Thomas DiLorenzo will be teaching Lincoln: The Founding Father of the American Leviathan, starting May 9.

“Robert Morris’s nationalist vision was not confined to a strong central government, the power of the federal government to tax, and a massive pubic debt fastened permanently upon the taxpayers.  Shortly after he assumed total economic power in Congress in the spring of 1781, Morris introduced a bill to create . . . the first central bank . . . the Bank of North America . .. modeled after the Bank of England.”

–Murray Rothbard, A History of Money and Banking in the United States

“The Bank of the United States promptly fulfilled its inflationary potential . . . .  The result of the outpouring of credit and paper money by the new Bank of the United States was . . . an increase [in prices] of 72 percent [from 1791 to 1796)."

--Murray Rothbard, A History of Money and Banking in the United States

The Bank of the United States "ran into grave difficulties through mismanagement, speculation, and fraud."

--James J. Kilpatrick, The Sovereign States

"[Henry Clay's] income from this business [general counsel to the Bank of the United States] apparently amounted to what he needed: three thousand dollars a year from the bank as chief counsel; more for appearing in specific cases; and a sizable amount of real estate in Ohio and Kentucky in addition to the cash . . . . When he resigned to become Secretary of State in 1825, he was pleased with his compensation.”

–Maurice Baxter, Henry Clay and the American System

“I believe my retainer has not been renewed or refreshed as usual.  If it be wished that my relation to the Bank [of the United States] should be continued, it may be well to send me the usual retainer.”

–Letter from Daniel Webster to Nicholas Biddle, president of the Bank of the United States

The Bank of the United States “is a monster, a hydra-headed monster equipped with horns, hoofs, and tail so dangerous that it impaired the morals of our people, corrupted our statesmen, and threatened our liberty.  It bought up members of Congress by the Dozen . . . subverted the electoral process, and sought to destroy our republican institutitons.”

–President Andrew Jackson

“Congress gave [Treasury Secretary] Hank Paulson. . . $700 billion, and the first thing he did was to take $125 billion out of the bag and give it to his pals at the nine biggest banks and investment banks in the country.  Never one to display ingratitude, he gave $10 billion to Goldman Sachs, the firm he had headed before passing through the revolving door to the Treasury.”

–Robert Higgs

If you would like to learn more about the history and economics of American banksterism, consider taking my Thomas DiLorenzo’s Mises Academy online course entitled American Bankster, which will feature Murray Rothbard’s power elite analysis of banksterism in history.  The course begins on the evening of March 14 and runs for five weeks.

George at “Barbarous Relic”, writes:

Joseph Salerno, professor of economics at Pace University and author of Money, Sound and Unsound, recently taught a course in Austrian Macroeconomics at the Mises Academy.  For a $59 registration fee that included all the reading material, anyone with access to the internet could sign up. As with all Academy courses, the lectures were recorded and are made available to students indefinitely.

In his final lecture Salerno presented the Austrian Business Cycle Theory and showed how, during a recession, the policy prescriptions of the Austrians differs from those of the Keynesians.  The chart below summarizes and contrasts the policies.

What follows is my understanding of the chart, and any errors of interpretation are mine alone.  In English, the chart reads as follows:

Fiscal policy, Austrians: Lower Taxes (down-arrow T), reduce government spending (down-arrow G), and balance the budget (Taxes minus government spending equals zero).  Note: Paul Krugman would likely condemn this policy as “fiscal austerity,” and it is – for the government.  But obviously not for the taxpayers.

Fiscal policy, Keynesians: Lower taxes, increase government spending, and run deficits (government should spend more than it collects in taxes).  Note: Lowering taxes in a recession is the one area where Austrians and Keynesians agree, though President Obama, who in other ways follows the Keynesian playbook, has raised taxes.

Monetary policy, Austrians: Freeze the money supply M (delta M equals zero), let the interest rate adjust according to the time preference of market participants.

Monetary policy, Keynesians: Goose the money supply (up-arrow M), annihilate the interest rate (down-arrow i).

Microeconomic policy, Austrians: Repeal all laws keeping the market from clearing, including policies that prevent wages W and prices P from adjusting to supply and demand.

Microeconomic policy, Keynesians: Use the power of government to keep wages and prices from adjusting to market conditions.

Regulatory policy, Austrians: Remove government regulations and allow the market to perform its regulatory function instead.

Regulatory policy, Keynesians: More government regulations, especially in the financial sector.

No one in the seats of power saw the financial crisis coming because, we’re told, financial crises are a lot like “earthquakes and flu pandemics,” difficult to predict.  Not coincidentally, none of those in power are Austrians.  After five years of Keynesian and other anti-market “remedies,” Europe overall is in recession, while U.S. growth in the last quarter of 2012 declined by $4.9 billion even with a $165 billion “stimulus” behind it.  Before the Fed and the government decided to “do something” about a floundering economy, crises lasted on average 18 months to two years.  Although this last one was officially over in 2009 – see Robert Murphy’s take on what this means – unemployment is still high, while optimism among consumers and small business owners remains very low.

I don’t recall reading any restrictions that would’ve prevented central bankers and senior government officials from registering for Salerno’s course.  It’s too bad for them but especially for us, because given their track record we can expect even bigger calamities down the road.  If they found the registration fee too pricy but would otherwise be willing to take the course, I would be glad to empty my piggy bank on their behalf the next time it’s offered.

We need to let the market breathe before the Keynesian maestros put us out of business.

A student writes Joseph Salerno:

AUSTRIAN MACRO COURSE-WELL DONE!

I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed this course! It was my first offering from the LvMI and I look forward to many more. I also liked the title you chose….very clever….it peaked my curiosity!

I feel much better armed to define/defend Austrian concepts as I deal with the statists around me. You have helped to “deprogram” me from some of the undergraduate econ courses I have taken. Thanks again for such a wonderful learning experience. I look forward to future offerings. Well done.

Human Action: Part II with David Gordon, covering Mises’ most profound insights into the nature of society.

American Bankster: Money, Banking, and the Power Elite in US History with Thomas DiLorenzo, covering Rothbard’s groundbreaking analysis of the American oligarchy.

Sign up and get ready to have your mental horizons enjoyably expanded!

• January 3 - Hamilton, Clay, Lincoln: The Curse of Economic Nationalism with Thomas DiLorenzo
• January 8 - Rothbard: A Life Lived for Liberty with David Gordon
• January 9 - Austrian Macroeconomics with Joseph Salerno

“Thank you so much for the seminar today!  It was FULL of great information that will be very helpful for our whole family.”

The Economics of the Great Depression.

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