september 01, 2013

End the Fed!

That’s the title of a book I would recommend people to read. The author of the book is the great politician Ron Paul. For those who are not familiar with Ron Paul it is worth mentioning that he is a former US presidential candidate, long-time congressman and, in a previous life, a medical doctor (obstetrician). But most of all he is an outspoken proponent of a sound gold-backed currency. It is against this backdrop that his 2009-book “End the Fed” should be read.

I am probably biased by my hard-wired views on fiat money in general but still, I think this is a good book. It is very one-sided though and it should be read as a plea made by a party. As such, Ron is certainly not mincing his words when it comes to the evils of the Fed. The following quote from the book is representative for its style and it summarizes Ron’s arguments for why the Fed should be abolished immediately: “The Federal Reserve should be abolished because it is immoral, unconstitutional, impractical, promotes bad economics, and undermines liberty. Its destructive nature makes it a tool of tyrannical government.” [Ord och inga visor!]

I am happy that Ron raises this issue though. I am no expert on monetary economics and central banking but I do find the complete absence of critical voices against the central banks of today very curious. Neither politicians, journalists nor (main-stream) investors seem to care much about the problems of having a state-run entity with a license to print as much money as it sees fit. Of course, for the libertarians out there this is nothing new, though. Not surprisingly, great minds such as F.A. Hayek were highly critical about central banks: “I doubt whether it has ever done any good except to the rulers and their favorites” and “money is certainly too dangerous an instrument to leave to the fortuitous expediency of politicians.”

Anyway, for anyone who worries about the merits of fractional reserves banking and inflation in general this book is probably best avoided. Reading it would simply take your worries to a new and much more uncomfortable level.....