Random
Welcome, Rutgers and Maryland, to Big Ten country. I long thought West Virginia and Iowa State would make good fits, but I guess this works fine, too. * * * * * * * Get 'em while they're hot: Obama nativity kits. * * * * * * * The jovial Dylan Grice had some more scary things to say lately. He (rightly) fears that monetary debasement (a/k/a QE57, money printing, inflation, etc.) could create great disorder. Excerpt:
Can you give us an example?
In medieval Europe, for example, the seventeenth century currency debasements coincided with the peak in witch trials. During the French (and Russian revolutions), rapidly debased currency coincided with the revolution's transition from a representative movement to one which becomes bloody and self-consuming. The hyperinflations in Central Europe after the World War-I saw societies turning viciously on their Jewish communities.
What sort of great disorder do you expect to play out in the days and years to come?
Although what we've seen in the last few decades has been an unprecedented credit inflation, which is a different type of currency debasement to the monetisations of the past or quantitative easing of today, today's problems have the hallmarks of past inflations. So we see Cantillon redistributions in the very sudden increase in wealth inequality which has favoured those closest to the money creation (the financial sector and anyone with access to cheap credit). Everyone else has suffered. Median US household incomes have stagnated during the past 20 years while there is a record number of US households on foodstamps.
The holiday hustle and bustle kicked off early at the Scheske household this week, so that's it for today. Expect irregular fare the rest of the week, but a decent special edition BYCU tomorrow.
