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Criticism of fractional reserve banking

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'''Criticisms of [[fractional reserve banking]]''' and [[central bank|central banking]] have been put forward from a variety of perspectives, although the most vigorous and sustained criticism now comes from libertarians and anarcho-capitalists such as economists [[Jesús Huerta de Soto]] and [[Jörg Guido Hülsmann]], American politician [[Ron Paul]], and commentators such as historian Thomas Woods, Jim Grant of ''Grant's Interest Rate Observer'' and former US Budget Director David Stockman.<ref>[http://blog.mises.org/16521/fantastic-speech-by-de-soto/ Jesús Huerta de Soto Speech]</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5174/Life-with-the-Fed-Sunshine-and-Lollipops Life with the Fed], Thomas Woods</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5146/Over-to-You-H-Parker-Willis Over to you H Parker Willis], Jim Grant</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VcN_Z6L0jM&feature=player_embedded#at=609 James Grant Interview with James Turk]</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5113/The-End-of-Sound-Money-and-the-Triumph-of-Crony-Capitalism The End of Sound Money and the Triumph of Crony Capitalism], David Stockman, Henry Hazlitt Memorial Lecture, Austrian Scholar's Conference</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig11/stockman6.1.1.html Crony Capitalism Strikes Again], David Stockman</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/imperative-sound-money.html The Social Imperative of Sound Money], Lew Rocwell</ref> Most in the mainstream (both on the left and right) remain silent on the issue of fractional reserve banking and central banking,<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/lewrockwell-show/2008/10/31/58-americas-slow-motion-fascist-coup/ Naomi Wolf Interview with Lew Rockwell], Lew Rockwell: "I've frankly never understood why people on the Left are ''not'' upset about the Federal Reserve. If you look back to the history..." Wolf: "We probably don't understand it!" Lew Rockwell:"...but you know the founding of the Fed before the law was, you know, with bipartisan support signed in 1913, the Federal Reserve Act was drafted at J.P. Morgan's private club - it's sounds like a conspiracy story, but I guess it sort of is - on Jekyll Island Georgia...Big bankers wrote the Federal Reserve Act for their benefit!"</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/imperative-sound-money.html The Social Imperative of Sound Money], Lew Rockwell: "I find it sickening that there are so few voices outside the Austrian School that will stand up to this policy [of fiat money, fractional reserve banking and central banking]."</ref> although past critics have included mainstream economists such as Irving Fisher,<ref>''100% Money'', Irving Fisher</ref> and [[Milton Friedman]].<ref>Friedman, M., A Program for Monetary Stability, New York, Fordham University Press, 1960, pp. 65</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/3108 The Social Imperative of Sound Money], Lew Rockwell: "I find it sickening that there are so few voices outside the [[Austrian School]] that will stand up to this policy (of [[fiat money]]/[[fractional reserve banking]]/[[central bank]]ing)".</ref> Within the economics profession, most criticisms are from the [[Austrian School]].<ref>[http://mises.org/media/4014 The Economics of Legal Tender Laws], [[Jorg Guido Hulsmann]] (includes detailed commentary on [[fractional reserve banking|FRB]])</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Money-Bank-Credit-and-Economic-Cycles-P290C0.aspx Money, Bank Credit and Economic Cycles], Jesus Huerta de Soto, Mises Institute ISBN: 978-1-933550-39-8</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Meltdown-P557.aspx ''Meltdown''], Tom Woods, Regnery Press ISBN: 9781596985872</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25212.html The Faults of FRB], Thorsten Polleit</ref> There are also critics from outside the economics profession who advocate [[monetary reform]].<ref>[http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2010/12/matt-stoller-end-this-fed.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29 End This Fed], Matt Stoller</ref><ref>For an example of the writings of these groups, see [http://www.bilderberg.org/monref.htm this] contribution from Bilderberg.org</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMngK0t5WkY Max Keiser]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28533.html The Global Debt Crisis], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref>

==Terminology==

Critics of fractional reserve banking and the related fiat paper monetary system may refer to it by the term '''debt-based monetary system''',<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4631 Is Our Money Based On Debt?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref name="speech">For an example of the public use of the term, see the [http://www.prosperityuk.com/prosperity/articles/earl.html speech] of the Earl of Caithness in the House of Lords on 5 March 1997</ref> or '''credit-based monetary system'''.<ref>For example of the public use of the term, see this speech given by [[Zhou Xiaochuan]], [http://www.bis.org/review/r090402c.pdf Reform the monetary system], 23 March 2009 (BIS), and this article, [http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/02/steve-keen-roving-cavaliers-of-credit.html ''Roving Cavaliers of Credit''] by Steve Keen (with commentary by Yves Smith)</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/09/myths-about-whats-economically.html Myths], MISH</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/07/are-we-trending-towards-deflation-or-in.html Deflation], MISH</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2008/04/deflation-in-fiat-regime.html Deflation In A Fiat Regime?], MISH</ref> They may also refer to money created in parallel with debt as '''debt money''' or '''endongenous money''', reflecting the fact that virtually all new money is currently created by people or businesses or governments further indebting themselves to banks.<ref name="death"/><ref>[http://www.debunkingeconomics.com/Papers/Money/KeenModellingEndogenousMoneyICAPE.pdf Endogenous Money], Steve Keen</ref> This monetary system is called "endogenous" because the money supply is flexible, expanding in parallel with the demand for debt and stalling or contracting when demand for debt declines.<ref>[http://www.debunkingeconomics.com/Papers/Money/KeenModellingEndogenousMoneyICAPE.pdf Endogenous Money], Steve Keen</ref> Some consider this a perverse and dysfunctional way of introducing new money into the economy.<ref name="death"/>

The term, "debt-based monetary system," and related terms such as "debt money" are not used by conventional economists. Mainstream economists often refer to "debt money" by its antonym "credit" and distinguish between types of money only ''after'' the money is created. The very definition of "money" and the distinction between "debt" and "money" (and their respective economic effects) are still sources of vigorous ongoing debate.<ref>[http://lewrockwell.com/wile/wile25.1.html Daily Bell Interview: Dr. Joseph Salerno]</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5052/Deflation-Confusion-Money-Is-Not-Credit Money Is Not Credit], Robert Blumen</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/02/fiat-world-mathematical-model.html Fiat World], MISH</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/09/myths-about-whats-economically.html What's Economically Important], MISH</ref> Mainstream economists rarely if ever discuss the origins of modern money and generally do not actively discuss or comment on the fact that virtually all money is now created through individuals, or businesses, or governments going into debt to government-sponsored commercial banks.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/3108 The Social Imperative of Sound Money], Lew Rockwell</ref><ref>For an example of the mainstream use of the term "credit" instead of "debt-money" see [http://www.ft.com/cms/s/bdfa429e-17a2-11dd-b98a-0000779fd2ac,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2Fbdfa429e-17a2-11dd-b98a-0000779fd2ac.html&_i_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fhome%2Fasia this] example from the Financial Times, 1 May 2008</ref> Discussion around the nature of "debt-based" money and the arguments over its effects on the economy are notably absent from most established mainstream academic economic publications<ref>Paul Krugman, writing at [http://www.slate.com/id/9593 Slate.com], stated that the Austrian theory of business cycles was "about as worthy of serious study as the phlogiston theory of fire".</ref> and most mainstream economists instead argue that the origin of different kinds of money (and the volume of their issuance) does not really matter, at least in the long run.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/wenzel/wenzel87.1.html Senior Fed Economist Calls Ron Paul a Pinhead]</ref> This mainstream idea is referred to as the theory of "money neutrality".<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/wenzel/wenzel87.1.html Senior Fed Economist Calls Ron Paul a Pinhead]</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5172/Is-Inflation-Harmless-or-Even-Good Is Inflation Harmless or Even Good?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://libertarianpapers.org/articles/2011/lp-3-14.pdf Free Banking and the Structure of Production], Dan Mahoney</ref> Some commentators have speculated that the unusual "silence" around the topics of fractional reserve banking and central banking and the staunch refusal to consider alternative theories of money can be attributed to the simple fact that many economists are on the payroll of the major commerical or central banks of the world and are unprincipled or, at worst, corrupt.<ref>[http://www.safehaven.com/article/15068/economists-opposing-fed-audit-are-on-fed-payroll Economists on Fed Payroll], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/07/priceless-how-the-federal_n_278805.html Priceless], Ryan Grim, Huffington Post</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26581.html Ten Reasons The Banksters Got Away With It], Danny Schechter</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxtCn2GyqKc&feature=related Corruption in Academic Economics], Charles Ferguson</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27805.html Currency Dead End Paradox], Jim Willie CB</ref>

== Typical criticisms ==

Norm Franz states in his ''Money and Wealth in the New Millennium'':<ref>[http://www.amazon.com/Money-Wealth-Millennium-Norm-Franz/dp/0971086303 ''Money and Wealth in the New Millennium''], Norm Franz</ref>

{{quote|Gold is the money of kings, silver is the money of gentlemen, barter is the money of peasants – but debt is the money of slaves.}}

12th century Chinese scholar Hu Zhiyu stated:<ref>Ralph T. Foster, ''Fiat Paper Money, The History and Evolution of Our Currency'', page 19</ref>

{{quote|Paper money, the child, is dependent on precious metals, the mother. [Inconvertible paper notes are therefore] orphans who lost their mother in childbirth.}}

Robert H. Hemphill, credit manager of the Federal Reserve in Atlanta, stated in 1939:<ref>Preface to ''100% Money'', Irving Fisher</ref>

{{quote|If all the bank loans were paid, no one would have a bank deposit and there would not be a dollar of coin or currency in circulation. This is a staggering thought. Someone has to borrow every dollar we have in circulation, cash or credit. If the banks create ample synthetic money we are prosperous; if not, we starve. When one gets a complete grasp of the picture the tragic absurdity of our hopeless position is almost incredible, but there it is. It (the banking problem) is the most important subject intelligent persons can investigate and reflect upon. It is so important that our present civilization may collapse unless it becomes widely understood and the defects remedied very soon.}}

British monetary reformer Michael Rowbotham states the following in his book, ''The Grip of Death'' (the title being derived from the literal origin of the word "mortgage"):<ref name="death">{{cite book |last= Rowbotham |first= Michael |title= The Grip of Death: A Study of Modern Money, Debt Slavery and Destructive Economics | year= 1998 |publisher= Jon Carpenter Publishing |isbn= 9781897766408 }}</ref>

{{quote|It is actually not in the least surprising that nations are chronically in debt, governments have inadequate resources, public services are under-funded and people are beset by mortgages and overdrafts. The reason for all this monetary scarcity and insolvency is that the financial system used by all national economies worldwide is actually founded upon debt. To be direct and precise, modern money is created in parallel with debt. The reason for the failure of economists to question patently invalid monetary data becomes clear - there is a total acceptance by them of the most extraordinary method for supplying money to the modern economy.

The creation and supply of money is now left almost entirely to banks and other lending institutions. Most people imagine that if they borrow from a bank, they are borrowing other people's money. In fact, when banks and building societies make any loan, they create new money. Money loaned by a bank is not a loan of pre-existent money; money loaned by a bank is additional money created. The stream of money generated by people, businesses and governments constantly borrowing from banks and other lending institutions is relied upon to supply the economy as a whole. Thus the supply of money depends upon people going into debt, and the level of debt within an economy is no more than a measure of the amount of money that has been created...

All around us, the gross failure of modern economics screams out to be addressed. The towering indifference of those shining offices scraping the sky above the menacing ghettos of Brooklyn; the speculative channelling of billions of pounds of volatile international finance, which can leave a country prosperous one week and plunged into decline the next; the ludicrous production of cheap goods of poor durability, so that jobs are 'protected', and we can recycle the materials and make the goods all over again; the ridiculous export drives by which every country simultaneously attacks the economies of every other nation, under the pretence that such global free trade improves the general wellbeing; the staggering waste of a throwaway, quick-growth, all-new spiral of constant economic change; the outrageous financial debt which Third World countries have actually paid many times over, but which, due to interest, is now larger than ever before - a debt which forces those impoverished nations to compete to supply goods already in surplus; the cynical manipulation of human emotions into buying fashion-obsessed trivia; the burgeoning transport demands of escalating economic growth and centralisation, with identical goods crisscrossing the globe, regardless of environmental cost; the fact that despite the incredible productive capacity of the modern economy, people are obliged to work harder, with ever greater efficiency, forever forced to adapt and retrain or face a life of indignity and misery as one of the unemployed.

Both those in work and out must watch, as the world they know and understand changes almost in front of their eyes like some nightmarish Kafka-esque novel. This is the era of accelerating economic change. The benefits are highly dubious, and no-one even pretends that the economy is responding to what people actually want. The only justification offered for the changes is that this is 'the age of progress', and 'you can't stop progress', even if you are human and the progress you are discussing is supposed to be about people and the lives they might lead in the future. The world of economics has got mankind by the throat and everyone knows it, and no-one has a clue where we are going or why we are going there.

But is this surprising? If a monetary system is invalid or flawed, then the entire economy is based on the mathematics of error, and must be riddled with the effects. If the financial system upon which our economies are built is defective, and yet monetary considerations dominate our economic decisions, should we be surprised if the results are less than satisfactory?

The major role played by bank credit, which forms over 95% of the money stock in most developed nations, suggests that it cannot but be implicated in these trends. This is further suggested by the way that banking has literally become the focal point of modern economic management, through manipulating interest rates. The stargazers of Whitehall and the Federal Reserve hold their councils, trying to tread the non-existent tightrope between growth and recession by debating quarter percentage-points of interest rates. Alan Greenspan, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, engagingly describes his task in controlling the American economy through adjusting interest rates as a matter of 'taking the champagne away once the party has started'. Businessmen around the world hold their breath, measuring his every word, wondering what he will decide. There could be no greater indictment of contemporary financial economics than this; that a fluctuating financial digit on a single computer system in a single street in a single country should have the ability to dominate the economies of an entire planet...

The past thirty years are almost unique by comparison with the previous three centuries in the lack of attention that has been directed at debt and the financial system. Throughout the eighteenth century, there were repeated calls for reform. During the nineteenth century, excessive banking was held by many to be directly responsible for the waves of appalling poverty that swept Europe and America during a period of increasing industrialisation and agricultural development. In this century, during the depression of the 1930s, the financial system effectively seized up and brought virtual collapse to the economies of the world in an age which was, perhaps for the first time, obviously wealthy, and in which technology offered people real freedom as well as material prosperity. One observer judged that over 2,000 schemes for monetary reform were put forward at that time - all with a common theme in their outright rejection of the debt-based financial system as it then operated. The same system continues to this day, modified in small details, but unchanged in principle; and the recent financial crisis in Asia shows the potential for collapse still exists.

However the issue of economic volatility through booms, slumps, crises, and collapses has never been the sole point of criticism. It is the long-term trends that a debt-based financial system fosters which are most destructive. The most obvious of these is declining personal solvency. Mortgages support over 60% (£420 billion) of the money stock in the UK and over 70% ($4.2 trillion) in the US. Housing-debt statistics for the UK and the US show that there has been a dramatic decline in true home ownership as mortgages become higher and ever more widespread. There can be little question that relying upon housing debt to supply money to an economy lacks economic and political justification. However, taken in conjunction with the marked rise in commercial debt, mortgages have a knock-on effect. In an economy where the price of goods is elevated by commercial debt and consumer incomes are deeply eroded by mortgage debt, there is a persistent and subtle advantage given to low-quality, mass-produced goods, and growth is fostered in this direction. The persistent decline in product durability and the growth-culture of a rapacious consumer society can be directly traced to the debt-based financial system.

The financial system has also generated a serious distortion of agriculture. Excessive farming debt has driven out the most efficient producers - small/medium sized farms. Meanwhile, the relentless pursuit of farming and processing methods oriented towards a low-price market now involves the production of foodstuffs of poor nutritional value, inferior to that which the land can provide and inferior to that which consumers actually desire.

The nature of growth within a debt economy affects not only the quality of output, but distribution and marketing. Intense competition for sales within a debt-based economy results in the use of transport as a competitive strategy by businesses. This has led to a progressive breakdown of local and regional supply networks, and marketing over ever-greater distances, leading to escalating commercial traffic demands.

At the international level, trade is deeply affected by the debt-based financial system. The aggressive pursuit of maximum export revenues, rather than seeking a simple balance of trade, is entirely due to the fact that even the wealthiest nations operate from a position of gross insolvency. International trade has degenerated into a competition between nations to alleviate their indebtedness, rather than a process involving a mutually beneficial exchange of goods and services.

Endemic Third World debt is also directly attributable to the reliance upon debt and banking to supply money. The theoretical model of borrowing from the World Bank/IMF, investing in development and repaying loans from export revenues, is one of the great failures of contemporary economics. The persistent inability on the part of debtor nations to repay these loans suggests strongly that the nature of the indebtedness suffered by the Third World has absolutely no actual legitimacy or validity...

The more one explores the broad impact of debt, the more apparent it becomes that bank-credit constitutes a dysfunctional form of money. An economy based almost entirely upon bank-credit and debt experiences an intense drive for growth, regardless of need or demand. Bank credit engenders financial dependence, injects instability and fosters growth-distortions, both within an economy and throughout the international arena.

Reform of the debt-based financial system is clearly not a minor issue. It is not a matter of fiddling around with taxes, incomes and allowances to make things apparently more equal, more efficient, or perhaps more straightforward. Changing the debt-based financial system involves gradually altering the very foundations upon which national and international economics is based. Monetary reform is concerned with attempting to determine a new principle for the supply of money to an economy - the purpose being to create a supportive financial environment in which more constructive economic trends are allowed to emerge, and in which more benign systems of overall economic management become possible. In view of the rapacious onslaught on the environment, the waste of natural resources and the social and political friction caused by de-regulated commerce and capital flows, this is at once a promising, but a sobering prospect.}}

Ron Paul states in his book ''End the Fed'':<ref name="Paul_End">Ron Paul. [http://mises.org/daily/3687 ''End the Fed''], ''Mises Institute'', September 03, 2009. Chapter 2 of the book ''End the Fed''. Referenced 2011-03-16.</ref>

{{quote|American presidents actually worked to implement and defend the gold standard, which put a brake on the ability of the largest banks to expand credit without limit. The gold standard worked like a regulator in this way. Ultimately, banks had to function like every other business. They could expand and make risky loans up to a point, but when faced with bankruptcy, they had nowhere they could turn. They would have to contract loans and deal with extreme financial pressures. Risk bearing is a wonderful mechanism for regulating human decision making. This created a culture of lending discipline.

In the jargon of the day, the system lacked "elasticity." That's another way of saying that banks couldn't expand money and credit as much as they wanted. They couldn't inflate without limit and count on a centralized institution to bail them out...

The banking industry has always had trouble with the idea of a free market that provides opportunities for both profits and losses. The first part, the industry likes. The second part is another issue. That is the reason for the constant drive in American history towards the centralization of money and banking, a trend that not only benefits the largest banks with the most to lose from a sound money system, but also the government, which is able to use an elastic system as an alternative form of revenue support. The coalition of government and big bankers provides the essential backbone of support for the centralization of money and credit...

Consider the Soviet case: to my knowledge, no business ever went under with the Soviet system but society in general grew ever poorer. Think of that Soviet system applied to the banking industry and you have the Fed.}}

In the foreward to ''Fiat Money Inflation in France'', Mr John McKay wrote the following:<ref>[http://mises.org/books/inflationinfrance.pdf ''Fiat Money Inflation in France''], Andrew Dickson White, 1912</ref>

{{quote|The story of "Fiat Money Inflation in France" is one of great interest to legislators, to economic students, and to all business and thinking men. It records the most gigantic attempt ever made in the history of the world by a government to create an inconvertible paper currency, and to maintain its circulation at various levels of value. It also records what is perhaps the greatest of all governmental efforts—with the possible exception of Diocletian's—to enact and enforce a legal limit of commodity prices. Every fetter that could hinder the will or thwart the wisdom of democracy had been shattered, and in consequence every device and expedient that untrammelled power and unrepressed optimism could conceive were brought to bear.

