Republican policy has always been high tariffs, keeping foreign goods out. But, then the US would lend those countries money to be able to pay for our higher-priced exports. This peculiar foreign-lending scheme included farm goods. Until 1928 there was an enormous foreign lending boom. The stock market collapsed in October 1929.
The claim that the innovative capacity of modern capitalistic societies sows the seed of general crises can be refuted, for such cyclical patterns only unfold if new innovations are financed by an expansion of fiduciary money instead of by voluntary savings.
So, some Americans are unloading their family treasures and cheering for bailouts, money printing, and gun control, while others are stocking up on precious metals, guns, and ammo to protect themselves and their wealth.
There is no question which group is the civilized one.
Although John Cassidy didn't realize it, his analysis underscored the role that government policies played in the recent financial disaster.
To avoid runaway inflation we must have the resolve and the will to cease the inflationary expansion of credit, and to force the Federal Reserve System to stop purchasing assets, and thereby to stop its continued generation of chronic, accelerating inflation.
"Only savings can allow for sustainable economic growth."
In real life, Keynesianism doesn't work; the government bails out the bankers and then depressions last a long time.
As the gifts from these businesses pour in, think of it as a sign that this recession has not been nearly deep enough or gone on nearly long enough.
In the case of the current housing meltdown, the Austrian case is definitely right.
