bookshelves: economics, government, libertarian, non-fiction, politics, public-policy
Ron Paul's "End the Fed" is the clarion call for Americans to awake and realize how the federal government is destroying wealth and future prosperity through the inflationary policies of the Federal Reserve System.
Paul explains the history of America's central bank, how it was created to serve a select few in the banking sector, and how its power has constantly expanded to meddle with and manipulate the value of the dollar. Paul reveals that the Fed's monetary policy of simply printing money is an insidious tax on Americans that funds wars and bailouts and stimulus boondoggles.
Paul also bases his argument to abolish the Federal Reserve on three cases: the philosophical case (inflation is morally wrong because artificially devaluing the dollar is the same as theft), the constitutional case (the only legal tender was to be based on gold and silver - Article I, Section 10), and the economic case (central planning a la Fed leads to malinvestment, crushing consumer debt, and many other ills).
Reading this book has convinced me that ending the Fed is a no-brainer. We don't need a lender of last resort for foolish banks that deserve to go bankrupt. We don't need a central bank that prints as much money as it wants, with practically no accountability. We don't need to have our hard-earned money, and with it our purchasing power, lose value. We don't need the Fed. ]]>
bookshelves: economics, government, libertarian, non-fiction, public-policy
If you want to wrap your mind around the recession, financial crisis, housing bubble and taxpayer bailout of financial and insurance firms, you need to read "Meltdown A Free-Market Look at Why the Stock Market Collapsed, the Economy Tanked, and the Government Bailout Will Make Things Worse". Thomas E. Woods Jr. explains how a combination of central economic planning, perverse incentives, interest rate manipulations and other government tactics are the root cause of this economic mess we're in.
And to clear up any misconceptions, the crisis wasn't caused by a failed "free market" in need of more oversight and regulation. For starters, the Federal Reserve's manipulation of interest rates and its ability to create of money out of thin air, along with the countless laws and alphabet soup of regulatory agencies, the market is far from free. The Fed, especially, sent all the wrong signals to investors, speculators, and potential homebuyers with an artificially low interest rate for much of the 2000s. And the answer to failed regulators who were supposed to have averted the housing bubble, ponzi schemes, and wild speculation about all kinds of financial instruments is NOT more regulators.
A part of the book I particularly enjoyed was the way Woods debunked myths about the Great Depression. Woods explains just how Hoover's and FDR's massive government works projects did more to prolong the Depression than restore the economy to sound footing. Woods also draws interesting parallels to how the Obama administration is repeating history, and the outlook isn't too bright.
Chapter 6 focuses on money and how the Fed has devalued the dollar by inflating the supply of money (without anything to back its creation). Because of inflation, Americans have no incentive to save because over the years, their currency erodes in value. Woods also makes repeated reference to the Austrian School, an economic philosophy devoted to liberty, sound money, and limited government developed in large part by Ludwig von Mises and Nobel laureate F. A. Hayek. (Two great websites where you can learn more about the Austrian School are The Mises Institute and the Foundation for Economic Education.)
Not only does Woods reveal the sources of the crisis, but he also offers solutions for the future. He says letting foolish companies go bankrupt is a good thing. The assets they mismanaged can be liquidated and better managed my wiser companies. Another solution is to get rid of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two government-sponsored entities that have way too much power to meddle in the real estate market. The bailouts need to end. Where's the incentive to act prudently if you know the government is going to step in when you screw up? If I were a corporate executive, I'd make my company as big as I could, hoping I'd be "too big to fail". That way, I can pocket all the profits during a boom, and I can rely on the taxpayer to bail me out during the bust. The Fed's power to manipulate money must be abolished, and legal tender laws must be reformed to allow Americans an alternative to the ever-decreasing dollar.
The book, my friends, is a great, great read, and I plan on visiting it again and again to remind myself how we got where we are now and what we must do to avoid a similar crisis in the future. ]]>
bookshelves: fiction, humor
If only I had Jeff Kinney's artistic skills, my own journal would look a lot more like Diary of a Wimpy Kid. This book reminds me a bit of Calvin & Hobbes, only without the tiger much less philosophical.