But the attempts failed. They left behind them a legacy of moral and material desolation and woe, from which one of the most intellectual and spirited races of Europe has suffered for a century and a quarter, and will continue to suffer until the end of time. There are limitations to the powers of governments and of peoples that inhere in the constitution of things, and that neither despotisms nor democracies can overcome.

Legislatures are as powerless to abrogate moral and economic laws as they are to abrogate physical laws. They cannot convert wrong into right nor divorce effect from cause, either by parliamentary majorities, or by unity of supporting public opinion. The penalties of such legislative folly will always be exacted by inexorable time. While these propositions may be regarded as mere commonplaces, and while they are acknowledged in a general way, they are in effect denied by many of the legislative experiments and the tendencies of public opinion of the present day. The story, therefore, of the colossal folly of France in the closing part of the eighteenth century and its terrible fruits, is full of instruction for all men who think upon the problems of our own time.}}

C.J. Maloney wrote of the desperation of Henry VIII of England to counterfeit gold by engaging charlatan-alchemists:<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/maloney/maloney28.1.html The Desperation of King Henry VIII], C.J. Maloney</ref>

{{quote|Despite his formidable education and great historic reputation, the disastrous interventions into the economy, the lifelong dishonesty with the currency in his care and, most of all, his laughable attempts to bring a sorcerer into his court to conjure gold, mark the great King Henry VIII as a fool. Yet there is no reason, be warned, for anyone to feel superior to the King; one only needs to pick up a newspaper to see that though alchemy may be a dead science, it has merely taken up new forms.

This has always been and always will be, for its immortality is powered by economic man’s most dangerous, fondest wish, the one that will drive us to endless imbecilities and repeated destruction – the ardent desire to believe that you can get something for nothing. His adherence to that belief made King Henry VIII a man of his times – and ours.}}

In his treatise, ''The Ethics of Money Production'', which was published by the Mises Institute in October 2008, Jörg Guido Hülsmann presents (at pages 238-239) the following description of the perverse rise of fiat money and fractional reserve banking:

{{quote|There is no tenable economic, legal, moral, or spiritual rationale that could be adduced in justification of paper money and fractional-reserve banking. The prevailing ways of money production, relying as they do on a panoply of legal privileges, are alien elements in the capitalist [i.e., true free market] economy. They provide illicit incomes, encourage irresponsibility and dependence, stimulate the artificial centralization of political and economic decision-making, and constantly create fundamental disequilibria that threaten the life and welfare of millions of people. In short, paper money and fractional-reserve banking go a long way toward accounting for the excesses for which the capitalist economy is widely chided.

We have argued that these monetary institutions have not come into existence out of any economic necessity. They have been created because they allow an alliance of politicians and bankers to enrich themselves at the expense of all other strata of society. This alliance emerged rather spontaneously in the seventeenth century; it developed in multifarious ways up to the present day, and in the course of its development it created the current monetary institutions.

…The driving force that propelled the development of central banks and paper money was the reckless determination of governments, both aristocratic and democratic, to increase their revenue, if necessary in violation of good faith and of all established rules of commerce.}}

Many [[monetary reform]]ers claim that a fiat money/fractional-reserve based banking system is inherently destructive and inevitably generates [[inflation|debasement of the currency]], extreme inequality, the destruction of the middle class<ref name="Paul_End" /> and [[Austrian Business Cycle Theory|wrenching business crises]].<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25212.html The Faults of FRB], Thorsten Polleit</ref><ref name="Paul_End" /><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Money-Bank-Credit-and-Economic-Cycles-P290C0.aspx Money, Bank Credit and Economic Cycles], Jesus Huerta de Soto, Mises Institute ISBN: 978-1-933550-39-8</ref><ref>[http://www.mises.org/Books/mysteryofbanking.pdf Murray Rothbard, ''The Mystery of Banking'']</ref><ref name="books.google.com">{{cite book |last= Brown |first= Ellen H. |title= Web of Debt |url= http://books.google.com/books?id=ILMGrEC524UC |accessdate= 2007-12-15 |year= 2007 |publisher= Engdahl Publishing|isbn= 0979560802 }}</ref><ref name="death"/><ref name="monetary.org">[http://www.monetary.org/lostscienceofmoney.html Stephen A. Zarlenga, ''The Lost Science of Money'' AMI (2002)]</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/story/3108 Sound Money], Lew Rockwell</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/story/1971 Our Money Madness], Lew Rockwell</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/rothbard/genuine.asp The Case for a Gold Dollar], Murray Rothbard</ref><ref name="twilight"/> Vladimir Z. Nuri has analyzed fractional reserve banking and considers it a form of economic parasitism.<ref>[http://econpapers.repec.org/paper/wpawuwpma/0203005.htm Fractional Reserve Banking as Economic Parasitism]</ref>

These views are not accepted by mainstream government-supported economists. For example David Andolfatto, Vice President in the Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, has openly called Dr. Ron Paul a "pinhead" for holding such views.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/wenzel/wenzel87.1.html Senior Fed Economist Calls Ron Paul a Pinhead], LRC</ref> He later tried unsuccessfully to delete or retract his statements and expressed his regret over making the comments.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/wenzel/wenzel92.1.html Fed Economist in Retreat], Robert Wenzel</ref>

Critics of fractional reserve banking frequently argue that since money creation requires ''loans'' from the banking system, people are required to go further into debt in order for any new money to be created. They theorize that this eventually causes [[Austrian Business Cycle Theory|credit cycle]]s (or [[Austrian Business Cycle Theory|business cycles]]) and debases the [[means of exchange]].<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25212.html The Faults of FRB], Thorsten Polleit</ref> They also argue that if debts were ever paid back, there would be no money and the economy would collapse in a debt-deflation trap.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVkFb26u9g8 Money As Debt]</ref> They therefore argue the system is ''inherently unstable'', requiring constantly increasing injections of debt just to avoid deflationary collapse.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVkFb26u9g8 Money As Debt]</ref> They claim this is ultimately unsustainable.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVkFb26u9g8 Money As Debt]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZAzBDDnhwg Rich Dad Advisors Discuss Food Storage]</ref>

Many critics find it problematic that banks "create money out of nothing" and consider this fundamentally immoral, akin to [[counterfeiting]] and/or [[embezzlement]].<ref>[http://www.dailypaul.com/node/119914 Ron Paul video - fractional reserve banking is fraudulent]</ref><ref name="Paul_End" /><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25212.html The Faults of FRB], Thorsten Polleit</ref>

Some also link the alleged negative effects of fractional reserve banking with central banking<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-qe-end-america-we-know-it QE Is The End Of American], ZeroHedge</ref> and a government-enforced "paper" or [[fiat currency]],<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27768.html The Federal Reserve Note Is Dead], Jeff Berwick</ref> which they claim allows the practice of fractional reserve banking to continue without a "natural" limitation on the growth of the [[money supply]], thereby causing inherently unsustainable "[[bubble (economics)|bubbles]]" in asset and capital markets, which are vulnerable to Ponzi-like speculation by highly leveraged [[hedge funds]] and other bank agents.<ref name="Paul_End" /><ref>[http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2009/12/23/mish-on-the-fictional-reserve-system/ MISH on the Fictional Reserve System], Steve Keen</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Money-Bank-Credit-and-Economic-Cycles-P290C0.aspx Money, Bank Credit and Economic Cycles], Jesus Huerta de Soto, Mises Institute ISBN: 978-1-933550-39-8</ref><ref name="books.google.com">{{cite book |last= Brown |first= Ellen H. |title= Web of Debt |url= http://books.google.com/books?id=ILMGrEC524UC |accessdate= 2007-12-15 |year= 2007 |publisher= Third Millennium Press |location= Baton Rouge, Louisiana |isbn= 0979560802 }}</ref><ref name="death"/><ref name="monetary.org">[http://www.monetary.org/lostscienceofmoney.html Stephen A. Zarlenga, ''The Lost Science of Money'' AMI (2002)]</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/story/3108 Sound Money], Lew Rockwell</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/story/1971 Our Money Madness], Lew Rockwell</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/rothbard/genuine.asp The Case for a Gold Dollar], Murray Rothbard</ref><ref name="twilight"/><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25212.html The Faults of FRB], Thorsten Polleit</ref>

Reformist economists such as [[Murray Rothbard]] support a "full reserve" banking system and criticize [[fractional reserve banking]] as inherently fraudulent.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5185/The-Need-for-100-Reserves The Need for 100% Reserves], Frank D. Graham</ref> [[Murray Rothbard]] held this view very strongly throughout his life.<ref name="Paul_End" /><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25212.html The Faults of FRB], Thorsten Polleit</ref> Other reformist economists are more tolerant of fractional-reserve banking and support [[free banking]] instead of full reserve banking.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=DFv6OzeBWpQC&pg=PP3&dq=steven+horwitz++banking&sig=VZasp_8pGVvpQsFKMI3W9yp4AlM#PPA231,M1 Microfoundations and Macroeconomics: An Austrian Perspective], Steven Horwitz, pp. 223-232.</ref>

==Basic debate==

The economic, environmental and social effects arising from money creation through fractional-reserve banking have been subject to much heated political debate for well over two centuries.<ref name="The Forgotten War"/><ref name="books.google.com"/><ref name="death"/><ref name="twilight"/><ref>[http://www.silverbearcafe.com/private/fracbank.html Antal E. Fekete, Fractional Reserve Banking Revisited]</ref><ref>[http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1297199137.php China Inflation and Gold], Darryl Robert Schoon</ref><ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-good-bad-and-ugly-part-3 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly], James Quinn</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article29255.html The Collapse of Paper Money], Darryl Robert Schoon</ref><ref>[http://www.goldismoney2.com/archive/index.php/t-524.html?s=d418ff253326772a09e1a8d992da7753 Venetian Bankers and the Dark Ages]</ref>

Many Austrian economists and monetary reformers focus on the combined use of [[fiat currency]], [[fractional-reserve banking]] and [[central banking]] as a negative feature of modern monetary systems.<ref>[http://mises.org/media/4014 The Economics of Legal Tender Laws], [[Jorg Guido Hulsmann]]</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Meltdown-P557.aspx ''Meltdown''], Tom Woods, Regnery Press ISBN: 9781596985872</ref> These commentators use the term "debt-based monetary system" to refer to an economic system where [[money]] is created primarily through fractional-reserve banking techniques, using the banking system.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4569 What Does Debt-Based Money Imply for Interest Payments?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4631 Is Our Money Based On Debt?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref name="speech"/> This form of money is called "debt-based" because as a ''condition of its creation'' someone must go into debt in order for the money to be created and it must be paid back plus interest at some time in the future.

To some commentators, this implies that as the [[money supply]] and the economy grows, the general populace becomes increasingly indebted at the same time due to the fact that debt grows in parallel with money supply growth, and increasing interest payments (from either taxpayers or indebted consumers) are needed to pay bondholders as the money supply grows.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28533.html The Global Debt Crisis], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref>
<ref name="death"/><ref name="twilight">[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article4489.html Antal E. Fekete, The Twilight of Irredeemable Debt]</ref><ref name="The Forgotten War">[http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1192819378.php America's Forgotten War Against the Central Banks], Mike Hewitt</ref>

One argument posits that since debt and the interest on the debt can only be paid in the same form of money, the total debt (principal plus interest) can never be paid in a debt-based monetary system unless more money is created through the same process.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28533.html The Global Debt Crisis], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref> For example: if 100 credits are created and loaned into the economy at 10% per year, at the end of the year 110 credits will be needed to pay the loan and extinguish the debt. However, since the additional 10 credits does not yet exist, it too must be borrowed. To some, this implies that the money supply must grow exponentially at the same rate as economic growth and compounding debt in order for the monetary system to remain solvent, as economic activity would be stifled with a static volume of money when interest became due, because in a static-money world no new money could be found to be taken out of circulation to allow debtors to pay outstanding interest to creditors.<ref name="death"/><ref name="twilight"/><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/01/steve-keen-responds-to-world-economic.html Exponential Credit], MISH,</ref><ref>[http://blog.mises.org/17737/chancellor-not-enough-gold/ Not Enough Gold], Robert Blumen</ref>

Others argue that there is in fact no mathematical necessity for the stock of money in a debt-based system to grow, as the "turnover" or "flow" or "velocity" of money can increase to allow for compounding interest payments.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4569 What Does Debt-Based Money Imply for Interest Payments?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2010/10/08/ami-talks-in-flv-format/ AMI Conference 2010], Steve Keen</ref><ref>[http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2010/11/05/solving-the-paradox-of-monetary-profits-2/ Solving the Paradox of Monetary Profits], Steve Keen</ref> However this does imply that either population growth is maintained or some consumers would have to increase their rate of spending to expand GDP sufficiently to allow the fixed stock of money to turnover sufficiently to pay for the interest compounding on top of the debt.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/01/steve-keen-credit-impulse.html The Credit Impulse], Steve Keen with commentary from MISH</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4569 What Does Debt-Based Money Imply for Interest Payments?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2010/10/08/ami-talks-in-flv-format/ AMI Conference 2010], Steve Keen</ref><ref>[http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2010/11/05/solving-the-paradox-of-monetary-profits-2/ Solving the Paradox of Monetary Profits], Steve Keen</ref> This may mean that Ponzi-like dynamics bubble up in "pockets" of the economy with interest payments being allowed in a fixed money economy, but these debt-fuelled bubbles of higher spending or speculation would pop and die out relatively quickly as there would be no central bank to keep the bubbles alive with further money creation.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4569 What Does Debt-Based Money Imply for Interest Payments?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/01/steve-keen-credit-impulse.html The Credit Impulse], Steve Keen with commentary from MISH</ref>

Gold, silver and other [[precious metals]] have in the past been used as money. Because of the difficulty in increasing the supply of precious metals quickly, some [[monetary reform]]ers believe a return to the [[gold standard]], or a similar system of "hard" or "real" asset-backed currency, is the only way to stabilize the growth of the money supply. These monetary reformers often refer to the gold standard and [[silver standard]] as "sound money" or "honest money".<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4860 Money: Sound and Unsound], Mark Thornton commentary on Joseph Salerno's book</ref>

==Main criticisms==

In a 2003 statement to the U.S. House of Representatives, Ron Paul stated "if unchecked, the economic and political chaos that comes from currency destruction inevitably leads to tyranny".<ref name="house.gov">[http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2003/cr090503.htm Paper Ron Paul, Paper Money and Tyranny, Speech in U.S. House of Representative, September 5, 2003]</ref>

Some economic thinkers (primarily members of the [[Austrian School]]) and political commentators believe that a debt-based monetary system amounts to a subtle form of monetary "[[fraud]]" in that it creates money "costlessly" through the use of [[fractional-reserve banking]] techniques.<ref>[http://www.mises.org/rothbard/moneyback.asp Taking Money Back, by Murray Rothbard]</ref>

Michael Rowbotham is an active proponent of [[monetary reform]], and argues that this system of [[money supply]] is perverse and inherently monopolistic and "anti-democratic", as it creates an inflationary exponential growth imperative in the economy which leads to over-centralization and environmentally damaging and unstable over-consumption. Critics such as Rowbotham argue that the indebted are forced to induce new consumers to spend their way into debt so existing loans can be repaid with new debt-created money. Failure to achieve this goal results in [[foreclosure]] for those businesses and [[insolvency]] in the banking system that leads to economic collapse due to the sudden contraction of the money supply.<ref name="death"/><ref name="Ponzi Nation">[http://www.iimagazine.com/article.aspx?articleID=1234345 Ponzi Nation]</ref>

Mark Anielski as well as some political thinkers such as Rowbotham and some economists (such as Hyman Minsky, Steve Keen and Mike Shedlock) argue that this system of money supply has characteristics similar to a [[pyramid scheme]], where the newly indebted are compelled to induce others into debt to pay off their own debts.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/01/steve-keen-credit-impulse.html The Credit Impulse], Steve Keen with commentary from MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.lin.ca/resource/html/arpa02/PC1-FertileObfuscation.pdf ''Fertile Obfuscation: Making Money Whilst Eroding Living Capital''], 34th Annual Conference of the Canadian Economics Association, Mark Anielski</ref> It is therefore argued by a number of monetary reformers that fractional-reserve banking and the associated exponential growth of money in the economy "forces" the economy towards indebted consumerism.<ref name="books.google.com"/>

Rowbotham argues that a major negative side-effect of the debt-based monetary system is its effect on agriculture, claiming that residential development produces by far the greatest continuous injection of debt money into Anglo-sphere economies. Therefore, significant super-normal profits can be generated by re-zoning agricultural land and replacing it with low-density [[House|housing]].<ref name="death"/>
If this is correct, this trend will lead to the destruction of fertile arable land, as farmers cannot compete to retain fertile arable land from property developers at the periphery of major population centers, and as this land is then progressively re-zoned for speculative new residential development. Rowbotham predicts that the global supply of fertile arable land will systematically and catastrophically decline as perverse incentives favor short-term speculative land development over long-term food security, leading to a broad decline in the quality and nutritional value of agricultural produce and, eventually, a dramatic increase in the prices of many "soft" commodities - which could then lead to actual food shortages for poorer segments of the world population.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27874.html Horrific Global Food Crisis is Looming], Michael Snyder</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/85588.html Inflation and Bacteria], Michael Rozeff</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/76920.html The Corporate State and the Tapeworm Economy], Catherine Austin Fitts</ref><ref name="death"/><ref>[http://www.wsws.org/articles/2007/dec2007/food-d22.shtml Naomi Spencer, World Socialist Website, "Severe food shortages, price spikes threaten world population", 22 December 2007]</ref><ref>[http://www.preparednesspro.com/blog/food-shortage-series-part-1/ Food Shortage Series],Kellene Bishop</ref> This has been referred to as the problem of "Peak Everything".<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/03/oil-prices-are-double-edged-sword-peak.html Peak Everything?], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28218.html "Peak Everything"], Jeremy Grantham</ref>

If for any reason the monetary system broke down, urban populations (nominally "rich" but poor in terms of direct access to food supply) could find basic foodstuffs either rationed or unavailable at any price, ultimately resulting in food security becoming a major public policy issue - particularly if combined with oil supply shortages or an oil price spike,<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27874.html Horrific Global Food Crisis is Looming], Michael Snyder</ref><ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2011/02/24/in-the-news-today-791/ Collapse]</ref> as major population centers worldwide are almost entirely reliant on mass transportation of food from distant (or even foreign) locations to survive day-to-day.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27874.html Horrific Global Food Crisis is Looming], Michael Snyder</ref><ref name="death"/><ref>[http://www.preparednesspro.com/blog/food-shortage-series-part-1/ Food Shortage Series],Kellene Bishop</ref><ref>[http://www.wsws.org/articles/2007/dec2007/food-d22.shtml Severe food shortages, price spikes threaten world population]</ref><ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/18/business/global/18yuan.html?hpw Inflation in China]</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/76920.html The Corporate State and the Tapeworm Economy], Catherine Austin Fitts</ref><ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2011/02/24/in-the-news-today-791/ Collapse]</ref><ref>[http://www.rickackerman.com/2011/04/bee-die-off-threatens-global-food-calamity/ Bee Die Off]</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/03/oil-prices-are-double-edged-sword-peak.html Peak Everything?], MISH</ref>

