Toro
Diamond Member
Something tells me you hate the Gold Standard, and people generally hate what they cannot understand. The gold standard has no relation to any of those things. Although, plenty of these problems exist today in many countries around the world, under a fiat monetary system. All of the above, including hyperinflation, wage devaluation, massive asset bubbles, wealth disparity, zombie banks, stagnant economic growth in many economies around the world, wars, and commodity speculation.
See, I can do it too. It's really not that difficult.
The greatest economic growth and prosperity in America happened under a Gold Standard. The entity which has fared better under a fiat system is the Government. A few emerging economies in Asia have already started the process of reverting their fiat money standard into a Gold Legal Tender from the failed experiments involving a fiat monetary system. I think more countries will do the same. Not because of the failures of their own monetary system, but due to watching the train wreck that is the United States economy.
It's a race to the bottom, and I think the United States is going to win this one.
That's about all you can do under a fiat monetary system. And you've not very good at doing this to be honest.
There isn't any way around them. Period. Booms and bust are a natural part of the business cycle. These cycles are much more difficult to manage when the Government has a role in micro-managing the economy.
How exactly was this any different in any time before or after the Free Banking era. Financial institutions had the same banking life are were subjected to the same amount of failures. Bank runs were no more common or rare before or after this period.
Per capita GDP from after the Civil War to WWI was roughly the same as it was in the 20th century.
That doesn't tell you very much. Only that GDP increased at a relatively stable rate to the increasing size of the population. It doesn't change the fact that prosperity everyone believes was so great before the 1980's happened before the embrace of Fiat Money.
Also, economic volatility has been less under central banks and fiat currency than under the gold standard. Now, one could also argue that's a bad thing since it allows excesses to build.
Volatility is less now than ever before? Do tell...
GDP per capita is what matters because its what measures rising living standards. And there was little difference between the era of the gold standard and today.
Changes in the growth rate of the economy are less today than they were in the past.
And we've essentially had a fiat currency system since WWII, if not beforehand.