Government’s Response to the Crisis: A Fantastic Success, for Government
Recorded at the Ludwig von Mises Institute; Auburn, Alabama; 9 October 2010.
Recorded at the Ludwig von Mises Institute; Auburn, Alabama; 9 October 2010.
Recorded at the Ludwig von Mises Institute; Auburn, Alabama; 8 October 2010.
Recorded at the Ludwig von Mises Institute; Auburn, Alabama; 8 October 2010.
Recorded at the Ludwig von Mises Institute; Auburn, Alabama; 8 October 2010.
Recorded at the Ludwig von Mises Institute; Auburn, Alabama; 8 October 2010.
Austrians get a bum rap for their prescription for recession. The readjustment process is not cruel; it is about permitting production to align more closely with consumer preferences. Recovery, like growth and development, requires forward-looking planning.
It is not the system of private enterprise and free markets that is responsible. It is the suspension of that system. It is not capitalism but interventionism and monetary uncertainty that are responsible for the persistence of the slump.
Some people are saying that all we need is optimism, as if our attitudes alone cause and fix the business cycle, and as if the real world doesn't matter at all. Actually, the "bad attitudes" of consumers and producers are the real fix: they lead to deleveraging and saving.
Shostak suggests that the NBER's definition does not provide an explanation of what a recession is all about. Instead it describes the various manifestations of a recession. And this is precisely what is wrong with it.