Others consider that the core problem is not food security, nor overpopulation, nor environmental destruction, nor excessive carbon emissions due to non-pricing of energy producing externalities, nor excessive "specialization" of labor in the midst of monetary dysfunction, but excessive government regulation, causing capital destruction.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5277/When-Capital-Is-Nowhere-in-View When Capital Is Nowhere In View], Jeffrey Tucker</ref><ref>[http://www.garynorth.com/public/8071.cfm Population Growth as Propaganda], Gary North</ref>

The fundamental problem with the current monetary system that all Austrian economists agree on is that in the midst of constant credit creation and monetary dysfunction is it ''impossible'' to know what unsustainable [[malinvestment]]s are taking place in the economy, except to acknowledge that they ''must'' be taking place somewhere in the midst of unsustainable credit growth.<ref>[http://www.goldensextant.com/SavingtheSystem.html Saving the System], Robert K. Landis</ref>

===Effects on economic health: Ponzi Scheme Dynamics===

According to Michael Rowbotham the expansion of money through debt is unsustainable and necessarily fuels and creates [[Austrian Business Cycle Theory|economic bubbles]]. This concentrates wealth in the hands of private banks as the populace is forced into [[debt]] simply to own a home and educate their children, hoping that the loans can be repaid by others going into debt in ''greater amounts'' later to purchase the assets they themselves have purchased through incurring large amounts of personal debt.<ref name="death"/> However, debt expansion leads to price appreciation of assets through speculation as the financial market becomes riskier and this process is unsustainable in the long run, with the last cycle of indebted being wiped out when they cannot find anyone to buy the assets they themselves have purchased by going into massive debt. Doug Noland, Steve Keen, Edward Chancellor, Bill Bonner and many others have compared this type of market to an enormous State-sponsored global monetary [[Ponzi scheme]].<ref>[http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2008/12/13/the-worlds-biggest-ponzi-scheme/ The World's Biggest Ponzi Scheme], Steve Keen</ref><ref>[http://www.iimagazine.com/article.aspx?articleID=1234345 Ponzi Nation,"Who is Hyman Minsky?", para 6]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26678.html One Gargantuan Ponzi Scheme], Paul Hallyer</ref><ref>[http://prudentbear.com/dmdocuments/HowCouldIrvingFisherHaveBeenSoWrong.pdf How Could Irving Fisher Have Been So Wrong?], Doug Noland</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/08/former-fed-governor-mishkin-paid-124000.html Mishkin], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/bonner/bonner467.html Warning], Bill Bonner</ref>

The bust phase of this Ponzi-like [[business cycle]] where "debt-based" money growth cannot continue because the debt levels are at saturation levels, meaning growth in debt money slows or contracts, catching newly indebted businesses and consumers who are left out of the growth cycle, triggering a combined liquidity and solvency crisis when markets seize up due to a collapse in the artificially-supported prices in financial markets.<ref name="death"/><ref name="Ponzi Nation"/>

===Effects on the environment===
There are also critics in the left-wing and environmentalist camps who contend fractional reserve banking (by creating a necessity for indefinite [[economic growth]]) leads to environmental destruction and a sudden, catastrophic depletion of the earth's natural resources as the unsustainable, exponential consumption of the world's scarce natural resources reaches its inevitable limits.<ref>David Korten, ''Agenda For A New Economy'', Berret-Koehler, 2009</ref><ref>[http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2004/10/06/no-longer-obeying-orders/ George Monbiot], about five sixths of the way down</ref>

===Inherent problems with the system===

Some monetary reformers predict that there will be an increased incidence of financial crises in the developed world, as economic and population growth inevitably slow and as the success of financial sector lobbying results in increased tax loopholes and a reduction in effective redistributive [[tax]]es which, combined with the debt-legacy of the [[welfare state]], allows an intense and unsustainable concentration of wealth and political power in the financial services sector.<ref name="death">{{cite book |last= Rowbotham |first= Michael |title= The Grip of Death: A Study of Modern Money, Debt Slavery and Destructive Economics | year= 1998 |publisher= Jon Carpenter Publishing |isbn= 9781897766408 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdVc40Mc9cQ&feature=related Andrew Sheng, INET presentation]</ref>

Some monetary reformers argue that perverse incentives in the financial services industry lead to a collusive relationships between governments and bankers which are economically and socially destablizing in the long run.<ref>[http://mises.org/media/4014 The Economics of Legal Tender Laws], Jorg Guido Hulsmann</ref>

Given that the financial system requires ever higher levels of indebtness from the general populace for its solvency, it is vital that the indebted "victims" who must sink deeper into debt for the system to survive do so voluntarily and willingly and are not made aware of the consequences of purchasing consumables with debt money.<ref name="death">{{cite book |last= Rowbotham |first= Michael |title= The Grip of Death: A Study of Modern Money, Debt Slavery and Destructive Economics | year= 1998 |publisher= Jon Carpenter Publishing |isbn= 9781897766408 }}</ref> Some isolated politicians have previously highlighted the fact that mainstream media organizations appear to downplay or minimize the seriousness of deficit spending by government and debt-sourced spending of all kinds.<ref>[http://www.senate.gov/~budget/democratic/statements/2005/fs_reconciliationfloorstmt102005.pdf Speech by Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) on October 20, 2005 regarding the "misleading" reporting of deficit spending by the mainstream media]</ref> Euphemisms for debt and personal and national bankruptcy associated with debt have been developed to delay a mass panic away from government bonds or debt. For example, the associated growth of debt-based derivatives during the upward phase of the debt money cycle was referred to as "[[innovation]]" in financial markets.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/03/opinion/03krugman.html?em&ex=1196917200&en=ac60abcdbd977d07&ei=5087%0A Innovating Our Way to Financial Crisis, by Paul Krugman]</ref>

[[Bankruptcy]] laws differ to a small degree in different jurisdictions but in all developed economies unpaid debt results in legal penalties, property confiscation on behalf of the creditor and income [[sequestration]]. Although in Christian, Jewish and Muslim religious practice there have been traditions of debt relief or laws against [[usury]], in no modern Western jurisdiction are any debts periodically forgiven or cancelled in recognition of the inherent impossibility of repaying debts in circumstances where the debt-based monetary cycle has inevitably resulted in too little new [[debt money]] being injected into the [[money supply]] to pay for the currently outstanding debts.<ref>[http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2007/11/new-bankruptcy-law-backfires-by.html Bankruptcy law backfires]</ref>

On a national level, if the issuance of [[government bonds]] becomes unsustainable, sovereign [[bankruptcy]] can occur - and has occurred many times in history.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4869 Can the Fed Become Insolvent?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://elainemeinelsupkis.typepad.com/money_matters/2007/10/greenspaniel-an.html Greenspaniel and U.S. bankruptcy]</ref><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/thebearslairview?art_id=10493 Dee-Fault!], Martin Hutchinson, Prudent Bear</ref> [[Sovereign debt]] crises due to the inability of nations to pay interest on [[government bonds]] have occurred frequently and regularly in the third wor and less frequently (every 30 years or so) in the first world as a result of high levels of unsustainable public debt - often because private debts are assumed by a corrupt government through large private bank bailouts.<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1331076/Ireland-bailout-Lets-frank-7bn-bunch-liars-crooks-bunglers.html Ireland Bailout], Alex Brummer</ref><ref name="Willie_Misdiagnosis">[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article24543.html QE2 and the Great Economic Misdiagnosis], Jim Willie, November 24, 2010.</ref> The [[Latin American debt crisis]] is an example of sovereign debt levels becoming unsustainable, resulting in a [[currency crisis]] and economic collapse, as [[interest rates]] rise precipitously due to the inability of the national government to attract financiers to purchase new [[government bonds]] to inject new debt money into the ailing economy.<ref name="Willie_Misdiagnosis" />

At such times, it is the responsibility of the [[IMF]] to come in as a kind of supranational [[central bank]] to mediate between the national government and international financiers.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/05/imf-chief-pulled-from-plane-in-new-york.html Time to Dissolve the IMF], MISH</ref> The role of the [[IMF]] as [[central bank]] to the world has similar responsibilities and risks inherent in [[central bank]]ing which are described below in relation to the role of the [[Federal Reserve]]. If the [[IMF]] repeatedly intervenes to save financiers from loss when sovereign bankruptcy occurs, this has a tendency to induce [[moral hazard]] and can encourage the financing of reckless government spending and borrowing.<ref>[http://www.rgemonitor.com/41 IMF Reform and International Lender of Last Resort, RGE Monitor]</ref><ref>[http://info.interactivist.net/article.pl?sid=02/11/07/199213&mode=thread&tid=8 Banking Bunkum, by Henry C.K. Liu]</ref><ref name="Willie_Misdiagnosis" />

A [[single currency]] regime such as the [[Euro]] can mask national liquidity or solvency crises, by ensuring that a national currency is not quickly exchangeable for another, thereby restricting the ability of national governments to depreciate their currencies and cutting off the possibility that the real value of [[government bond]] interest repayments could decline relative to other currencies.<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1316442/Anglo-Irish-Bank-bail-Will-Irish-economic-meltdown-hit-UKs-fragile-recovery.html Irish Meltdown], UK Mail On-line,</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article24459.html Ireland Bailout Consequences for Britain, Portugal Next?], Nadeem Walayat</ref><ref name="Willie_Misdiagnosis" /><ref>[http://news.goldseek.com/RichardDaughty/1192374060.php The Mogambo Theory of Currency Relativity]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvJEJEGzeU8&feature=player_embedded#! Putin ditches dollar], RTTV</ref> This may however increase the risk of bond default where indebted national governments cannot pay back the interest payments in the denominated common currency.<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1316442/Anglo-Irish-Bank-bail-Will-Irish-economic-meltdown-hit-UKs-fragile-recovery.html Irish Meltdown], UK Mail On-line,</ref><ref>[http://blog.mises.org/15129/bagus-explains-the-ecb-and-the-euro/ The Tragedy of the Euro], Philipp Bagus</ref>

===Types of downturns===
{{main|Austrian Business Cycle Theory}}
[[Austrian Business Cycle Theory]] states that artificially low interest rates set by any coercive price-fixing entity will inevitably stimulate malinvestment in the wrong capital projects which will inevitably lead to an unsustainable boom followed by a bust.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5164/The-Cure-Low-Interest-Rates-Is-the-Disease The Cure (Low Interest Rates) Is The Disease], Thorsten Polleit</ref> However, the precise nature of the downturn and the way in which losses are allocated within the economy are both dependent on the actions government and bankers take to forgive debt or control credit and there are two main kinds of debt money contraction that can cause a collapse in the value of inflated assets.

A "credit squeeze" occurs where new debt money is difficult to access without a high [[credit rating]]. At such times marginal borrowers, or those who have borrowed at the end of any debt-induced asset bubble, get "squeezed" out of further borrowing and a contraction in the growth of new debt money occurs, triggering a slow down in the growth of inflated assets. Those assets can then be "harvested" by the [[private bank]]s through widespread [[foreclosure]] or [[bankruptcy]] and re-sold to those with the money to buy the distressed assets.<ref name="marketoracle.co.uk">[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article2882.html Market Fundamentalism, by Richard C. Cook]</ref>

A "credit crunch" occurs where new debt money is not available at any [[interest rate]] - even for those with previously acceptable credit ratings - due to widespread insolvency in the banking system. At such times, it is the banking system itself that is [[insolvent]] and other financial institutions (including overseas financiers) become reluctant to lend to the domestic banking system, resulting in the domestic banking system being unable to issue loans even to credit worthy borrowers.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_crunch Credit crunch], Wikipedia definition</ref>

At any stage during the downward spiral of a "credit crunch", the [[central bank]] in a modern economy can try to save the system from complete economic meltdown by purchasing (either indefinitely or temporarily) the failed debts of the private banks.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTUY16CkS-k&feature=player_embedded#! Quantitative Easing Explained]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article24489.html Does the Fed Create Money?] Michael Pento</ref><ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=A1YourView&xml=/money/2007/12/19/ccom119.xml ECB's mind-numbing cash injection]</ref> This involves swapping depreciating "failed" assets with hard cash, thereby allowing the banks to maintain their net asset position and continue to give the impression of solvency to their auditors and depositors. However, doing so results in cash being transferred to the private banks in exchange for [[bad debt]], thereby violating the general economic precept to avoid [[moral hazard]] and effectively makes liquid the failed lending decisions of the [[private bank]]s.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/06/prudently-managed-banks-victimized-by.html Prudent Banks Victimized], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.rgemonitor.com/blog/roubini/228924/ Privitizing Profits and Socializing Losses, by Nouriel Roubini]</ref> In the U.S. banking system this is called "opening the Fed discount window", where the [[Federal Reserve]] temporarily purchases the failed investment portfolios of distressed private banks in exchange for cash. However, this rescue measure may only delay, rather than avoid, the realization of losses in the banking system, as the central bank cannot "force" new borrowing into the system to inject new debt money into the money supply. Somebody has to be a [[counterparty]] to borrow the debt money that is being offered. If all market participants realize a "[[bubble (economics)|bubble]]" has formed in assets markets, there will be few (or no) buyers for new debt money, as no one wants to borrow to buy inflated assets no one else will buy. Money markets can therefore remain illiquid even with intense [[central bank]] support.<ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/creditbubblebulletinview?art_id=10511 Favorable or Unfavorable], Doug Noland, Prudent Bear</ref>

Furthermore, banks can go bust even with intense central bank support, if the issue is not one of liquidity, but one of solvency.<ref>[http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/233ae764-abef-11dc-82f0-0000779fd2ac.html Central Banks have No Plan]</ref><ref>[http://www.rgemonitor.com/blog/roubini/233120 Central Banks get desperate]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMngK0t5WkY $20 Trillion in Bad Debt], Max Keiser</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27686.html Bernanke's QEx Money Printing Box], Gordon T. Long</ref>

===Pushing on a string===
Some monetary economists describe the opening of the Fed discount window after the bursting of an asset bubble and swapping of "junk" with new money as "pushing on a piece of string", as this measure does not solve the key problem – creating new credit (or debt money) to keep up the growth in the money supply and maintain the required level of liquidity in credit markets.<ref>[http://www.mises.org/story/2695 Don't Discount the Fed Discount Window]</ref><ref>[http://www.federalreserve.gov/Pubs/FEDS/2004/200401/200401pap.pdf Monetary Policy in Deflation: The Liquidity Trap in History and Practice]</ref> This is because unlimited central bank money and low interest rates ''allow'' credit creation, but cannot not ''force'' it into the system. In order for any new debt money to be created, somone has to borrow the excess reserves in order for the money to be injected into the system. With an endogenous money system, money is only created if someone wants to borrow money from a bank. If corporations and individuals are already heavily indebted (or insolvent after the bursting of another debt-induced bubble) there are no credit-worthy borrowers to lend to. This means there are no buyers at the margin to keep asset prices at high levels. If there are no marginal buyers, "liquidity" - or debt growth - dries up and volumes and prices drop suddenly, forcing liquidation and creating a sudden cascading effect in highly leveraged markets very similar to the end of an unsustainable Ponzi scheme.

To encourage fresh borrowing, central banks generally combine these rescue measures with an interest rate cut to encourage more new borrowing to allow the existing (failed) debts to be [[liquidate]]d at or close to their original value. When [[Alan Greenspan]] repeatedly resorted to this tactic to revive illiquid [[money market]]s this became known in the market as the "[[Greenspan put]]", as the effect of these repeated reductions in interest rates was similar to a [[put option]] in the [[stockmarket]], insuring [[bank]]s' lending mistakes would be covered up by the Federal Reserve.<ref>[http://www.iie.com/publications/wp/02-1.pdf Moral Hazard and the "Greenspan Put"]</ref>

When interest rates cannot go any lower (the so-called "zero bound" monetary problem) and people still will not - or cannot - load themselves up with more debt, then the Keynesian solution is to run large public deficits and indebt future generations (who, they hypothesize, are more likely to be able to pay through increased future growth).<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/business/26view.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=shiller&st=cse Stimulus Without More Debt], Robert Shiller</ref> Fabian socialists, and Keynesian economists such as Paul Krugman and Robert Shiller, argue that governments must take charge of the responsibility of spending more (and taking on more debt) on behalf of the public (who are too fearful to take on more debt themselves) in order to compensate for the immediate and urgent ''present'' insufficiency in total private consumption.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/business/26view.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=shiller&st=cse Stimulus Without More Debt], Robert Shiller</ref> Paul Krugman is a prominent advocate of the policy of spending trillions of government money to help stimulate the economy, if spending billions does not work.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/21/opinion/21krugman.html?dbk Budget Deficits], Paul Krugman</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/10/krugman-and-inevitable-i-told-you-so.html Krugman], MISH</ref><ref>[http://krugman-in-wonderland.blogspot.com/2010/11/inflation-prisoner.html The Inflation Prisoner], William Anderson</ref> For economists such as Paul Krugman, if the "more and more government spending" solution does not work initially, it is a sign that not enough government money has been spent.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/sowell/sowell44.1.html Fed Up With the Fed?], Thomas Sowell</ref><ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/20/opinion/20krugman.html?hp When Zombies Win], Paul Krugman, NY Times</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/10/krugman-and-inevitable-i-told-you-so.html Krugman], MISH</ref> It is his view that the "deflationary" Japanese recession from 1991/2 could have been cured by the Japanese government going into even more debt than the current net debt to GDP ratio of 110%.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/21/opinion/21krugman.html?dbk Budget Deficits], Paul Krugman</ref><ref>[http://www.economist.com/node/15867844 Japan's debt-ridden economy], The Economist</ref> Although some commentators have puzzled over exactly which group Krugman blames for the crisis, Krugman repeatedly calls for the government "to do more" and "spend more" as the "responsible" way out of the crisis, regardless of the true culprits or cause of the crisis.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/08/opinion/credibility-chutzpah-and-debt.html?_r=1&hp Credibility, Chutzpah and Debt], Paul Krugman</ref><ref>[http://www.thedailybell.com/2271/Shock-Krugman-Turns-on-Elites.html Shock Krugman Turns on Elites], The Daily Bell</ref><ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/11/opinion/11krugman.html?_r=2&hp Obama Is Missing], Paul Krugman</ref> When pressed to find culprits he identifies Republicans and, somewhat paradoxically, those who call for ''fiscal restraint'' to be the real source of the debt crisis.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/08/opinion/credibility-chutzpah-and-debt.html?_r=1&hp Credibility, Chutzpah and Debt], Paul Krugman</ref>

Although there is active debate as to whether this policy (indebting future generations by the government spending debt-sourced money on projects the private sector would not touch) can actually help the economy long term,<ref>[http://dailyreckoning.com/the-pain-of-restoring-investor-confidence/ The Pain of Restoring Investor Confidence], Bill Bonner</ref><ref>[http://dailyreckoning.com/government-spending-and-the-path-to-money-printing/ Government Spending and the path to Money Printing], Bill Bonner</ref><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/featuredcommentaryview?art_id=10485 Krugman Is Eating America Alive], Neeraj Chaudhary, Prudent Bear</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25163.html Keynesian models], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://krugman-in-wonderland.blogspot.com/2010/11/inflation-prisoner.html The Inflation Prisoner], William Anderson</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north925.html Yes, Virginia, There Really Is a Free Lunch], Gary North</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5257/They-Want-Us-to-Love-the-Fed They Want Us to Love the Fed], William L. Anderson</ref> there is no argument that this would undoubtedly help the present group of private bankers, as increased income from the interest payments on new government bond issuance offsets the decline in private sector debt and allows banks to survive when otherwise they may face collapse due to the fatal impairment of their balance sheets through private debt write-offs after an unsustainable debt-fuelled bubble bursts.<ref>[http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/2010/08/quantitative-easing-wont-help-economy.html QE won't help the economy]</ref><ref>[http://moneymorning.com/2010/11/19/federal-reserves-quantitative-easing-strategy-save-the-us-economy/ QE won't save the economy]</ref>

