar has lost over 95% of its purchasing power, so it is clear that the banks have been expanding credit consistently. While that is great for banks and govs, it isn't good for the people. Because, they are constantly battling a depreciating dollar.
Every downturn is characterized by a contraction of credit. This is impossible without credit having been expanded in the first place. You cannot expand credit in this way without FR banking. In a free market, borrowers would borrow from savers, and the interest would reflect the supply and demand of money. In FR banking, there doesn't need to be savings in the same terms. Banks can lend as long as they keep 5-10% in reserve. This is where credit expands (past the pool of savings).
That is not unlike the New England banks in the early 19th century in the run up to the crisis of 1819. Sure, FR banking can be done without significant problems. But, the tendency of the bankers is to expand more and more credit, and it is this that has caused every downturn in our history. By its very function, FR banking is a fraudulent system due to the fact that they money isn't there. FDIC only compounds the problem by removing some of the risk thus allowing the banks to inflate more.
This post and all comments were very educational, thank you.
Ah, but you see my point at least.
Not entirely true, look at the Scottish banks in the earl 19th century and the Bank of Holland. They had to be destroyed from the inside because of their success, and they had a FR-system.
P.S. Just look at George Selgin's work if you want proof.
No it is not, Sir. People were historically and are presently, I would expect, able to ask for their money to be held in 100% reserves, with no interest. Most did not, and the precedent in free banking under customary law was to hold loose deposits without specific instructions fractionally. Insults are inferior to evidence in a discussion.
You idiot... people don't freely choose that option it's the only option!!! Do you have a brain...try using it
I'm pretty sure that as long as the monetary base (in the case of gold, that is a fixed-quantity species standard) doesn't expand, the money supply won't, at least in the long term.
Um, we wouldn't have inflation if it weren't for the fractional-reserve banking system. If we had 100% reserve and had our money backed by a relatively stable commodity such as gold, you would see prices continually decreasing as the market becomes more efficient over time (production, service, etc).
Sounds like a Michael Scott impression.
Call it the "Grrrrreat!" depression. A little something from Tony the tiger.
Hästarna kostar mindre i Colorado Springs.