tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post3132338736457265724..comments2024-03-26T04:19:38.862-07:00Comments on kitchen table math, the sequel: boom and bustCatherine Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03347093496361370174noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-53395524364648282452011-08-21T11:25:22.518-07:002011-08-21T11:25:22.518-07:00Well, I have become a quasi-monetarist. Not that I...Well, I have become a quasi-monetarist. Not that I can define the term.<br /><br />We had a funny moment in Philadelphia. We were seeing the sights, visiting the Museum of the Constitution, etc. Turned out our path took us by the Philadelphia Federal Reserve, which I insisted on entering. No enthusiasm from Ed or C. on this score, though I can't say C. was any more enthusiastic about the Liberty Bell, which we didn't manage to see.<br /><br />I told them my plan was to speak to the manager and ask them to stop targeting inflation and start targeting NGDP.<br /><br />Turned out it was 4:15 and the bank was closed.Catherine Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03347093496361370174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-25542428793179331552011-08-16T15:24:18.283-07:002011-08-16T15:24:18.283-07:00Catherine said:
>A tiny, 200-person economy com...Catherine said:<br />>A tiny, 200-person economy complete with recessions, inflations, and even -- potentially -- a Great Depression, all of its very own.<br /><br />Ah, but Catherine, there is some good news!<br /><br />I got interested in the underlying economic theory of how inflation causes booms and busts forty years ago (I actually plowed through Mises' "Theory of Money and Credit" as a high-school student). I even had an offer to do a post-doc in econ after I got my Ph.D. in physics (which I foolishly declined). Back then, those of us who were interested in such things were a tiny, eccentric remnant.<br /><br />But, in the last couple months I have run into a professional dancer who raised the subject, a homeschooling mom who lives on a farm who discussed the issues involved, etc.<br /><br />It’s taken a century, but the victims are figuring out the scam.<br /><br />The most telling point comes from the end of the essay you link to:<br /><br />>Now, if goodhearted people in an area that offers little scope for chicanery can so bungle economic management, can we really be surprised at the results of turning our economy over to the tender mercies of political experts? Indeed, unlike the co-op, the national economy seems virtually indestructible, not having died yet. <br /><br />I fear the operative word is “yet.” It’s a race between the destructive activities of the fiscal and monetary authorities and the ordinary citizens’ figuring out what they are doing to us.<br /><br />Dave Miller in SacramentoPhysicistDavehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11111405959451703182noreply@blogger.com