Monetary Policy

Gold, Freedom, and the Fed

by Jacob G. Hornberger November 25, 2009

The following is a non-verbatim transcript of a speech I delivered on November 23, 2009, at the End the Fed rally in Philadelphia. With the possible exception of the Internal Revenue Service, the federal agency that is the greatest threat to the financial well-being and freedom of the American people is the Federal Reserve. This is the agency that has ...

Do We Really Need a Central Bank?

by Steven Horwitz November 10, 2009

On December 2, 2009, Steve Horwitz gave the following speech at The Future of Freedom Foundation’s “Economic Liberty Lecture Series.” The speech can viewed below in its entirety.

Auditing the Fed (Video from Judge Andrew Napolitano’s Freedom Watch FoxNews.com)

by Jacob G. Hornberger September 1, 2009

09/25/2009 Freedom Watch 37 w/ Dan Ikenson, Jacob Hornberger

Failure Leads to Success in the Public Sector

by Gregory Bresiger July 24, 2009

We are playing out the latest chapter in the crisis and leviathan model in the financial-services business. It is a model in which public-sector failure leads to bigger government. It leads to success for socialists who want the government to expand into every aspect of our economy but dont want to overtly call for nationalization ...

Gold and Freedom, Part 4

by Jacob G. Hornberger July 1, 2009

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 On April 5, 1933 — about a month after taking office — President Franklin Roosevelt issued an executive order commanding every American to turn in his gold to the federal government. The order was soon ratified by Congress, which made it a felony offense for Americans ...

Gold and Freedom, Part 3

by Jacob G. Hornberger June 1, 2009

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt were the two presidents most responsible for the abandonment of sound money in the United States. These two U.S. presidents opened the floodgates to the monetary debauchery under which today’s Americans have suffered for their entire lives. In waging war to prevent ...

Gold and Freedom, Part 2

by Jacob G. Hornberger May 1, 2009

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 The Framers had experienced the ravages of paper money during the Revolutionary War and under the Articles of Confederation, and they were fully aware of how governments had plundered and looted their own citizenry with inflation throughout history. Therefore, the Framers used the Constitution to ensure ...

Gold and Freedom, Part 1

by Jacob G. Hornberger April 1, 2009

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 Among the major threats facing the American people today is out-of-control spending at the hands of the U.S. government. It is a grave danger that people have faced throughout history from their own governments. After all, let’s not forget the oft-repeated claim by U.S. officials about ...

Bipartisan “Stimulus” Nonsense

by Sheldon Richman February 12, 2009

The cynicism and shallowness of politics have been abundantly on display throughout the debate over the “stimulus” bill. The Democrats insult the intelligence of the American people by peddling the following sophistry: Republicans were big spenders when they controlled the government. Republican criticism of Democrats for being big spenders is ...

Don’t “Compromise” on the Bogus Stimulus Bill

by Sheldon Richman February 10, 2009

As the misnamed “stimulus” bill works its way through Congress, we once again see compromise equated with responsibility. The political “leadership” and establishment media seemed to have a vested interest in portraying anyone who refuses to compromise as recklessly unconcerned with the well-being of the country. The problem with this ...

The Founding Father of Economic Statism (video)

by Thomas J. DiLorenzo February 6, 2009

On February 2, 2009, Thomas J. DiLorenzo gave the following speech at the “The Economic Liberty Lecture Series.” The speech can viewed below in its entirety.

What Greenspan Missed

by Sheldon Richman January 1, 2009

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan made headlines around the world with this admission: “hose of us who have looked to the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholders’ equity (myself especially) are in a state of shocked disbelief. Such counterparty surveillance is a central pillar of our financial ...