No doubt the misadventures of Greg Heffley will induce smiles and chuckles as he deals with bullies, strange classmates, a lame older brother, a useless younger brother, and a world that simply doesn't appreciate him. ]]>
bookshelves: government, history, military, public-policy
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"had no idea Americans couldn't own gold (except coins) from 1933 to 1975. Government isn't the answer, folks. #endthefed"
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bookshelves: biography, history, non-fiction
If you've ever wondered where al-Qaeda and groups like it get their twisted, pathetic ideology, "The Looming Tower" has some answers for you.
Starting in the '40s with Sayyid Qutb, an Egyptian who visited America and condemned the nation for its individualism, secularism, and women's rights, among other things, militant Islam started as a movement to overthrow the Egyptian government to establish an Islamic state there by violent means.
Through the years, others, like Ayman Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden, latched on to the idea of an Islamic state, a return to the caliphate. For bin Laden, America was the biggest obstacle to achieving his goal, and he lost no sleep killing anyone who got in the way.
Okay, with that little summary, let me tell you this book is an illumination. Lawrence Wright explains what drives al-Qaeda, how they planned the bombings of the embassies in Africa, the bombing of the USS Cole, and a brief time line of the planning that went into the 9/11 attacks.
Wright singles out the CIA, and justifiably so, for the IDIOTIC refusal to share intelligence with other agencies, especially the FBI. The catastrophe on that Tuesday in September, 2001, could have been prevented absolutely had the FBI received the intel it needed to monitor, detain, and prosecute al-Qaeda members in the United States. Wright makes this point very clear, and his research seems unimpeachable.
The book makes clear that the Islamic enemies of liberty will not rest until everything we freedom lovers hold dear is utterly destroyed.
What a wake up call for me. I feel more aware than ever of the need to combat this cult of death and destruction that militant Islam represents.
You, yes you, should read this book to understand what we're up against. ]]>
bookshelves: fiction, legal, thriller
Grisham, for me, has been a pretty consistent legal novelist, but he misses the mark with "The Associate", a story about a "brilliant" Yale law student who's blackmailed into conducting legal/corporate espionage.
What I liked: The high-stakes legal world of firms that bill in the millions. The social dynamic was fascinating, as were descriptions of how freshly-minted lawyers are treated like indentured servants, slaving away to justify their salaries. The scumbag blackmail artists who were hired to single out the protagonist (gosh, I should really look up his name, but I'm too lazy. Okay, I'll do it...hold on...his name's Kyle.)
What I didn't like: Kyle just didn't do it for me. Grisham paints him as brilliant, but I wasn't wowed by anything the kid said or did. Also, I begrudge Grisham for a flat ending, even though the resolution of the story was the most likely chain of events. Let the bad guys get their comeuppance once in a while! ]]>
bookshelves: fiction, history
After polishing off The Time Traveler's Wife, I had The Little Book recommended to me since it was also a story of relationships and time travel.
This time, though, our hero, Wheeler Burden, gets to stay in one place: turn-of-the-century Vienna. I'll leave you to discover the circumstances behind his arrival, but what I can tell you is he gets to meet, along with Sigmund Freud and Mark Twain, a father he never knew and a grandfather he wished he never met. The characters are well-constructed, and the story weaves them together in a rich, swirly, surprising way.
Who knew Vienna in 1897 had such a concentration of thinkers, artists and scientists? Selden Edwards does a masterful job of placing historical gems throughout the story: notes about how the city was built, its history of repelling Turkish invaders, political intrigue, rising anti-Semitism, the flourishing of philosophy, music, psychology. I'm anxious to walk the Ringstrasse someday. I admit to geeking out a bit when it comes to history, which is one of the reasons I loved The Historian so much.
Edwards has a semi-anachronistic writing style that made understanding his characters a bit of a challenge, but so rewarding in the end. Maybe that's what happens when you take 30 years to finish your novel. It was refreshing, actually, after reading The Lost Symbol. No offense, Dan Brown. ]]>