As government debt is effectively an asset on the books of the banks, increasing Treasury bond issuance necessarily increases the profitability and net asset position of the debt-issuing banks - at least until government insolvency or mass tax evasion renders the value of those bonds worthless.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/featuredcommentaryview?art_id=10485 Krugman Is Eating America Alive], Neeraj Chaudhary, Prudent Bear</ref>

===Inequities in system===
Many inequities arise because of the damage an overly leveraged financial system can have on the real economy.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26581.html Ten Reasons The Banksters Got Away With It], Danny Schechter</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28949.html United States of Denial], James West</ref> The standard government strategy to help the banks out of the "tailspin" of an insolvency crisis follows a standard chronology:

The government first tries to stimulate the economy and spend money into the markets directly without individuals needing to borrow and spend, thereby "inflating" its way out of economic crisis by causing asset prices to rise and bank balance sheets to appear solvent. It does this by colluding with the central bank to print money and then spending this new money on random (or pre-planned) projects that the private sector is not already engaged in.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25964.html QE is Nothing New], Mike Hewitt</ref>

Unfortunately, there is no easy solution to an economy-wide insolvency crisis caused by credit expansion.<ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/creditbubblebulletinview?art_id=10511 Favorable or Unfavorable], Doug Noland, Prudent Bear</ref> Although superficially and politically appealing, government spending only further distorts the economy through widespread malinvestment and makes things worse over the medium term.<ref>[http://mises.org/store/Rollback-P10449.aspx ''Rollback''], Thomas Woods</ref> Later, after the immediate crisis, when bond yields rise, governments are often forced to reduce basic social services or welfare to the poor to pay for the increased bond payments to bankers and other wealthy investors, making those least responsible and least able to pay for the crisis suffer wrenching economic hardship.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26581.html Ten Reasons The Banksters Got Away With It], Danny Schechter</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Rollback-P10449.aspx ''Rollback''], Thomas Woods</ref>

Antal E. Fekete compares quantitative easing to the repeated supply of opium by an immoral drug dealer to a dependent drug addict:<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26339.html Silver and Opium], Antal E. Fekete</ref>

{{quote|The explanation for this self-destructing behavior is the addictive, debilitating and mind-corrosive nature of paper money, in direct analogy with that of opium. The high caused by administering the opium pipe to the patient (read: administering QE) had to be repeated when the effect faded by a fresh administration of more opium (read: more QE2).}}

Aside from the [[moral hazard]] issue, the key risk with [[quantitative easing]] is that the [[central bank]] exposes the financial system to disruptive inflation, as the growth in the [[money supply]] spirals out of control due to the need to save the [[bank]]s from themselves.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north961.html Tiger], Gary North</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27530.html The Fed Obliterates the Savings Ethic], Douglas French</ref> This eventually tends to precipitate a currency and/or government bond crisis, as the debt-based currency becomes completely dysfunctional when either the currency becomes worthless or when debtors - including government debtors - cannot even pay interest on the debt money.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25964.html QE is Nothing New], Mike Hewitt</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref><ref>[http://www.swlearning.com/economics/hall/hall-lieb2e-upd/ppt_lecture/exchange_rate_macro_policy.ppt Exchange Rates and Macroeconomic Policy]</ref><ref>[http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VGT-41WBFRG-1&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=4e89075114dcdb58b503172ff1801bd2 Central Bank Intervention]</ref><ref>[http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/mishkin20071026a.htm Financial Instability and the Federal Reserve as a Liquidity Provider, by Frederic S. Mishkin]</ref>

For these reasons, a collapse in confidence in the [[solvency]] of the domestic banking system (and the central government) is one of the most complex and difficult policy issues any central government can face.<ref>[http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/ambroseevans-pritchard/100008812/irelands-debt-servitude/ Ireland's Debt Servitude], Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, UK Telegraph</ref> If central bank continues to try to save the current players in the banking sector by continually printing money and inflating its way out of the crisis, at some point hyperinflation suddenly appears, and has appeared many times in history.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4869 Can the Fed Become Insolvent?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://blog.mises.org/14626/quantitative-easing-explained/ Quantitative Easing Explained], YouTube video</ref>

Some comentators have observed that the media and the Fed have to constantly come up with new terms (such as "quantitative easing") to hide the fact that they are simply repeating the same failed policy of monetary inflation that corrupt sovereigns have deployed at the end of failed regimes many times over the millenia.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25679.html Many Euphemismis for Money Creation], Thorsten Polleit</ref> This is also now referred to by some [[monetary reform]]ers and [[economist]]s as "socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor", as many indebted [[consumers]] will still lose their [[house]]s and be declared [[bankrupt]] regardless whether or not the central bank intervenes to save marginal lenders who have been made [[insolvent]] through their mis-timing of the [[credit cycle]].<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny6YI2JCP9Q&feature=player_embedded#at=147 Blood Starts Flowing on the Streets], Max Keiser interview with Gerald Celente</ref><ref>[http://www.rgemonitor.com/blog/roubini/228924/ Privatizing Profits and Socializing Losses, by Nouriel Roubini]</ref><ref>[http://www.beearly.com/pdfFiles/Satyajit%20Das.pdf Regulatory Debauchery by Satyajit Das]</ref> Future generations of innocent taxpayers may ultimately finance any [[bail out]] of reckless lenders, as the money used to fund any [[bail out]] will be funds diverted from the general revenue of the central government.<ref>[http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f4cf8426-654d-11dc-bf89-0000779fd2ac.html A run on the bank]</ref>

In times of crisis, some bankers still refer to [[Walter Bagehot]]'s 1873 commentary on monetary crises, ''Lombard Street'', in an attempt to gain insights into the way in which central bankers should revive illiquid banking systems.<ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/thebearslairview?art_id=10513 The Evils of Crony Capitalism], Martin Hutchinson</ref><ref>[http://blogs.ft.com/economistsforum/2010/04/a-history-lesson-from-lombard-street-for-wall-street-in-2010/ History Lesson from Lombard Street], Roger Farmer, Ft.com</ref> However this old text may be outdated in circumstances where the community's debt limits have been reached and where the banking crisis arises from insolvency or environmental depletion rather than illiquidity.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KInB2rvgaY Eco Eco Disaster], Keiser Report</ref><ref name="Willie_Misdiagnosis" /><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/creditbubblebulletinview?art_id=10511 Favorable or Unfavorable], Doug Noland, Prudent Bear</ref> A prime example where aging demographics combined with reckless bank lending in a purely fiat debt-based monetary system resulted in economic problems which no amount of money printing or government spending could fix can be found in the case of the [[Japanese asset price bubble]].<ref>[http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10286992 The Japanese and American Bubbles: Been There, Done Some of That]</ref> Some believe the West will repeat the mistakes of the Japanese and the result will be worldwide monetary disorder.<ref>[http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10286992 The Japanese and American Bubbles: Been There, Done Some of That]</ref><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/creditbubblebulletinview?art_id=10508 Monetary Disorder], Doug Noland</ref>

===Debt Saturation and the Keynesian Endpoint===

Keynesians often refer to Keynes' dictum "In the long run we are all dead" to justify artificially low interest rates and short-term stimulus spending by government to "kick start" a stalled economy where pre-existing private debt levels have caused spending to collapse. Tyler Cowen has responded to this Keynesian rejoinder with the following response:<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/06/business/06view.html The Fiscal Illusion], Tyler Cowan</ref>

{{quote|The famous Keynesian rejoinder, “In the long run we are all dead,” is less comforting when that long run comes into sight. Short-run planning is a hard carousel to stop, especially when there are frequent election cycles, but the federal government must act soon...

The technocratic Keynesian recommendation was to run deficits in bad times and surpluses in good times. But except for one stretch during the Clinton administration, this notion has been broken since the early 1980s. In the United States, at least, Keynesian economics has failed to find the necessary political institutions to enact and sustain a wise version of the theory.

Now that fiscal constraints are starting to bite, many politicians are afraid to reform or even to discuss changes in the largest problem areas...

Fiscal austerity may sometimes sound like a dogmatic religion, but fixed principles often help us do the right thing, especially when temptation beckons. Professor Buchanan argued that the real choice was between a religion of budget balance and a rule of illusion.

...the rigor of the numbers will soon sweep away the fiscal illusion. The only question is whether we will end the charade on our own terms or continue to play the fool.}}

No current commentator predicts bankers, politicians or government employee unions will spontaneously reform themselves.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/lewrockwell-show/2011/03/27/193-gold-guns-and-getaway-plans/ Gerald Celente interview with Lew Rockwell]: Lew Rockwell: "When do you see social unrest coming to this country?" Gerald Celente: "I see more crime happening in this country, and social unrest at a much lower level. The people in this country don't have what it takes... This is a country of soccer mommies boys. We're prescription drug-addicted and we're junk food fat... Look at the way they dress, look at the way they talk, look how the Nation's become so Snooki-stupid."</ref> Noted commentator Bill Bonner and others have described politicians, welfare recipients, bankers and other tax beneficiaries as economic "zombies" unable to adapt or adjust to new economic realities and has predicted that the "zombies" will continue to "steal" as much money from the economic system as possible and convert that money into ownership of real resources until the whole monetary system completely collapses.<ref>[http://dailyreckoning.com/the-coincidental-rise-of-oil-and-the-monetary-base/ The Coincidental Rise of Oil and the Monetary Base], Bill Bonner</ref><ref>[http://dailyreckoning.com/california-the-greece-of-the-us-financial-crisis/ California: Teh Greece of the U.S.], Bill Bonner</ref><ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/not-program-salvage-greek-economy-its-program-pillage-bankruptcy Pillage Before Bankrupcty], Washington's Blog</ref> They will then move on to the next host country with their real wealth converted into land, precious metals and jewels and other real assets. The difficulty with any attempt at reform measures is that the "Ponzi" elements of finance are inextricably tied to pension funds and "real" elements in the economy, making it impossible to eliminate the "cancer" without damaging the wealth-creating structures as well.<ref>The term "cancer" is specifically mentioned in [http://www.pytheas.net/docs/Laissez-faire-and-policymakers.pdf Laissez-faire, investment banks and policy makers], Pytheas Market Focus, August 2009</ref><ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/jeffrandall/8436123/We-must-call-the-bluff-of-the-big-bad-banks.html We must call the bluff of the big banks], Jeff Randall</ref><ref name="Repudiating the National Debt"/><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zMv4Offm_8&feature=player_embedded#at=1341 Max Keiser Interview with Alex Jones]</ref><ref>[http://www.buildfreedom.com/tl/rape3.shtml Economic Rape of America]</ref> Commentator Max Keiser has coined the term "Suicide Banking" to describe the paradoxical situation where virtually every politician and economist acknowledges that "Too Big To Fail" is a dysfunctional policy but no one has a viable solution, given that the banking system is "rigged to blow" if threatened.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCRXz5oOQVY&feature=player_embedded Suicide Bankers], Max Keiser</ref> He also refers to the current crisis as a fight to the death not between countries or ethnic groups or political ideologies but between future-oriented, prudent and conservative "Savers" on one side and present-focused, imprudent and overconsuming "Speculators" on the other.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzzIqi2sbQY&feature=player_embedded US flashing Orange]</ref>

Many non-mainstream financial commentators believe the U.S. and the E.U. will soon experience terminal financial crises, but there is vigorous on-going debate amongst numerous commentators regarding whether this terminal currency crisis will end in hyperinflation and currency destruction (making government bonds worthless) or repeated bouts of deflation and depression (making government bonds more valuable).<ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28148.html How to Keep a Damaged Financial and Economic System Afloat?], Bob Chapman</ref><ref>[http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1305306000.php Winning in the Hyperinflation/Deflation War], Deepcaster LLC</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27733.html Compound Inflation], John Mauldin</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north973.html Rick Ackerman Defects], Gary North</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/04/no-miracle-cures-from-inflation.html Impossible to Inflate Out of this Mess], MISH</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/06/big-inflationist-scare.html The Big Inflationist Scare], MISH</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/09/debating-flat-earth-society-about.html Debating the Flat Earth Society About Hyperinflation], MISH</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/01/peter-schiff-was-wrong.html Peter Schiff Was Wrong], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27726.html Deflation Threat is Still Alive], EWI</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27791.html Can We Give The Hyperinflation Thing a Rest?], Mike Whitney</ref> Most - but not all - Austrian commentators now believe the denouement will inevitably result in hyperinflation and render the U.S. dollar near-worthless in real terms, as U.S. bond and dollar holders compete to offload excess holdings in the face of massive ongoing issuance.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article29393.html US Dollar Supply and Demand], Jim Willie CB</ref><ref>[http://fofoa.blogspot.com/2011/04/deflation-or-hyperinflation.html Deflation or Hyperinflation?], FOFOA</ref><ref>[http://maxkeiser.com/2011/04/25/ding-ding-ding-its-all-over-rick-ackerman-concedes-hes-been-wrong-and-joins-the-hyperinflationist-camp/ It's all over! Rick Ackerman Concedes!], Max Keiser</ref> Mike Shedlock and Antal E. Fekete are amongst a small group of deflationists who believe contracting credit will continue to have a deflationary impact on the economy, causing government bonds to become even more valuable over time.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/05/hyperinflation-nonsense-in-multiple.html Hyperinflation Nonsense], MISH</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/04/no-miracle-cures-from-inflation.html No Miracle Cures from Inflation], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.julianmidwinter.com.au/ The Federal Reserve as an engine of deflation], Antal E. Fekete</ref>

In stark contrast to the predictions of catastrophe from the Austrians, mainstream Keynesians regard the current financial system as benign and most financial analysts still use the normal distribution - or "Bell Curve" - to represent the likely distribution of future returns in financial markets.<ref>[http://seekingalpha.com/article/163271-rethinking-alpha-and-beta Rethinking Alpha and Beta], Paul Amery</ref> This continues despite extensive research demonstrating that the normal distribution does not apply to financial market returns, which display so-called "fat tail" distributions, with much more volatlity at the extremes than the normal distribution would predict.<ref>[http://www.bearcave.com/bookrev/misbehavior_of_markets.html The Misbeahvior of Markets], Ian Kaplan</ref> The Austrian view - that the economy will either slide into depression or hyperinflation under the stresses of the current debt-based monetary monetary system - may be supported by more recent analysis of actual financial market behavior under conditions of high debt and extreme stress.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5352/What-Mises-Can-Teach-the-Quants What Mises Can Teach the Quants], Daniel James Sanchez</ref><ref>[http://lewrockwell.com/north/north990.html The Next Financial Crisis], Gary North</ref><ref>[http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2011/06/11/dude-where%E2%80%99s-my-recovery/ Where's My Recovery?], Steve Keen</ref>

Regardless whether the government chooses hyperinflation or periodic delfationary depression as the way out, throughout history, only two real alternatives occur in the midst of economic or financial crisis: ever greater centralization (often on a "higher level") or disintegration of the core power structures and (eventually) rejuvenation.<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/greeces-ultimatum-bailout-bankers-or-loss-sovereignty Greece's Ultimatum], ZeroHedge</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north966.html Wealth Through Decentralization], Gary North</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Rollback-P10449.aspx ''Rollback''], Thomas Woods</ref><ref>[http://blog.mises.org/9321/crisis-and-leviathan/ Crisis and Leviathan], Robert Higgs</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Money-Bank-Credit-and-Economic-Cycles-P290C0.aspx Money, Bank Credit and Economic Cycles], Jesus Huerta de Soto, Mises Institute ISBN: 978-1-933550-39-8</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Meltdown-P557.aspx ''Meltdown''], Tom Woods, Regnery Press ISBN: 9781596985872</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/media/4014 The Economics of Legal Tender Laws], [[Jorg Guido Hulsmann]] (includes detailed commentary on centralization during crises)</ref> Accordingly, many of the more extreme monetary reformers and [[conspiracy theorists]] anticipate repeated and ever more desperate attempts at ''higher-order centralization'',<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27051.html A New World Currency?], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref> as the exisiting coordinated domestic central bank architecture becomes discredited through repeated economic failure and environmental crises caused by the need for unsustainable exponential debt-driven economic "growth" within the current debt-based financial architecture.<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-economic-abyss The Economic Abyss], Brandon Smith</ref> This centralization is anticipated to include the empowerment of the UN to increasingly intervene in the domestic political affairs of nations,<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/rozeff/rozeff343.html World Government], Mike Rozeff</ref> the IMF and EU to increasingly intervene in the domestic financial affairs of nations,<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/greeces-ultimatum-bailout-bankers-or-loss-sovereignty Greece's Ultimatum], ZeroHedge</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/11/terms-of-enslavement-irish-citizens-say.html Terms of Enslavement], MISH</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/11/imf-ready-to-help-ireland-can-imf-help.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MishsGlobalEconomicTrendAnalysis+%28Mish%27s+Global+Economic+Trend+Analysis%29 Can the IMF help anyone?], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/8150137/Ireland-forced-to-take-EU-and-IMF-bail-out-package.html Ireland forced to take IMF bailout package], Telegraph</ref> and the declaration of [[martial law]] and the imposition of [[fascist]]-style restrictions on [[civil rights]]<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-us-monetary-system-and-descent-fascism-interview-dr-edwin-vieira The U.S. Monetary System and Descent Into Fascism], Dr Edwin Vieir</ref><ref>[http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/04/201142612714539672.html Global capitalism and 21st cenury fascism], William I. Robinson</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/rep2/jesse-ventura-on-tsa-abusers.html Jesse Ventura on the TSA' Sexual Abusers]</ref> and [[freedom of speech]] by the political [[The Establishment|Establishment]] to physically protect it from [[anarchy]] or military [[coup]] when the [[bubble (economics)|bubble]] of debt completely bursts, through a precipitous currency crisis, debt-created [[Depression (economics)|depression]], environmental crisis or oil shortage.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26605.html Population Reduction], Chris Kitze</ref><ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2011/02/24/in-the-news-today-791/ Collapse]</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/lewrockwell-show/2010/12/14/179-the-espionage-act-and-the-death-of-american-freedoms/ Death of American Freedoms], Naomi Wolf, LRC interview, Dec 14, 2010</ref><ref>[http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2007/cr120507h.htm New security legislation threats freedoms]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26325.html Bank Credit Ends in Catastrophe], Richard Daughty, The Mogambo Guru</ref> Ultimately this is anticipated to yield either repressive world government or chaos (or most likely both), with a world central bank stationed in Basel, Switzerland.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMngK0t5WkY Max Keiser]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28533.html The Global Debt Crisis], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27051.html A New World Currency?], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27554.html Libya Ware All About Oil or Gold and Banking?], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref><ref>[http://blog.mises.org/9321/crisis-and-leviathan/ Crisis and Leviathan], Robert Higgs</ref> During this transition period, some analysts and conspiracy theorists anticipate multiple wars to force governments into the BIS financial "net",<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMngK0t5WkY Max Keiser]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28533.html The Global Debt Crisis], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27051.html A New World Currency?], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27554.html Libya Ware All About Oil or Gold and Banking?], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref> impotent and counterproductive price controls,<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/03/food-prices-rise-11-in-china-overall.html Chinese inflation], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/goyette/goyette18.1.html Too Late!], Charles Goyette</ref> repeated sell-offs of monopoly state assets in a desperate attempt to feed private domestic banks with steady, coercively acquired income to keep the value of government bonds collapsing,<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/05/whos-bigger-socialist-president-obama.html Who's the Bigger Socialist?], MISH</ref> and then, once this attempt (to feed unsustainable compounding debt with any remaining basic infrastructure) destroys any remaining parts of the productive economy, there will be in the end coercively-enforced rationing of basic essentials to ensure continued supply of food and oil to senior government officials, bankers and their associates amidst widespread general starvation and chaos,<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26605.html Population Reduction], Chris Kitze</ref> as the coalescence of a corrupt banker-government coalition solidifies<ref>[http://maxkeiser.com/2011/04/28/kr142-keiser-report-blind-cult-of-america/ Blind Cult of America]. Quote: Max Keiser: "Yes, it's beyond religious fervour. That's the point. It's become this echo chamber, cult-like 'America can't fail' which is very endemic when you see suicide cults. Remember Jim Jones. Remember him. The Kool Aid. He made the idea of drinking Kool Aid... he popularized that notion. Everyone committed suicide in Guyana. Or the Hail-Bot Comet Cult. Here you've got 300 million Americans who are worshipping this idea of 'American-style' Free Market Capitalism that doesn't exist. They support market manipulation on Wall Street and they're all gonna ''die'' as a result. Now that's less than 5% of the world's population. It is 25% of the world's garbage so the world will breathe a sigh of relief, but, as far as those living inside they don't really understand that they're being used as cult fodder." Stacy Herbert: "The equivalent of drinking the cyanide-laced Kool Aid would be purchasing a McMansion with a sub-prime mortgage. This is them committing suicide. It's the equivalent of drinking cyanide-laced Kool Aid." Max Keiser: "It's financial suicide. As we've talked about. Financialization of the economy has turned into this hybrid reality that combines political malfeasance with financial larceny and that's the combination between Obama's White House and Wall Street merging together into something even more insidious than fascism. It's a Klepto-F*@kingSh*tism. It's a... it's a Klepto-Sh*tism is the current political-financial school of thought in America today and it's not working. It's unsustainable."</ref> to eliminate potential dissent and ensure the forced elimination - by any means necessary - of any actual or potential competing [[currencies]] that could threaten the viability or legitimacy of the [[monopoly]] currency, which could include war against any country considering using any currency other than US dollars to price essential commodities such as oil <ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/holland/holland44.1.html Anglo-American Deception], Ron Holland</ref> and the compulsory confiscation of all privately-owned [[gold]] (gold being the ultimate reserve currency, still used by central banks as a universally accepted medium of exchange for the settlement of international debts).<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5184/The-Crime-of-Private-Money The "Crime" of Private Money], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-thoughts-liberty-dollar-debacle Liberty Dollar], ZeroHedge.com</ref><ref>[http://blog.mises.org/14795/the-gold-clause-cases-and-constitutional-necessity/ Gold Clause Cases]</ref><ref>[http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1196605589.php America's Trade Debts Lead to a Likely Gold Confiscation]</ref><ref>[http://www.libertydollar.org/ld/legal/raid.htm FBI Raids Liberty Dollar]</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/solution.html The Solution]</ref><ref>[http://prudentinvestor.blogspot.com/2007/09/us-mint-suspends-gold-coin-sales-due-to.html US Mint Suspends Gold Coin Sales]</ref><ref>[http://www.swissamerica.com/article.php?art=06-2004/200406140537f.txt Why a Gold Standard Now?]</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/73468.html Bank of America an arm of US government policy]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26325.html Bank Credit Ends in Catastrophe], Richard Daughty, The Mogambo Guru</ref><ref>[http://www.sovereignman.com/expat/bernanke-terrorist Bernanke is the domestic terrorist], Sovereign Man</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28225.html DSK Was Trying to Torpedo the Dollar], Mike Whitney</ref>

