Ben Bernanke is an Ignoramus

We trust this guy with controlling our money?

Faulty Depression History

Every time I see an investment product, like a stock or mutual fund, they always list the past earnings (always positive, of course) as a selling point. But if you notice, they are always sure to put in: "past performance does not guarantee future results." This is good advice, however. The economy consists of millions, billions even, of autonomous actors making their own decisions in an ever-changing environment. It would be foolish to look exclusively to the past to see into the future.

That is why I hate when people like Christina Romer, chairwoman of Barack Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, point to empirical evidence from the Great Depression to justify the policy of today as if it will have the same effects. But what I hate even more is when the empirical evidence doesn't even support the claim. Romer thinks it was a reduction in deficit spending that caused "the depression within the Depression" of 1937. Luckily we have Mises.org, where a great man like Robert Murphy can post an analysis of this claim. Click the link to find out why Romer's Keynesian fallacy is wrong. Hint: the empirical evidence is ambiguous and contradictory.

The Rise and Fall of Society

I just finished reading Frank Chodorov's book The Rise and Fall of Society. I have nothing but praise for this wonderful book. I recommend it to all interested in libertarian theories of the State, both new and experienced.

Chodorov had a way with language. His eloquent style makes the most mundane and convoluted topics almost elementary. The book is short - only 168 pages - but that fact masks its breadth. His clear writing combined with great fluidity allow him to fit everything into so few pages.

For Chodorov, government is created to ensure the security of a community. Production and commerce bring prosperity, and that right is protected by government. But government ceases to be a protective force when it pushes programs and reforms in the name of "society" and "justice." Chodorov reminds us, however, that society is made of individuals. The predatory State degenerates society and takes power away from the people.

Written in 1959, The Rise and Fall of Society is a classic that is just as important today as it was when it first arrived almost 50 years ago. Buy your copy today at the Mises Institute Store. I promise you won't be disappointed.