Welcome

The author of this blog is not an economist nor do I pretend to be. Rather, the inspiration for this blog is derived from two places. The first is from reading several books on the subjects of economic theory, monetary policy, and investment-related topics. These books include "The Road to Serfdom" by Friedrich August von Hayek; "Wealth of Nations" by Adam Smith; "The Creature from Jekyll Island" by G. Edward Griffin; "Crash Proof: How to Profit from the Coming Economic Collapse" by Peter Schiff, as well as numerous politically-themed books such as "The Greening of America," "The Ninth Wave," "The Fifth Estate," and others. The second inspiration is from being a first-hand witness to the gradual deterioration of the state of the US economy. As a consumer, taxpayer, and patriotic citizen, it has become increasingly difficult to observe current and past economic events without attempting to contextualize them.

You may be curious as to the title of the blog. The Austrian School (AS) of economics is described, among other ways, in the following manner on Wikipedia: "Austrians view entrepreneurship as the driving force in economic development, see private property as essential to the efficient use of resources, and usually (if not always) see government interference in market processes as counterproductive." Since becoming familiar with the AS over the last couple of years, I have begun to look at the happenings in our economy through this lens. If you are willing to apply the proper scrutiny to the US economy, you will see that the AS principles are de-emphasized at best, non-existent at worst.

One of the great AS contributors, and a renowned economist of his own right, F.A. Hayek was "known for his defense of classical liberalism and free-market capitalism against socialist and collectivist thought in the mid-20th century." I strongly urge anyone reading this blog to read "The Road to Serfdom," Hayek's seminal work.

A core principle espoused by Hayek is that the expansion of credit, or the money supply, by central banks causes inflation and the "boom-bust" monetary cycle. In the US, our quasi-private central bank known as the Federal Reserve, sets interests rates artificially in response to perceived market conditions, and prints money that is ultimately injected into the monetary system. The process by which it does this will be discussed later in this blog; for now, it is simply important to understand that the inflation that we experience in our economy is caused by this debasement of our currency by its creation out of thin air.

As a counterpoint to the AS and Hayek's views, I encourage the reader to research the Keynesian view of economics, as espoused by its purveyor, John Maynard Keynes. This economic way of thought more closely resembles the current US system. The reader will find that this blog often contrasts the AS and Keynesian schools of thought, through real-world examples and instances in today's economy.

In closing, it is not realistic nor feasible for me to attempt to summarize or describe all of the pertinent details and concepts surrounding the above topics. Rather, the above should serve only as an entree to the overall subject matter, and hopefully encourage the reader to examine these items in greater depth. In providing the above summary, the reader can now view future posts on this site in the proper context.