There have been many [[financial crisis|monetary crises]] throughout history,<ref>[http://www.delanion.com/main/dom.htm Fiat Money Inflation in France], Gold Money video featuring Max Keiser, James Turk and Pierre Jovanovic</ref><ref>[http://www.delanion.com/main/dom.htm Dying of Money], Jens O. Parsson</ref><ref>[http://www.delanion.com/main/dom.htm Dying of Money], Jens O. Parsson</ref><ref name="Bonner_Swan">[http://www.lewrockwell.com/bonner/bonner454.html Revolution in Egypt and Black Swans], Bill Bonner, February 15, 2011.</ref><ref>[http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1297199137.php China Inflation and Gold], Darryl Robert Schoon</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Early-Speculative-Bubbles-P578.aspx Early Speculative Bubbles and Increases in the Money Supply], Doug French, Mises Institute ISBN: 978-1-933550-44-2</ref><ref>[http://dailyreckoning.com/a-word-of-advice-to-financial-authorities/ Advice to Financial Authorities], Bill Bonner</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26325.html Bank Credit Ends in Catastrophe], Richard Daughty, The Mogambo Guru</ref> and there are a number of standard warning signs of impending depression or hyperinflation caused by a complete breakdown of trust in any [[monetary system]].<ref>[http://mises.org/store/Product.aspx?ProductId=435 Fiat Money Inflation in France], Andrew Dickson White, Mises Institute</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref><ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-economic-abyss The Economic Abyss], Brandon Smith</ref><ref>[http://lewrockwell.com/orig12/martenson8.1.1.html Argentina: A Case Study], Chris Martenson and FerFAL</ref> Just prior to the complete collapse of the [[pyramid scheme]] of public and private debt, the economic system tends to feed on itself, and in the past, where debt-created [[Depression (economics)|depression]]s or periods of [[hyperinflation]] have occurred in [[Europe]],<ref name="Bonner_Swan" /> the [[U.S.]] and [[China]], there has been a sustained spike in predatory economic behavior, as the heavily indebted central government and producers are forced to find more extreme (previously considered unethical) methods to extract any remaining wealth from increasingly desperate and impoverished [[consumers]], who are either unwilling or unable to go into further debt without forceful coercion.<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-ethics-mortgage-loan-default The Ethics of Mortgage Loan Default], Greg Lemelson</ref><ref name="Bonner_Swan" /><ref name="http">{{cite book |last= Widdig |first= Bernd |title= Culture and Inflation in Weimar Germany |url= http://books.google.com/books/ucpress?id=kvKAATycUzIC |accessdate= 2007-12-16 |year= 2001 |publisher= University of California
Press |isbn= 0520222903 }}</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/3569 John Law and the Invention of Modern Finance], Doug French (Mises.org)</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/1690 The Saga of John Law and Richard Cantillon], Sean Corrigan (Mises.org)</ref> [[Long-term]] investment and sustained [[capital investment]] are almost impossible in this environment because the "measuring stick" of [[return on investment]] (the real value of [[money]]) is so uncertain at times of debt-induced [[credit crunch]], depression or hyperinflation.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref>

As potential new [[borrower]]s and international financiers are scared away from participating in the [[pyramid scheme]] of debt and borrowing further, the [[monetary system]] seizes up, starved of the fresh injections of [[debt money]] it needs for its survival, thereby precipitating economic [[anarchy]],<ref name="Bonner_Swan" /><ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-economic-abyss The Economic Abyss], Brandon Smith</ref> widespread [[lawlessness]]<ref name="Bonner_Swan" /> and [[insolvency]] of the monetary and banking system.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPxYg6mgGpE Inflation is There], Peter Schiff</ref><ref>[http://www.oftwominds.com/blognov07/empire-debt1.html Empire of Debt]</ref><ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref><ref name="Bonner_Swan" /> Some have described the moment when governments cannot borrow any more from banks to keep up the growth in debt money as the "Keynesian Endpoint" or "Keynesian Endgame" or point of "Debt Saturation" - which is the point in time when ''in extremis ''"emergency" measures by the government to kick-start the economy by increasing total gross debt have no lasting positive effect on GDP.<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-economic-death-spiral-has-been-triggered The Economic Death Spiral], Gordon T. Long</ref><ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/charting-ten-year-prelude-keynesian-endgame Keynesian Endgame], ZeroHedge</ref><ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keynesian_endpoint Keynesian Endpoint], Wikipedia definition</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27801.html U.S. Debt Saturation and Money Illusion], Gordon T. Long</ref> Antal E. Fekete identifies this "crisis" point as the point when the marginal increase in total gross debt has no positive marginal effect on GDP.<ref>[http://www.professorfekete.com/articles/AEFGotterdammerung.pdf Gotterdammerung], Antal E. Fekete</ref> According to Professor Fekete, once the marginal productivity of debt turns negative, a disastrous depression is inevitable.<ref>[http://www.professorfekete.com/articles/AEFGotterdammerung.pdf Gotterdammerung], Antal E. Fekete</ref>

This final denouement is triggered when [[borrower]]s cannot be found to buy depreciating heavily indebted assets, and international financiers reduce lending as they experience losses on pre-existing loans either through asset or currency [[depreciation]].<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPxYg6mgGpE Inflation is There], Peter Schiff</ref> Some analysts predict that the [[monetary system]] will seize up due to a [[deflationary]] depression<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-heres-setup-con-decade The Con of the Decade], ZeroHedge</ref> or a sustained period of [[stagflation]]ary hyperinflation resulting in a "final and total catastrophe of our fiat monetary system."<ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPxYg6mgGpE Inflation is There], Peter Schiff</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27402.html Deflationists Blind to Inflationary Storm], Jim Willie</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27466.html Compounding Debt]</ref>

Examples of debt and monetary crises can often be found after failed wars, when international financiers realize the heavily indebted [[government]] they funded will not gain the resources it planned to seize as a result of the waging of aggressive war. When this pay-off does not materialize, the losing government is left with the debt of war without the ability to offset this government debt through the imposition of reparations on the defeated nation and the acquisition of the defeated state's resources, thereby boosting the victorious state's GDP and tax revenues. This sudden monetary collapse occurred to [[Germany]] after the [[First World War]] and [[Japan]] after the [[Second World War]].

Whatever the trigger, the key warning sign of any impending monetary crisis and economic [[anarchy]] is a sudden [[currency crisis]], or a sudden spike in domestic interest rates, or a sudden [[credit crunch]].<ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /> Early warning signs that the [[private banks]] themselves are aware of an impending breakdown in the [[solvency]] of the [[financial system]] would be any combination of some or all the following: a spike in the prices for [[oil]] (which is an internationally accepted, inherently limited, store of value, and therefore can act as a modern form of [[hard currency]], oil sometimes being referred to as "black gold"), [[gold]],<ref>[http://www.minyanville.com/businessmarkets/articles/gold-spot-price-gold-prices-gold/5/10/2011/id/34441?camp=syndication&medium=portals&from=yahoo Permanent Gold Backwardation: Why a "Crack Up Boom" Is Inevitable], Keith Weiner</ref> [[silver]]<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=021yEhjPDa0&feature=player_embedded#at=826 $400 Ounce Silver, $8000 Ounce Gold], James Turk</ref> <ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPxYg6mgGpE Inflation is There], Peter Schiff</ref> and other stable, non-perishable, inherently limited [[natural resources]] essential for non-discretionary industrial production;<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref> a spike in the [[futures contract]]s for vital agricultural [[commodities]]<ref>[http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-dictator-bernanke-needs-to-be-toppled-2011-02-15 Fed dictator Bernanke needs to be toppled], Paul B. Farrell</ref><ref>January 27, 2011 – ''Financial Times'' (Javier Blas and Chris Giles): “Governments across the developing world are stockpiling food staples in an attempt to contain panic buying, inflation and social unrest. But the hoarding is driving agricultural commodity prices even higher. The cost of wheat, the world’s most important staple, reached a fresh two-and-a-half-year high on Thursday, after countries from Algeria to Saudi Arabia announced extraordinary purchases. High food prices have been a contributing factor to the recent wave of social unrest across North Africa and the Middle East. In Algeria earlier this month, young rioters chanted ‘Bring us sugar!’ The cost of the sweetener in the wholesale market is at its highest in 30 years. Earlier this week, Algeria bought 800,000 tonnes of wheat – much more than usual – and Saudi Arabia announced plans to double the size of its wheat stockpile. Bangladesh and Indonesia joined the rush on Thursday, placing extraordinary on rice orders.”</ref> such as [[sugar]],<ref>[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-15/portugal-tries-to-prevent-sugar-hoarding-amid-shortage-ft-says.html 2010 Portugal Sugar Crisis]</ref> [[corn]], [[wheat]], [[soybean]]s and [[rice]], as investors realize the debt-based monetary system has squeezed supplies of [[arable land]];<ref>[http://webofdebt.wordpress.com/2011/02/03/the-egyptian-tinderbox-how-banks-and-investors-are-starving-the-third-world/#more-1052 Banks and investors are starving the Third World], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref><ref>[http://www.preparednesspro.com/blog/food-shortage-series-part-1/ Food Shortage Series],Kellene Bishop</ref><ref>[http://www.smh.com.au/environment/world-hungers-for-more-food-20110402-1csbh.html World hungers for more food], Sydney Morning Herald,</ref> a sudden flight of money ''to'' [[Treasury bills]] and/or a sudden spike in the [[interest rate]] differential between short-term [[Treasury bills]] and asset-backed corporate paper (or a sudden spike in the [[LIBOR]] rate in [[London]])<ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /><ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/12/03/cnrates103.xml&CMP=ILC-mostviewedbox Pleas for rate cut as interbank loans dive]</ref> - and then, in the very late stages of a credit crisis, a sudden and disorderly flight of money ''away from'' government bonds and a "shock" or "panic" collapse in government bond prices, as banks perceive that some governments will ultimately find it ''impossible'' to pay interest on their debt from coercively acquired taxes.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgNLTb58K_Y S&P Rating on US Sovereign Debt not Low Enough], Peter Schiff</ref><ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/8190059/Global-bond-rout-deepens-on-US-fiscal-worries.html Global bond rout], Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, UK Telegraph</ref><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/thebearslairview?art_id=10480 When Will The U.S. Become Greece?], Michael Hutchinson</ref>

Shortly thereafter, some [[monetary reform]]ers predict that there would be desperate, but ultimately futile [[central bank]] intervention involving massive, repeated bouts of "quantitative easing",<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/did-fed-its-stealthy-synthetic-bet-keep-yields-low-become-next-aig Doubling Down], ZeroHedge</ref> then a [[currency crisis]],<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/jim-grant-inflation-there-will-be-lot-it-suddenly-because-our-interest-rate-structure-beyond Jim Grant on Inflation], ZeroHedge</ref> then a panic run on a number of marginal, [[insolvent]] [[banks]] and [[hedge funds]] as desperate wealthy investors try to get [[cash]] out before the [[pyramid scheme]]<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPxYg6mgGpE Inflation is There], Peter Schiff</ref> collapses to invest in inherently limited, non-perishable, in-demand commodities such as [[oil]] and [[gold]]<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/golden-tipping-point-university-texas-takes-delivery-1-billion-physical-gold A Golden Tipping Point], ZeroHedge</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPxYg6mgGpE Inflation is There], Peter Schiff</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref> (and undeveloped agricultural and industrial [[land]] in areas of the world with strong [[economic growth]]),<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/04/business/04farms.html?_r=1&hp Price of Farmland] NYTimes</ref> followed by a [[recession]] or [[depression]] in the broader heavily indebted economy as the [[money supply|credit]] contracts but base money continues to rise exponentially.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27172.html Why QE has NOT brought back inflation], EWI</ref><ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref><ref>[http://www.newyorkfed.org/research/staff_reports/sr291.pdf Hedge Funds, Financial Intermediation and Systemic Risk]</ref><ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2011/02/24/in-the-news-today-791/ Collapse]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27596.html US Accelerating Inflation Mega-Trend], Nadeem Walayat</ref>

In 2010 Ireland and Greece experienced simiilar financial crises along the lines described above and many financial commentators and politicians expect more countries to go through the same debt crisis.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/12/video-fire-bombs-stones-fly-in-greek.html Greek protests]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gm9q8uabTs "Who the Hell do you think you people are?"], Nigel Farage, UKIP leader</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref> In 2011, Tunisia experienced a financial and political crisis that was almost identical to those already experienced on the poorer European periphery, except that in this case the pre-existing political establishment quickly fled the country in fear for their safety - with some allegations that the wife of the deposed leader, Leila Trabelsi, ordered the country's central bank to transfer 1.5 tonnes of [[gold]] to Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his family.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25636.html We are all Tunisians], Yvonne Ridley</ref><ref>[http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/tunisia-missing-15-tonnes-of-gold/story-e6frf7jx-1225992107457 Tunisia missing 1.5 tonnes of gold], Herald Sun</ref> The Egyptian uprising resulted in Hosni Mubarek fleeing after desperate attempts were made by him and his associates to preserve his family's wealth and power.<ref>[http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110212/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_egypt_mubarak_s_final_hours Mubarak's final hours], Associated Press</ref> Several newspapers have reported that, once again, appropriating the nation's gold reserves was a major priority for the fallen leader.<ref>[http://www.smh.com.au/world/mubaraks-lastminute-rush-to-hide-his-billions-20110213-1as1c.html Mubarak's Rush to Hide Billions], SMH</ref> Following the overthrow of the ruling elites in Tunisia and Egypt, other North African countries have experienced similar uprisings - all attributable to higher food prices, according to some noted commentators,<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/8492078/How-the-Fed-triggered-the-Arab-Spring-uprisings-in-two-easy-graphs.html How the Fed triggered the Arab Spring uprisings], Andrew Lilico</ref> who have accused Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke of literally having "blood on his hands" due to the encouragement of food price inflation via sustained inflationary loose-monetary policies.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/01/blood-on-bernankes-hands-riots-in-egypt.html Blood on Bernanke's Hands], MISH</ref><ref>[http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/KWN_DailyWeb/Entries/2011/4/6_Marc_Faber_-_Mr._Bernanke_is_a_Murderer_of_the_Middle_Class.html Marc Faber calls Mr Bernanke a Murderer of the Middle Class], King World News</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3NdUU1wWa4&feature=player_embedded#at=89 Max Keiser - Bernanke is a Murderer]</ref><ref>[http://dailyreckoning.com/lessons-from-egypt-for-the-american-people/ Lessons from Egypt], Charles Kadlec</ref><ref>[http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-dictator-bernanke-needs-to-be-toppled-2011-02-15 Fed dictator Bernanke needs to be toppled], Paul B. Farrell</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5050/QE2-Fuels-a-Global-Fury QE2 Fuels a Global Fury], Mark Thornton</ref><ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/bernanke-blame-rising-global-revolutionary-wave?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+zerohedge%2Ffeed+%28zero+hedge+-+on+a+long+enough+timeline%2C+the+survival+rate+for+everyone+drops+to+zero%29 Is Bernanke To Blame?], Tyler Durden, ZeroHedge</ref> The central banker has denied that his inflationary loose-monetary policies have contributed to food inflation.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/8302111/Fed-chief-Ben-Bernanke-denies-US-policy-behind-record-global-food-prices.html Ben Bernanke Denies US Policy Behind Food Price Inflation], UK Telegraph, 3 February 2011</ref> Implicit in Mr Bernanke's argument is the assumption that the central bank can create "good" inflation in some markets and avoid "bad" inflation in others. This alleged central bank power to direct good inflation and abate bad inflation is derided by a number of commentators.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3NdUU1wWa4&feature=player_embedded#at=89 Max Keiser - Bernanke is a Murderer]</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/01/blood-on-bernankes-hands-riots-in-egypt.html Blood on Bernanke's Hands], MISH</ref><ref>[http://dailyreckoning.com/lessons-from-egypt-for-the-american-people/ Lessons from Egypt], Charles Kadlec</ref><ref>[http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-dictator-bernanke-needs-to-be-toppled-2011-02-15 Fed dictator Bernanke needs to be toppled], Paul B. Farrell</ref><ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/bernanke-blame-rising-global-revolutionary-wave?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+zerohedge%2Ffeed+%28zero+hedge+-+on+a+long+enough+timeline%2C+the+survival+rate+for+everyone+drops+to+zero%29 Is Bernanke To Blame?], Tyler Durden, ZeroHedge</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28587.html QE2 Unmitigated Failure], James Quinn</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28998.html The Great Misdiagnosis], Jim Willie CB</ref>

