New blog Free Banking

Here

The first article I read was by someone named Larry White.

Scroll down to the article where he mentions "those who believe in the rule of law".

Well...

First, I don't believe in the rule of law. I believe in natural law.

Second, there is nothing inherently immoral about money creating, even token money creation.

What is immoral is that we have a society where people are essentially forced to use US currency, hence it becomes fiat currency.

So the question then becomes, is the gold standard a second best alternative to a society with a truly free monetary system?

No, its not a "second best" option. Because a government imposed gold standard leads to economic depressions imposed by the government. I suspect NGDP targeting is the real second best option.

The heart of my disagreements with the Austrians are:
1. How attractive would a 100% gold reserve standard be in a free society? (Not very, in my opinion).
2. Is fractional reserve banking fraud? (In my opinion, no).
3. What is the second best option while we wait on a free society?

Sumner on Fed Inflation

Here he explains the rising gas prices and QE2. He seems convincing. Even if we have a moral problem with the government, can't we describe its actions in an intelligent manner, as Sumner does, rather than a cartoon method, as the Austrians do?

More on Sweden

Good post on quasi-moneterasim. According to the article, Sweden is trying nominal GDP targeting. And its leading to an economic recovery.

Again, let's have an accurage view of the state. We can oppose it without disorting its record.