Noted British ''Telegraph'' commentator Ambrose Evans-Pritchard has called these the first Malthusian "Food Revolutions" of the modern era, as agflation causes political instability on the periphery of major economies worldwide - particularly those countries that have already denuded their agricultural base and have to import grain and other foods to survive.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/8291470/Egypt-and-Tunisia-usher-in-the-new-era-of-global-food-revolutions.html A New Era of Food Revolutions], Ambrose Evans-Pritchard</ref><ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2011/02/24/in-the-news-today-791/ Collapse]</ref>

It is also reported that very complex, delicate negotiations are taking place between debtor and creditor nations to swap government bonds with gold at prices far in excess of the declared "market price" of gold.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25878.html China Buys European Gold], Jim Willie</ref> These so-called "off-market" deals - and possible diversions of government-owned gold to corrupt bankers and political leaders - are signs the Keynesian Endpoint has arrived and the politicians and bankers recognize they have lost control of the economic system and must focus on saving themselves.<ref>[http://lewrockwell.com/wenzel/wenzel113.html Fort Knox Gold], Robert Wenzel</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25878.html China Buys European Gold], Jim Willie</ref>

Finally, it should be noted that, with the destruction of the fascist regimes in Italy, Germany and Japan post-WWII and the collapse of communism in the 1990s, there no longer exists any major economy where the banking system is fully government-owned or has any strictly enforceable social responsibilities beyond pure profit motive. All major world economies have now adopted essentially the same monetary system, with profit-driven private banks (government-licensed institutions legally permitted to engage in unlimited credit creation) able to pocket profits during upswings and socialize losses during downswings by use of central bank asset swaps. If critics are correct that all such systems are doomed to severe boom-bust cycles because of excessive expansion of speculative credit and endemic [[moral hazard]], it is to be expected that all major economies will also experience essentially the same kind of environmental and food crises, and even allegedly "strong" economies such as China will experience severe economic downturns at some stage.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5070/Bust-Looms-As-China-Booms Bust Looms], Markus Bergstrom</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/03/bloodstained-property-map-and-trampled.html Bloodstained Property Map], MISH</ref> However, equally, if critics are correct that fractional reserve banking, excessive credit expansion and artificially low interest rates are at the root of all financial crises, then higher reserve ratios and capital requirements for domestic banks (or the existence of heavily controlled nationalized banks) should reduce the severity of economic crises in those economies with higher reserve requirements for their own banks.<ref>[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-18/china-increases-banks-reserve-ratio-for-second-time-to-curb-property-boom.html China increases bank reserves to curb inflation], Bloomberg</ref><ref>[http://video.ft.com/ Lex's John Authers and Richard Stovin-Bradford discuss how to regulate banks better and how to handle those that are just too big to fai]</ref>

==Proposals for monetary reform==
===Potential solutions===
Many consider it too late to reform the financial system.<ref>[http://news.goldseek.com/LewRockwell/1306767600.php Is Greece the Future of America?], Mike Rozeff</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27739.html Financial Slaughterhouse], Ashvin_Pandurangi</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27764.html The Big QE2 Shakedown], Mike Whitney</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GmBoJ7qHYg&feature=player_embedded Simon Johnson INET]</ref><ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/sep/14/banking-reforms-too-little-too-late Too Little Too Late], UK Guardian, 14 Sept 2010</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27583.html Fed Reckoning Day Realities for Investor Pains and Gains], Deepcaster LLC</ref> Coercive, rule-bound government, by its nature, seeks to have a monopoly of force and is the final arbiter of disputes between any two parties within its jurisdiction.<ref>[http://www.dailypaul.com/140907/hans-hoppe-on-why-he-thinks-limited-government-is-impossible Hans Hoppe on why limited government is impossible]</ref> Good government exists to provide public goods, regulate externalities and protect and enforce property rights.<ref>[http://blog.mises.org/6546/james-wilson-on-the-purpose-of-government-and-the-constitution/ James Wilson on the purpose of government], James Galles</ref> However, if government force is used not for public purposes but to protect and enhance the power of a tiny political and financial elite, parasitic thieving forces can take over monopoly government and destruction of the economy can occur without the ability of the people to revolt or defend themselves against the depredations of government force.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig11/wile13.1.html One World Government], Hans Hermann Hoppe</ref> Destructive policies can therefore continue for longer than the survival of the economy itself, especially if people have been lulled into complacency by a long history of relatively benign government whilst parasitic forces slowly take over power from behind the scenes.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig11/wile13.1.html One World Government], Hans Hermann Hoppe</ref> Some consider that modern democracy has been subverted and that the two-party choices being presented today are a charade, with little real difference between duopoly political parties, which are just shams to cover the slow but inexorable takeover of the levers of power by the financial "elite", who do not respect nor care about the will of the people, who they consider too stupid or powerless to be treated seriously.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/06/vote-for-whoever-you-want-bailout.html Vote for Whoever You Want], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28949.html United States of Denial], James West</ref> Since the mid-1990s and even earlier it has been argued by many commentators that the gold default of August 15, 1971 would inevitably lead to economic disaster due to the distorting and parasitic effects unlimited fiat money and credit creation would have on the productive private economy.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/01/business/deal-may-avert-default-but-some-ask-is-that-good.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hpw Deal May Avert Default, but Some Ask 'Is That Good?']</ref><ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /> The relentless exponential growth in retirement and welfare benefits will now be enough to bankrupt many Western governments (including the United States).<ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /><ref>[http://www.amazon.com/Boomergeddon-Deficits-Government-Devastate-Retirement/dp/1892538539/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1305008253&sr=8-1 Boomergeddon], James A. Bacon Jr</ref> No one in power today appears willing to tackle either the corrupt banking industry or government largesse.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/06/vote-for-whoever-you-want-bailout.html Vote for Whoever You Want], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/thebearslairview?art_id=10538 Sayonara, Washington], Martin Hutchinson</ref> Too many in power have a vested interest in the continuation of the system of spiraling inflation and debt to stop it, even if it could be stopped.<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-global-economy-burns-while-its-leaders-fiddle Global Economy Burns, While Its Leaders Fiddle], Nomi Prins, ZeroHedge</ref> Whilst the general economy suffers, old infrastructure collapses, man-made environmental crises abound, retailers go bankrupt, millions are foreclosed upon and are left homeless (whilst at the same time hundreds of thousands of houses lie empty and decaying) and real average incomes are decimated, perversely, banking bonuses and lobbyists' incomes have skyrocketed and the powers of the Fed and other central banks have increased because of increased regulatory duties despite their previous failures.<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/jan/10/banks-unlimited-bonuses-ministers Banks given go-ahead to pay unlimited bonuses], Guardian UK</ref><ref>[http://www.creditcrunch.co.uk/forum/topic/9253-banking-cheats-will-always-prosper/ Bank Cheats Will Always Prosper], CreditCrunch.co.uk</ref><ref>[http://dailyreckoning.com/the-expanding-industry-of-us-government/ The Expanding Industry of US Government], Bill Bonner</ref> Despite this obvious incompetence and despite repeated failures of policy at the highest levels, anyone advocating solutions beyond those approved within failed mainstream two-party thought is commonly labelled "insane", "crazy" or an "extremist".<ref>[http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/05/28/crazy Who are the real "crazies"?], Glenn Greenwald, Salon.com</ref><ref>[http://lewrockwell.com/orig11/mullen-t4.1.1.html Extremism is the New Race Card], Tom Mullens</ref><ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/8669352/Global-slump-warnings-if-US-triggers-insane-default.html Global slump warning if US triggers 'insane' default], Ambrose Evans-Pritchard</ref> Noted gold investor, Jim Sinclair, has publicly stated that the chaos has one cause - bankers have bought governments around the world and today's bankers are little more than irredeemably shallow "sociopaths", unable to grow a conscience and unable to forsee or care about the broader societal consequences of their actions beyond their own incestuous social groupings.<ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2009/08/31/china-invokes-a-stop-loss-on-otc-derivatives/ OTC Derivatives], Jim Sinclair</ref><ref>[http://maxkeiser.com/2011/07/17/alex-jones-on-satanic-rituals-of-bohemian-grove/ Alex Jones on Bohemian Grove], RTTV</ref> Leading British specialists in the pathology of the psychopath, Professors Robert Hare and Paul Babiak suspect the banking industry does indeed attract psychopaths and probably has a much higher proportion of mentally unstable psychopaths as executives compared to other industry sectors, although their comprehensive test (determining the degree of psychopathology in the workplace) has yet to be applied to the banking sector or to senior government officials or politicians.<ref>[http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/41fe2882-9cbe-11e0-bf57-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1QH9AQOwG Alfred Hitchcock' 'The Bankers'], James Makintosh, FT.com</ref> Michael Price, co-director of the Centre for Culture and Evolutionary Psychology at Brunel University in London agrees that the characteristics that make for good traders and investment bankers are very similar to those that define psychopaths. Therefore, given their likely sociopathic mind-set and culture, provided they themselves are acquiring a greater share of gross national income, many bankers simply do not care about the consequences and will continue to label others as "crazy" or "insane" or "terrorists" for so long as it gives them cover to engage in their own [[embezzlement|criminal]] conduct and for so long as it permits the in-bred corruption to continue at the highest levels.<ref>[http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/nilegardiner/100099341/joe-biden-compares-the-tea-party-to-terrorists-is-this-the-most-crass-and-nasty-white-house-in-modern-us-history/ Joe Biden compares the Tea Party to terrorists], Nile Gardiner, UK Telegraph</ref> If the charade collapses and the elite are threatened, they will simply kill anyone who threatens them and attempt to steal gold, oil, and other vital resources, as they have done repeatedly in the past.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/lewrockwell-show/2011/02/15/187-confessions-of-an-economic-hit-man/ Confessions of an Economic Hit-Man], John Perkins</ref>

Jim Sinclair suggests that many senior participants in the international banking and derivatives industry should be jailed<ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2010/10/31/jims-mailbox-573/ Debt Burden Being Transferred], Jim Sinclair</ref> to protect the public from repeatedly being "raped"<ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2010/11/21/in-the-news-today-713/ EU Ministers Said To Plan Meeting Over Ireland], Jim Sinclair</ref> by their scams and has the following conclusion on his website:<ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2010/11/09/in-the-news-today-701/ There is no practical solution], Jim Sinclair</ref>

{{quote|For years I have been telling you that there is NO PRACTICAL SOLUTION to the total of all the mistakes that have been made since Roosevelt, in a depression, started it all.}}

Jim Sinclair considers it too late to save the system and recommends people become self-sufficient and buy gold to await the inevitable collapse of the political and economic system and the associated breakdown in the division of labor.<ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2011/04/07/the-system-has-failed/ The System Has Failed], Jim Sinclair</ref>

Max Keiser has stated that the culture of actual ''physical'' sexual coercion and rape allegedly exhibited a number of prominent financial figures is simply symptomatic and an outgrowth of a culture of ''financial'' rape and exploitation.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skwj6e9xvH8&feature=player_embedded#at=102 Savers vs Speculators] Quote: Max Keiser: "Munich Re, a financial terrorist responsible for creating ghettos. Financially disadvantaged folks who are on the short end of the 'ghettoization' of the financial terrorist schemes...are forced to wear ''yellow armbands'' and be ''sex slaves'' for their German hosts." Stacy Herbert: "Yes. And be stamped on their arms afterward to prove that they were used." Max Keiser: "Yes. Let's not forget the little serial code-stamp on the wrist as part of the package." Stacy Herbert: "But Max, the story here is that this goes from the very bottom. These are just agents going door-to-door selling insurance products in the financial services industry. The top of the pyramid of the banking Establishment is Dominique Strauss-Kahn." Max Keiser: "This is a culture. Dominique Stauss-Kahn is part of the banking ''culture''. There's Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Lloyd Blankfein, Jamie Dimon, this guy Pandit over at Citigroup, the CEO just paid himself $42 million for stealing $420 million - they have a culture of predator behavior where once you - like a serial killer - once you steal money from people with mortgage fraud or with banking fees that are illegitimate or with collateralized debt obligations you get a taste for serial financial killing. You graduate to these higher crimes and you become a Dominique Strauss-Kahn or a Lloyd Blankfein or a Jamie Dimon where serial financial murder is part of your day-to-day life. That's the culture you live in."</ref> In order to be part of the system, you must be blind to its consequences. Therefore, no one with a conscience can become powerful enough within the system to fundamentally change trajectory from its current catastrophic path.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqyCjR9JEMA&feature=player_embedded Nothing Stops Banks], Matt Taibbi</ref>

Ironically, many victims of rape and abuse come to blame themselves and never fight back, preferring to adapt to a life of abuse or enslavement. This is called "learned helplessness" in psychological terms. Doug French finds a direct analogy between the dynamics of ''physical'' rape and ''financial'' abuse, with many indebted individuals ''blaming themselves'' for their predicament and refusing to default on their debts, even though it would be in their clear financial interest to do so.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5409/BatteredHomeowner-Syndrome Battered Homeowner Syndrome], Doug French. Quote: 'Lenore Walker is the pioneer in the field of battered-spouse syndrome, with her book The Battered Woman. She believes that experiencing the repeated cycles of violence can result in a spouse developing "learned helplessness," a psychological state identified by psychologist Martin Seligman. The abused believe they lack control over their situation and are convinced escape is impossible. Their motivation to escape diminishes as they become increasingly passive.

Walker explains that the constant cycles of violence and reconciliation result in the following beliefs:

The abused

believes that the violence was his or her fault,
has an inability to place the responsibility for violence elsewhere,
fears for his/her life and/or the lives of his/her children, and
has an irrational belief that the abuser is omnipresent and omniscient.

These beliefs are strikingly similar to what underwater homeowners feel.

The abused believes that the violence was his or her fault. "It was my own fault for buying a house at the top of the market in the first place and borrowing too much money to do it." "I made my bed, now I must sleep in it, no matter how much financial pain it causes me."

The abused has an inability to place the responsibility for violence elsewhere. "It's nobody's fault but my own," say people with 20/20 hindsight. "Nobody made me sign the mortgage. I'm so stupid. The bank doesn't have to negotiate with me."

The abused fears for his/her life and/or the lives of his/her children. "My credit will be ruined. I won't be able to rent an apartment. My low credit score may keep me from getting a job. I don't want to uproot the kids and have to admit that daddy and mommy made a financial mistake."

The abused has an irrational belief that the abuser is omnipresent and omniscient. The abuser in this case is the lender or owner of the mortgage. The borrower fears that these lenders can take everything they have, leave them with nothing, and make their lives miserable forever.

At the same time, default moralizers reinforce these feelings. They have no sympathy for those making a poor housing and mortgage choice. A person must suffer the consequences of their actions, it's claimed.'</ref>

John Perkins, author of ''Economic Hitman'', has openly stated that the U.S. government is merely a front runner for major corporate interests and has brutally assassinated leaders of countries where reform has been attempted.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmU9R-BaFIQ Max Keiser Interview with John Perkins]</ref> The zealotry and extremism against genuine and honest monetary reformers on the one hand and the payoffs and largesse given to unprincipled and corrupt supporters of the current monetary regime on the other ensure there is no path of reform left for those potential leaders with a conscience.<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/more-political-capture-goldman-hires-top-republican-fed-transparency-foe-spends-more-time-se More Political Capture], ZeroHedge</ref>

Dimitry Orlov, author of ''Reinventing Collapse'', has written extensively about the striking similarities between the collapse of the USSR and the multiple environmental, economic and social crises facing the USA. He also predicts economic, political and social collapse in much of the West and in particular predicts that peak oil will result in some countries being cut off completely from oil supplies resulting in sudden social upheaval and starvation and believes that it is too late for any kind of meaningful reform:<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLdwzcA9ZdM&feature=player_embedded#at=997 Dimitry Orlov Interview with Max Keiser - ''Reinventing Collapse'']</ref>

{{quote|(US military adverturism overseas) is just a very striking example of being unable to stop, even though what you're doing isn't actually working...

By demolishing as much of the social infrastructure as exists in the country... you will end up with an even less literate population that will be unable to oppose the government, unable to stand up for themselves and demand that their rights and needs be met...

People who think they can somehow skirt the financial system are wrong. They will be dominated by the Bernankes of this world and others. There isn't really a way out except to make do without money. And that's kind of what I try to explain to people is: Reduce your needs for any kind of interaction with the official economy and you will do better.}}

Even if worldwide economic catastrophe cannot be averted at this stage of the metastasizing financial crisis, choices will still need to be made by each government in response to the crisis.

On a national level, for unsustainably indebted nations, the simplest and cleanest solution for any debt-fuelled crisis is to [[default]].<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/02/massive-rout-in-irish-elections.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MishsGlobalEconomicTrendAnalysis+%28Mish%27s+Global+Economic+Trend+Analysis%29 Default Best Option for Ireland], MISH</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5449/Defaulting-on-the-Feds-Bonds Defaulting on the Fed's Bonds], Robert Murphy</ref> Bankers generally despise this solution because it (a) reduces the value of their asset (debt-based government bonds) (b) reduces or even destroys their income stream (interest on bonds) and therefore may affect their retained earnings in future (and their credit rating and compliance with Basel III rules on Tier 1 capital) (c) can result in a systemic crisis as many banks will be using that government debt to satisfy their liquidity requirements under Basel III (which requires a minimum proportion of "liquid" assets to be held by the banks - and those "assets" mainly consist of government bonds) and (d) signals to other countries that it is possible to escape debt without consequence and so potentially reduces the value of government debt in surrounding countries.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/05/trichet-goes-ballistic-walks-out-of.html Trichet Goes Ballistic], MISH</ref> Self-interested bankers are therefore often desperate to avoid government debt default, and generally much prefer an economy to be strangled by debt rather than be freed of it.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/05/trichet-goes-ballistic-walks-out-of.html Trichet Goes Ballistic], MISH</ref>

As an example of the consequences of the two alternatives, Iceland did not try to save its private bankers but instead permitted them to default on private bond payments. Ireland on the other hand guaranteed private bank debt and in doing so subjected the taxpayers of that country to decades of payments for debts that were not incurred on their behalf or for their benefit. Many commentators have observed that in 2010 [[Iceland]] recovered much faster than other countries such as [[Ireland]].<ref>[http://www.smh.com.au/business/iceland-bounces-back-as-pain-leads-to-gain-20101208-18pvm.html Iceland Bounces Back]</ref><ref>[http://www.vanityfair.com/business/features/2011/03/michael-lewis-ireland-201103?printable=true When Irish Eyes Are Crying], Michael Lewis</ref> In his extensive analysis of the aftermath of the banking panic in Ireland, Michael Lewis wrote of his puzzlement that the Irish government thought it was beyond the bounds of acceptable political discourse to consider default on privately issued Irish bank bonds, when Iceland successfully and easily defaulted and only after this did they nationalize their banking system.<ref>[http://www.vanityfair.com/business/features/2011/03/michael-lewis-ireland-201103?printable=true When Irish Eyes Are Crying], Michael Lewis</ref>

In the absence of outright default, time is the only other remedy for monetary crises (allowing re-inflation of the markets through the gradual injection of new [[debt money]] into the system through new borrowings). It is a rare "[[black swan]]" event for a cluster of private businesses or banks to default at the same time and governments often hope that this will not happen again once it has happened already. However, if the crisis is one of national solvency, waiting passively for recovery may only delay - and exacerbate - the final catastrophe as the debt-based monetary system pushes all businesses slowly towards the next crisis by confusing and misleading market participants with false price signals, particularly as they relate to interest rates. Once the next crisis hits because of even more confused price signals due to government interference in the market for money, time is something panicked financiers and investors are least likely to want to give up when the threat is never getting their [[money]] out of the imploding investment [[bubble]]. In extreme cases [[bank]]s could set up "independent" corporate investment vehicles to buy the assets associated with the [[bad debt]],<ref>[http://www.dealbreaker.com/2007/10/citigroup_looks_to_lend_money.php Citigroup looks to lend money]</ref> thereby allowing [[borrower]]s to liquidate their investments and allow time for the markets to re-inflate. Alternatively, these "sour" loans, that have gone bad through too much debt overwhelming the markets, could be dumped or "hidden" on the central bank's balance sheet, and swapped for more secure government debt (financed through compulsorily acquired taxes, which are immune from the risk of private bankruptcy). However the holding costs involved in these measures would be extremely high and would not guarantee that the losses could be averted if no new gullible investors could be found to offload these distressed assets.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8w6Nx2rfiE A Wikileaks for the Fed?]</ref> More fundamentally, these short-term "parachutes" used after bubbles burst do not save ordinary borrowers from [[foreclosure]] and [[bankruptcy]], nor do they address the pernicious long-term dysfunctional aspects of [[fractional reserve banking]] described above. These problems are temporarily averted, only to be dealt with yet again by the next generation of indebted governments and peoples.<ref>[http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18431.htm The Era of Global Financial Instability, by Mike Whitney]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8w6Nx2rfiE A Wikileaks for the Fed?]</ref>

Given these repeated financial crises arising from the fiat monetary system, many [[monetary reform]]ers predict that there will inevitably be widespread default or hyperinflation or depression - or most likely all three simultaneously in what Ludwig von Mises predicted would be a "final and total catastrophe" of our unsustainable, Ponzi-like, fiat monetary system.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5041/Whats-Behind-the-Currency-War What's Behind the Currency War], Anthony Mueller</ref> After this "catastrophe"<ref name="Landis_Reprieve">[http://www.goldensextant.com/SavingtheSystem.html Fiat's Reprieve: Saving the System, 1979-1987], Robert K. Landis, August 21, 2004.</ref> in which a significant proportion of the population may die through starvation or war<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/20-signs-horrific-global-food-crisis-coming?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+zerohedge%2Ffeed+%28zero+hedge+-+on+a+long+enough+timeline%2C+the+survival+rate+for+everyone+drops+to+zero%29 20 Signs], ZeroHedge</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/adams-m/adams-m15.1.html US Agriculture Collapse]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26605.html Population Reduction], Chris Kitze</ref><ref>[http://www.rickackerman.com/2011/03/getting-the-jump-on-a-possible-food-shortage/ Getting the Jump on Food Shortages], Marilyn Ackerman</ref><ref>[http://www.goldismoney2.com/archive/index.php/t-524.html?s=d418ff253326772a09e1a8d992da7753 Venetian Bankers and the Dark Ages]</ref> a spontaneous market-induced return to the [[gold standard]] is anticipated to be the most likely result.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMngK0t5WkY Mike Maloney interview with Max Keiser], The Keiser Report</ref><ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/02/us-dollar-about-to-lose-reserve.html US Dollar About to Lose Reserve Currency Status: Fact or Fiction?], MISH</ref> Other possible solutions following the catastrophe include a return to legally enforced full reserve banking combined with the issuance government-issued debt-free [[fiat currency]], or [[free banking]] and the issuance of private coinage and private money. If these solutions are not initiated soon, it can be expected that a complete financial "meltdown" will ensue at some stage, as environmental crises and destruction of arable land slow GDP growth in developing nations and fewer young people in developed economies can be found who are willing to go into debt in sufficient magnitude to pay off the debts that have already been accumulated.<ref name="Bonner_Swan" /><ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /> As extreme inequality increases, [[foreclosure]]s mount and financial crises repeatedly erupt, many believe a political crisis will eventually result in calls for revolution and fundamental [[monetary reform]].<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV_gwvSibmM&feature=player_embedded#at=510 Max Keiser on Alex Jones]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMngK0t5WkY Mike Maloney interview with Max Keiser], The Keiser Report</ref><ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /> However, as noted above, some commentators consider that it is already too late to avoid a combined financial, environmental and demographic catastrophe even if reform is now attempted.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/03/oil-prices-are-double-edged-sword-peak.html Peak Everything?], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.population-security.org/28-APP2.html NSSM 200 Directive], Henry A. Kissinger, April 24, 1974</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KInB2rvgaY&feature=fvsr Eco Eco Disaster], Keiser Report</ref>

On-going, worsening, [[debt]]-created crises in the economy and society (and the unsustainable damage to the [[environment]] caused by debt-created [[overconsumption]]) are likely to turn monetary and economic policies either to the extreme left or to the extreme right, as there are a number of competing solutions to the debt-based monetary "problem".<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqjyk2cx5WU&feature=player_embedded#at=696 Taste of Freedom E126], Max Keiser, Keiser Report</ref>

===Libertarians, Austrians and commodity money===

[[Libertarians]] and [[Austrian School]] supporters envision a voluntary society of free markets, [[free banking]], small government<ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/thebearslairview?art_id=10473 Models of Capitalism], Michael Hutchinson</ref> and the abolition of [[legal tender laws]], allowing money backed by a ''free market'' [[gold standard]] or [[silver standard]] to come back in circulation.<ref>[http://lewrockwell.com/north/north1009.html Counterfeit Gold Standards], Gary North</ref><ref>[http://lewrockwell.com/orig11/krolman5.1.1.html Accidentally Conceived in 1971], Arthur M.M. Krolman</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27532.html Why Monetary Expansion Must Stop], Patrick Barron</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26339.html Silver and Opium], Antal E. Fekete</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25212.html The Faults of FRB], Thorsten Polleit</ref> A necessary pre-condition in establishing a true free-market order would be the complete abolition of all legal tender laws and the abolition of monopolistic central banking, including repeal of the ''Federal Reserve Act'' of 1913.<ref>[http://www.drschoon.com/articles%5CSilverGoldAndTheLastAmericanHeroJFK.pdf Silver, Gold and the Last American Hero JFK], Darryl Robert Schoon. Extracted quote from Ron Paul: "The United States Constitution grants to Congress the authority to coin money and regulate the value of the currency. The Constitution does not give Congress the authority to delegate control over monetary policy to a central bank. Furthermore, the Constitution certainly does not empower the federal government to erode the American standard of living via an inflationary monetary policy." Note: Another argument – that the power to "coin" money precludes issuance of paper money, and that the government must redeem paper money with "precious metal" – was dismissed as frivolous in ''Milam v. United States'', citing the Legal Tender Cases.</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/73833.html End the Fed], Freedom Watch</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4860 Money: Sound and Unsound], Mark Thornton commentary on Joseph Salerno's book</ref><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/thebearslairview?art_id=10471 Gold Standard Renaissance?]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article24632.html The Gold Standard Never Dies], [[Lew Rockwell]]</ref><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/thebearslairview?art_id=10471 Gold Standard], Michael Hutchinson</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Money-Bank-Credit-and-Economic-Cycles-P290C0.aspx Money, Bank Credit and Economic Cycles], Jesus Huerta de Soto, Mises Institute ISBN: 978-1-933550-39-8</ref><ref>[http://radio.goldseek.com/griffin04.10.10.php Goldseek interview] with [[G. Edward Griffin]]</ref><ref>See also these [[Murray Rothbard]] articles: [http://www.mises.org/money.asp What Has Government Done to Our Money?], [http://www.mises.org/story/1829 The Case for the 100% Gold Dollar]; [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/cartelization.pdf The Fed as Cartel], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard191.html Private Coinage], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard190.html Repudiate the National Debt]; [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard181.html Taking Money Back], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard163.html Anatomy of the Bank Run], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard128.html Money and the Individual]</ref> Some Libertarians would also support experimentation with [[full reserve banking]],<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4860 Money: Sound and Unsound], Mark Thornton commentary on Joseph Salerno's book</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Money-Bank-Credit-and-Economic-Cycles-P290C0.aspx Money, Bank Credit and Economic Cycles], Jesus Huerta de Soto, Mises Institute ISBN: 978-1-933550-39-8</ref><ref>[http://www.mises.org/Books/mysteryofbanking.pdf Murray Rothbard, ''The Mystery of Banking'']</ref> recognizing that when fractional-reserve banking is combined with the gold standard a strong cyclical bias (and the systematic transfer of real wealth to the banking system) is normally inevitable.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5174/Life-with-the-Fed-Sunshine-and-Lollipops Life With The Fed], Thomas Woods</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5185/The-Need-for-100-Reserves The Need for 100% Reserves], Frank D. Graham</ref> Those Libertarians who support full reserve banking would strongly support more flexible and forgiving bankruptcy laws in a fractional reserve banking environment, recognizing that no stigma should be attached to bankruptcy given the anti-Libertarian "unjust acquisition" of real wealth implicit in central banking, compulsory legal tender laws, fractional reserve banking and taxation.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4860 Money: Sound and Unsound], Mark Thornton commentary on Joseph Salerno's book</ref><ref name="Repudiating the National Debt">[http://mises.org/article.aspx?Id=1423 Repudiating the National Debt], Murray Rothbard</ref><ref>[http://www.mises.org/Books/mysteryofbanking.pdf Murray Rothbard, ''The Mystery of Banking'']</ref><ref>[http://gonzalolira.blogspot.com/2010/12/want-to-ruin-your-own-country-assume.html Want to Ruin Your Country?]</ref>

In the absence of sound money, over time private corporations become mere extensions of powerful government and banking fiat.<ref name="death"/><ref>[http://mises.org/rothbard/newlibertywhole.asp For A New Liberty], Murray Rothbard</ref> Libertarians such as Murray Rothbard argue that in such a toxic monetary environment resource allocation is perverted by some or all of the following factors: corrupt alliances between so-called private corporations and regulators; increasingly intensive business structures to suit the needs of a concentrated and cartelized banking system; and the constant overriding of small communities and local government planning with central government directives to satisfy the needs of big business.<ref name="death"/> In such a corrupted monetary system, libertarians argue that financial and man-made environmental crises cannot legitimately be blamed on "private" corporations but rather blame must fall squarely on the true source of the problem - centralized government control of credit and money, which in turn creates massive distortions in scarce resource allocation, with environmental crises being the predictable consequence.<ref name="death"/><ref>[http://mises.org/rothbard/newlibertywhole.asp For A New Liberty], Murray Rothbard</ref><ref>[http://maxkeiser.com/2011/06/11/ote114-on-the-edge-with-peter-schiff/ Peter Schiff Interview with Max Keiser]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article29029.html Getting Used to Life without Food], F. William Engdahl</ref>

Regarding the current accumulation of government bonds and private debt, many Libertarians believe that the creation of the [[Federal Reserve System|Federal Reserve]] under the [[Federal Reserve Act]] of 1913 was unconstitutional and consider that at least some of this accumulated debt should be canceled or forgiven ''prior'' to a return to the gold standard in recognition of its fundamental illegitimacy.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article29433.html The Never-Ending Economic Depression], Washington Blog</ref><ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/antal-feketes-open-letter-ron-paul-impeach-bernanke Antal Fekete's Letter to Ron Paul]</ref><ref name="Repudiating the National Debt"/><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zMv4Offm_8&feature=player_embedded#at=1341 Max Keiser Interview with Alex Jones]</ref> Arguably this would be supported by the "just acquisition" jurisprudence of legal philosopher [[Robert Nozick]] and Libertarian advocate [[Murray Rothbard]].<ref name="Repudiating the National Debt"/> As Murry Rothbard states:<ref>[http://angloaustria.blogspot.com/2010/05/quote-of-day-on-repudiation.html The Ethics of Liberty], Murray Rothbard</ref>

{{quote|Many libertarians fall into confusion on specific relations with the State, even when they concede the general immorality or criminality of State actions or interventions. Thus, there is the question of default, or more widely, repudiation of government debt. Many libertarians assert that the government is morally bound to pay its debts, and that therefore default or repudiation must be avoided. The problem here is that these libertarians are analogizing from the perfectly proper thesis that private persons or institutions should keep their contracts and pay their debts. But government has no money of its own, and payment of its debt means that the taxpayers are further coerced into paying bondholders. Such coercion can never be licit from the libertarian point of view. For not only does increased taxation mean increased coercion and aggression against private property, but the seemingly innocent bondholder appears in a very different light when we consider that the purchase of a government bond is simply making an investment in the future loot from the robbery of taxation.}}

In late 2010, financial commentator Max Keiser started the [[Buy Silver Crash JP Morgan Campaign 2010]] in an attempt to expose the flaws underlying the [[fractional reserve banking]] system.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zMv4Offm_8&feature=player_embedded#at=1341 Max Keiser Interview with Alex Jones]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IKbAmsGey0&feature=player_embedded#at=66 Bob Chapman Silver Predictions]</ref><ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/dec/02/jp-morgan-silver-short-selling-crash Want JP Morgan to crash? Buy silver], Max Keiser</ref>

====Free Banking and Full Reserve Banking====

On the issue of the required level of bank reserves, Austro-libertarians are sharply divided on the optimal solution to eliminate the parasitic and destructive forces inherent in fractional reserve banking.<ref>[http://mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae13_4_2.pdf Fractional Reserve Free Banking: Some Quibbles], Philip Bagus and David Howden</ref><ref name="Cochran_Free">John P. Cochran. [http://mises.org/daily/4898 ''Free Banking''], ''Mises Daily'', review of ''Free Banking: Theory, History, and a Laissez-Faire Model'' by Larry Sechrest</ref>

Some Austrian scholars advocate "free banking", where banks are legally permitted to engage in fractional-reserve banking activities ''provided'' they comply with the standard laws against fraud and are not supported in any way against the possibility of bank runs and are forced into bankruptcy should they not be able to pay their debts as and when they fall due.<ref name="Cochran_Free" />

Advocates of this system of banking include Lawrence White, Steven Horwitz, George Selgin, and Kevin Dowd, amongst others.<ref name="Cochran_Free" /> F.A. Hayek also advocated the de-nationalization of money production and implicitly supported a free banking financial system in some of his works on monetary reform.<ref>[http://www.mises.org/store/Free-Market-Monetary-System-A-P553.aspx?AFID=14 ''Free Market Money System''] by [[F.A. Hayek]]</ref>

Other Austrian scholars advocate "[[full reserve banking]]", considering fractional-reserve banking and the associated issuance of irredeemable paper money to be inherently fraudulent, unethical, unjust, disruptive and dysfunctional, akin to embezzlement and counterfeiting.<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/citizen-sues-atlanta-fed-based-allegation-its-issuing-federal-reserve-notes-it-has-no-intent Citizen Sues Atlanta Fed], ZeroHedge</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae13_4_2.pdf Fractional Reserve Free Banking: Some Quibbles], Philip Bagus and David Howden</ref><ref>See for example these [[Murray Rothbard]] articles: [http://www.mises.org/money.asp What Has Government Done to Our Money?], [http://www.mises.org/story/1829 The Case for the 100% Gold Dollar]; [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/cartelization.pdf The Fed as Cartel], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard191.html Private Coinage], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard190.html Repudiate the National Debt]; [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard181.html Taking Money Back], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard163.html Anatomy of the Bank Run], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard128.html Money and the Individual]</ref> [[Full reserve banking]] would require banks to retain in reserve all deposits that are legally available for immediate withdrawal, and permit lending only from longer-term deposits.

Advocates of this system of banking include [[Murray Rothbard]],<ref name="The Mystery of Banking">[http://www.mises.org/Books/mysteryofbanking.pdf ''The Mystery of Banking''], Murray Rothbard</ref><ref name="The Case for a 100% Gold Dollar">[http://mises.org/story/1829 The Case for a 100% Gold Dollar], Murray Rothbard</ref> [[Jesus Huerta de Soto]],<ref>[http://www.mises.org/books/desoto.pdf ''Money, Bank Credit, and Economic Cycles''], Jesus Huerta de Soto, First English edition (2006), pp. 98-114</ref> [[Jörg Guido Hülsmann]],<ref>[http://mises.org/media/4014 The Economics of Legal Tender Laws], and [[Jorg Guido Hulsmann]] (includes detailed commentary on [[central banking]], [[inflation]] and [[fractional reserve banking|FRB]])</ref><ref name=FBFB>[http://mises.org/journals/rae/pdf/RAE9_1_1.pdf Free Banking and the Free Bankers], Jörg Guido Hülsmann, Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics (Vol. 9, No. 1)</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/lewrockwell-show/2011/01/04/181-hyperinflation-ahead/ Interview with Jörg Guido Hülsmann], The Lew Rockwell Show</ref> amongst others.<ref>[http://mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae13_4_2.pdf Fractional Reserve Free Banking: Some Quibbles], Philip Bagus and David Howden</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4880 The Faults of Fractional-Reserve Banking], Thorsten Polleit</ref>

Most recently, in late 2010, two British MP's, Douglas Carswell and Steven Baker, sought to introduce legislation into the British Parliament that would allow depositors to decide if their money should be lent out and for what period.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/8004540/The-radical-reform-that-would-end-boom-and-bust-in-banking.html ''The Radical Reform in Banking''], Toby Baxendale, ''Daily Telegraph'', 15 Sept 2010</ref> If this legislative reform were to pass, British depositors would have the option to elect to save their money in full reserve bank accounts.

===Public banks, debt-free money and the possibility of "benign government"===

The concept of debt-free money is most notably represented by [[Michael Rowbotham]], [[Stephen Zarlenga]] of the American Monetary Institute and [[Ellen Hodgson Brown]]. They advocate various forms of "pure" fiat money issuance by government, without the need for the government to issue a bond to print or issue the fiat money.

Currently virtually all money issued in modern economies is sourced from debt; in other words, it is "debt money". "Debt money" is money created in parallel with debt or [[Credit (finance)|credit]] via the process of [[fractional reserve banking]].

"Debt-free money" is a "true" or "pure" fiat currency issued by the [[Treasury]] of a [[central government]], where there is no requirement for its eventual return as a condition of its creation (except by way of payment of taxes).<ref name="death"/> It is argued by Rowbotham and others that this would allow for the substantial lowering of tax rates, would allow public works projects to be funded cheaply, and would stimulate economic development, if the fiat money is spent sensibly on inflation-lowering long-term capital projects.<ref name="death"/>

====Properties====
According to its proponents, government-issued debt-free fiat currency (such as debt-free notes and coins) can circulate perpetually in the economy as "stable" money and although not as secure as [[hard currency]], government-issued debt-free notes and coins (such as United States Notes and silver certificates) do not have the same effects of debt-based money.<ref>[http://www.entrewave.com/freebooks/docs/a_pdfs/gnhm.pdf Honest Money]</ref> It should be noted however that fiat currency can be a source of [[hyperinflation]] if its production is not controlled, as the government has the potential to issue unlimited amounts of fiat currency - ''provided'' it is accepted as "money" by the private banking system.<ref>[http://mises.org/books/shorthistorypapermoney.pdf A Short History of Paper Money in the United States], William M. Gouge, Mises Institute</ref> Notes and coins in circulation (being defined as [[Money supply#M0|M0]]) now account for a tiny fraction of the total M3 [[money supply]] in all developed, debt-based [[capitalism|capitalist]] economies (and M0 is also generally less than 10% of the total [[Money supply#M2|M2]] money supply in most developed economies).<ref>[http://www.dollardaze.org/blog/?post_id=00216 Global Money Supply Ratios]</ref>

Instead of [[money]] being created "indirectly" and "furtively" at the point of loan creation by the private banking system, with periodic bailouts to already-rich bankers, it would be created directly and openly by the democratically elected government and issued to its citizenry by way of instruction to the private banking system.

Michael Rowbotham and Ellen Hodgson Brown both argue in their books that this would not raise consumer prices (or at least would not be as inflationary or as dysfunctional as the present system).<ref>[http://www.webofdebt.com/articles/hyperinflation.php Weimar Hyperinflation], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref> They argue that this would also reduce overconsumption and the associated environmental damage associated with debt-based consumerism. It would also give individuals the free time to engage once again in non-marketable religious, artistic and recreational activities if they chose to do so.<ref name="death"/>

It is to be expected that these policies would be violently opposed by the private banking "elite", as it would render impotent their control over the money supply, dissipating this crucial decision-making power away from its current power base. It would also be likely to reduce [[economic growth]], dramatically increase the cost of labor and, potentially, result in an exacerbation of price inflation and malinvestment.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/12/fatally-flawed-end-fed-proposal-from.html Fatally Flawed End the Fed Proposal], MISH</ref> However, Rowbotham argues that this proposal would address the problem of inequality inherent in a debt-based monetary system and reduce the devastating impact of personal [[bankruptcy]] and allow individual citizens to quickly recover from financial hardship.<ref name="death"/> He also argues that this social security measure (and government spending in general) would not have to be paid for by future generations from future streams of [[income tax]].<ref name="death"/>

====Related proposals====
Ex-U.S. Treasury Department analyst Richard C. Cook also supports the issuance of debt-free money and zero-interest credit by the central government and has provided a detailed blueprint of monetary reform recommendations to transition to a debt-free money supply.<ref name="marketoracle.co.uk"/>

[[Stephen Zarlenga]] and [[Ellen Hodgson Brown]] also call for the nationalization of the private banking system once the full losses on the banks' portfolios are recognized.<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ellen-brown/restoring-economic-sovere_b_823697.html Restoring Economic Sovereignty], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref><ref>[http://www.webofdebt.com/articles/new_theory.php Time for a New Theory of Money]</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/01/steve-keen-responds-to-world-economic.html Exponential Growth], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.webofdebt.com/articles/force_nationalization.php Foreclosuregate could force bank nationalization]</ref><ref>[http://webofdebt.wordpress.com/2010/12/22/austerity-fails-in-euroland-time-for-some-%e2%80%9cdeficit-easing%e2%80%9d/ Austerity Fails in Europe], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref> Ellen Hodgson Brown has repeatedly called for the creation of publicly-owned banks, where the interest earned by these banks could be ploughed back into local economies instead of being sucked out of local communities into the major commercial banks.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article29338.html Why Aren't Banks Lending], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref>

Brown also supported "[[Quantitative easing|QE2]]" - which she described as a necessary and desirable funding of government spending via money printing rather than by the indirect means of issuing of interest-bearing government bonds, which simply allows private bankers to profit from costless money creation.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article24443.html QE2 and the Looming Threat of a Crippling Debt Service]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article24719.html QE2 and Hyperinflation], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref>

[[Michael Rowbotham]] seeks the cancellation of "unjust" debts (such as [[third world debt]]), but would also support the re-introduction of strongly redistributive tax policies involving higher financial transaction taxes (such as a [[Tobin tax]]), [[land tax]]es and [[inheritance tax]]es, and, crucially and most importantly, a [[social security]] [[safety net]] involving a guaranteed minimum [[social credit|debt-free income]] (sourced from government-issued debt-free money independent of any central bank) for all citizens in the debt-based economy. Under this proposal, every adult citizen would be given a livable debt-free income transferred electronically into their [[bank account]], simply by virtue of their [[citizen]]ship. They could then use this debt-free money to pay off their [[mortgage]]s or to live, debt-free, without being compelled to work as a [[wage slavery|wage slave]] in the market economy if they chose not to. The government would finance these payments simply by ordering the private banks to accept their electronic instructions as legal tender. It would therefore not result in the expansion of [[government debt]].<ref name="death"/>

Many monetary reformers who call on the government to take back the money creation from debt-sourced banks also call for full reserve banking to remove the bank's alleged "embezzlement" and "counterfeiting" abilities.<ref name="marketoracle.co.uk"/><ref>[http://www.monetary.org/ AMI website, calling on full-reserve banking]</ref>

====Criticisms====
In late 2010, [[Ellen Hodgson Brown]] and Austrian School commentator [[Gary North]] engaged in an intense debate over the direction of [[monetary reform]], with gold-standard supporter [[Gary North]] accusing Brown of going down a path that inevitably leads to the economics of fascism and hyperinflation.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north908.html Criticism of Ellen Hodgson Brown]</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north912.html Ellen Betrays], Gary North</ref> Government deficit spending is not a substitute for private consumption due to the inability of coercive goverment to invest rationally long-term, given the [[economic calculation problem]] inherent in socialized economies. North argues that it is not possible to trust a coercive, non-market entity - government - to limit its spending in circumstances where pure fiat money is in the hands of politicians and that [[inflation]], being an invisible tax, is much harder to resist than regular taxes. Greedy, corrupt, short-sighted politicians could buy off special interest groups to get elected and the general public could only watch on the sidelines as the purchasing power of their dollars steadily declines; this decline would be blamed on currency speculators and eventually foreign currencies (including "natural" monies such as gold and silver and copper) would have to be banned and confiscated from the public to ensure continued use of depreciating fiat.<ref name="North_Congress">Gary North. [http://www.garynorth.com/public/7030.cfm "Economic Error #15: Congress Can Safely Be Trusted to Manage the Money System Without Any Price Inflation."]. Referenced 2011-02-24.</ref> The fundamental error of Brown's analysis, according to North, is that Brown expects the source of the problem - corrupt governments bought and paid for by bankers - to be the source of the solution. She calls for a move away from war spending, whilst recoginizing that the current fiat monetary system favors government spending on war.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28831.html More Efficient Ways to Stimulate Economy], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref> To date, she has yet to reconcile these inconsistencies in her writings.

[[Mike Shedlock]] agrees with the abolition of fractional reserve banking, but criticizes the concept on similar grounds as North. Commenting on a bill to end the Fed introduced by Representative [[Dennis Kucinich]], he wrote: "Neither sound money nor the free market comes from printing money into existence. Arguably the only thing worse than the Fed printing money out of thin air is Congress printing money out of thin air for the purpose of full employment and/or any other absurd ideas Congress has."<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25175.html Kucinich's End the Fed campaign fatally flawed], Mike Shedlock.</ref>

===Left-leaning ideas===
Some left-leaning [[social democrats]] would also support ''raising'' minimum wages immediately after a financial crisis (rather than reducing wage rates - which only prolongs the depression through reduced spending), taxing of the banking system and implementing of strongly redistributive income and [[land tax]]es to ensure the financially dispossessed are "replenished" with income. They would also support a [[social security]] [[safety net]] involving the provision of unemployment benefits and government-supplied free medical care, education and other essential services and [[public goods]].<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4yVhxDTom0 Steve Keen interview with Max Keiser]</ref> It is to be expected however that this coercive regulatory regime would result in the systematic destruction of the entrepreneurial class as profits are squeezed by rising costs. In addition, without the issuance of debt-free [[fiat currency]] the result of these programs would be the persistent, exponential, accumulation of [[government debt]], financed by the [[private banking]] system by the issuance of [[government bonds]]. If not properly managed, this could result in a progressively higher tax burden and may result in higher [[interest rates]] in the long term, as financiers require higher [[interest rates]] to lend to the increasingly indebted central government. Without the issuance of [[debt-free money]] these policies can be self-defeating, with the net result simply being that a larger stream of guaranteed income goes to the [[private bank]]ing system via the issuance of interest-bearing [[government bonds]] (which are purchased by the [[private banks]] "out of nothing" through [[fractional reserve banking]] techniques). This [[government debt]] must then be financed in perpetuity by compulsorily acquired [[tax]]es from future generations.

It could be argued that the early success of extreme so-called "right-wing" (but socialist government-guided) [[fascism]] in [[Nazi Germany]] and [[Italy]] in the period after [[World War I]] was a response to the economic chaos created by the debt-based monetary system in early 20th century [[Europe]]. Some of the economic policies introduced by [[Hitler]] and [[Mussolini]] were in direct response to the economic collapse and social [[anarchy]] caused by soaring government and personal debt levels in both countries in the post-[[Versailles Treaty]] era, and (indirectly) arose from the writings of [[Silvio Gesell]] and others on the nature of the problems associated with a debt-based [[monetary system]]. Although many [[historian]]s justifiably criticize many of the non-economic policies of the [[fascist]] governments of [[Germany]] and [[Italy]] during this period, the [[economics of fascism]] seemed to provide a degree of [[prosperity]] to the populace, and their stated objective of restoring economic and social order during the pre-[[World War II]] era.<ref>[http://www.webofdebt.com/articles/bankrupt-germany.php How a Bankrupt Germany Solved its Economic Problems], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref> These economic policies and their results are the subject of vigorous debate even today.<ref name="North_National_Great">Gary North. [http://www.garynorth.com/public/7009.cfm "Historical Error #27: Hitler's National Socialist Economic Policies Ended the Great Depression in Germany."], ''GaryNorth.Com''. Referenced 2011-02-24.</ref> (See also [[Inflation in Nazi Germany]].)

Similarly it could be argued that [[socialism]] and [[communism]] were movements inspired by the inequalities caused by the intense (and in [[Karl Marx]]'s view unsustainable) concentrations of monetary wealth, power and influence inherent in the practice of [[fractional reserve banking]] in a [[laissez-faire]], [[monopoly]] [[capitalist]] environment (particularly when [[fractional reserve banking]] is combined with a [[gold standard]] or other [[hard currency]] [[monetary system]]).<ref>[http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/02/steve-keen-roving-cavaliers-of-credit.html ''Roving Cavaliers of Credit'', Steve Keen, with commentary from Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism]</ref>

The [[communist]]/[[socialist]] solution to the problem of [[fractional reserve banking]] is simple: re-enfranchising workers through widespread organization and unionism, complete removal (and if necessary, violent non-democratic removal) of the allegedly "parasitic" financial, capitalist and upper classes, wholesale repudiation of [[government debt]] resulting in complete debt [[default]]; forced [[expropriation]] of [[land]] and wealth from the [[upper classes]] to the dispossessed and needy [[working classes]]; [[nationalization]] of the [[private banks]] (which has required armed [[coup]]s by the [[military]] in some past [[revolution]]s); and the return of the banking function from a dominant, speculative to a subordinate, administrative institution, where the banking system is reduced to a subservient arm of the centralized [[Leviathan]]. In this system, government-owned banks are directed by government policy; often provide different kinds of loans to different industry sectors at different interest rates depending on the perceived "needs" of the economy and the community; normally have a significant proportion of [[non-performing loan]]s due to weak or non-existent [[bankruptcy]] laws; and periodically "forgive" failed debts in recognition of the impossibility of some businesses in paying this debt money back. In addition, individuals are prohibited from possessing large property holdings, in excess of their individual needs.

It is to be expected that the [[profitability]] of the government-owned banking system would be more stable - but dramatically lower - than that in a debt-based [[capitalist]] economy. It is also to be expected that a significantly higher misallocation of resources could occur in this system, where lending decisions are "infected" by political considerations and are not made on the basis of expected [[return on investment]]. The risk of [[corruption]] in the banking system is also expected to be higher where there is no separation between the political and monetary systems in an economy. Market-oriented [[monetary reform]]ers and [[neo-classical]] economists therefore do not support [[nationalization]] of the [[private banking]] system.

It should be noted that partial [[nationalization]] of the [[private bank]]ing system would only be temporary, as any remaining [[private banks]] could still engage in unlimited [[fractional reserve banking]] and facilitate the eventual acquisition and control of any strategic assets in a partially socialized economic system. It is to be expected that in the absence of complete [[nationalization]] of the banking system, the [[private bank]]ing system would eventually dominate the financial system in any nominally [[socialist]] society.

===Status under current systems===
Whatever their political leanings, nearly all [[monetary reform]]ers agree that the current financial and economic system imposed on the populace by governments worldwide, involving the perpetuation of government-protected private banks (organizations legally permitted to engage in unlimited and inherently speculative fractional-reserve banking activities during boom times, with recourse to monopoly central banks - and in some cases corrupt governments<ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/thebearslairview?art_id=10513 The Evils of Crony Capitalism], Martin Hutchinson</ref><ref>[http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/ambroseevans-pritchard/100008812/irelands-debt-servitude/ Ireland's Debt Servitude], Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, UK Telegraph</ref> - to provide bail outs of fiat money during downturns), "deregulated" labor markets (which have the effect of increasing the marketization and commodification of human activity), strictly enforced bankruptcy laws (which permit the periodic transfer of assets from failed [[bankrupt]] investors caught at the end of "Ponzi-scheme" cycles to the private banks and their associates) and [[personal income tax]] (which, combined with periodic economic collapses, dispossesses the majority of the populace from their accumulated income and wealth and transfers this wealth to the owners of illicit government bonds) amounts to an inherently unstable, unjust and dysfunctional financial system resulting in environmentally damaging over-consumption, the systematic and irredeemable destruction of fertile [[arable land]] and the government-sponsored (and ultimately unsustainable) oppression of the indebted, impoverished and economically enslaved majority.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4893 ''The Ethics of Money Production''], Jorg Guido Hulsmann</ref>

==See also==
* [[Austrian Business Cycle Theory]]
* [[Central bank]]
* [[Monetary reform]]
* [[Murray Rothbard]]
* [[Ron Paul]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Links==
*[http://econpapers.repec.org/paper/wpawuwpma/0203005.htm Fractional Reserve Banking as Economic Parasitism]
*[http://www.prosperityuk.com/prosperity/links/links.html Monetary Reform websites]
*[http://www.relfe.com/plus_5_.html I want the Earth Plus 5%]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVkFb26u9g8 Money As Debt (videoplay animation)]
*[http://www.financialarmageddon.com/ Financial Armageddon]
*[http://jsmineset.com/ Jim Sinclair's MineSet]
*[http://www.lewrockwell.com/ LewRockwell.com]
*[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/ Market Oracle]
*[http://maxkeiser.com/ Max Keiser]
*[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/ MISH]
*[http://www.prudentbear.com/ PrudentBear.com]
*[http://www.rgemonitor.com/index.php RGE Monitor]
*[http://www.webofdebt.com/ Web of Debt]
*[http://www.zerohedge.com/ Zero Hedge]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Criticism Of Fractional-Reserve Banking}}
[[Category:Argumentation]]
[[Category:Money]]

Criticism of fractional reserve banking

2011-08-04T00:14:29Z

203.209.200.99: /* Debt Saturation and the Keynesian Endpoint */

{{main|Fractional-reserve banking}}
{{wikipedia text}}
'''Criticisms of [[fractional reserve banking]]''' and [[central bank|central banking]] have been put forward from a variety of perspectives, although the most vigorous and sustained criticism now comes from libertarians and anarcho-capitalists such as economists [[Jesús Huerta de Soto]] and [[Jörg Guido Hülsmann]], American politician [[Ron Paul]], and commentators such as historian Thomas Woods, Jim Grant of ''Grant's Interest Rate Observer'' and former US Budget Director David Stockman.<ref>[http://blog.mises.org/16521/fantastic-speech-by-de-soto/ Jesús Huerta de Soto Speech]</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5174/Life-with-the-Fed-Sunshine-and-Lollipops Life with the Fed], Thomas Woods</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5146/Over-to-You-H-Parker-Willis Over to you H Parker Willis], Jim Grant</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VcN_Z6L0jM&feature=player_embedded#at=609 James Grant Interview with James Turk]</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5113/The-End-of-Sound-Money-and-the-Triumph-of-Crony-Capitalism The End of Sound Money and the Triumph of Crony Capitalism], David Stockman, Henry Hazlitt Memorial Lecture, Austrian Scholar's Conference</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig11/stockman6.1.1.html Crony Capitalism Strikes Again], David Stockman</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/imperative-sound-money.html The Social Imperative of Sound Money], Lew Rocwell</ref> Most in the mainstream (both on the left and right) remain silent on the issue of fractional reserve banking and central banking,<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/lewrockwell-show/2008/10/31/58-americas-slow-motion-fascist-coup/ Naomi Wolf Interview with Lew Rockwell], Lew Rockwell: "I've frankly never understood why people on the Left are ''not'' upset about the Federal Reserve. If you look back to the history..." Wolf: "We probably don't understand it!" Lew Rockwell:"...but you know the founding of the Fed before the law was, you know, with bipartisan support signed in 1913, the Federal Reserve Act was drafted at J.P. Morgan's private club - it's sounds like a conspiracy story, but I guess it sort of is - on Jekyll Island Georgia...Big bankers wrote the Federal Reserve Act for their benefit!"</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/imperative-sound-money.html The Social Imperative of Sound Money], Lew Rockwell: "I find it sickening that there are so few voices outside the Austrian School that will stand up to this policy [of fiat money, fractional reserve banking and central banking]."</ref> although past critics have included mainstream economists such as Irving Fisher,<ref>''100% Money'', Irving Fisher</ref> and [[Milton Friedman]].<ref>Friedman, M., A Program for Monetary Stability, New York, Fordham University Press, 1960, pp. 65</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/3108 The Social Imperative of Sound Money], Lew Rockwell: "I find it sickening that there are so few voices outside the [[Austrian School]] that will stand up to this policy (of [[fiat money]]/[[fractional reserve banking]]/[[central bank]]ing)".</ref> Within the economics profession, most criticisms are from the [[Austrian School]].<ref>[http://mises.org/media/4014 The Economics of Legal Tender Laws], [[Jorg Guido Hulsmann]] (includes detailed commentary on [[fractional reserve banking|FRB]])</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Money-Bank-Credit-and-Economic-Cycles-P290C0.aspx Money, Bank Credit and Economic Cycles], Jesus Huerta de Soto, Mises Institute ISBN: 978-1-933550-39-8</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Meltdown-P557.aspx ''Meltdown''], Tom Woods, Regnery Press ISBN: 9781596985872</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25212.html The Faults of FRB], Thorsten Polleit</ref> There are also critics from outside the economics profession who advocate [[monetary reform]].<ref>[http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2010/12/matt-stoller-end-this-fed.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29 End This Fed], Matt Stoller</ref><ref>For an example of the writings of these groups, see [http://www.bilderberg.org/monref.htm this] contribution from Bilderberg.org</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMngK0t5WkY Max Keiser]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28533.html The Global Debt Crisis], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref>

==Terminology==

Critics of fractional reserve banking and the related fiat paper monetary system may refer to it by the term '''debt-based monetary system''',<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4631 Is Our Money Based On Debt?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref name="speech">For an example of the public use of the term, see the [http://www.prosperityuk.com/prosperity/articles/earl.html speech] of the Earl of Caithness in the House of Lords on 5 March 1997</ref> or '''credit-based monetary system'''.<ref>For example of the public use of the term, see this speech given by [[Zhou Xiaochuan]], [http://www.bis.org/review/r090402c.pdf Reform the monetary system], 23 March 2009 (BIS), and this article, [http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/02/steve-keen-roving-cavaliers-of-credit.html ''Roving Cavaliers of Credit''] by Steve Keen (with commentary by Yves Smith)</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/09/myths-about-whats-economically.html Myths], MISH</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/07/are-we-trending-towards-deflation-or-in.html Deflation], MISH</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2008/04/deflation-in-fiat-regime.html Deflation In A Fiat Regime?], MISH</ref> They may also refer to money created in parallel with debt as '''debt money''' or '''endongenous money''', reflecting the fact that virtually all new money is currently created by people or businesses or governments further indebting themselves to banks.<ref name="death"/><ref>[http://www.debunkingeconomics.com/Papers/Money/KeenModellingEndogenousMoneyICAPE.pdf Endogenous Money], Steve Keen</ref> This monetary system is called "endogenous" because the money supply is flexible, expanding in parallel with the demand for debt and stalling or contracting when demand for debt declines.<ref>[http://www.debunkingeconomics.com/Papers/Money/KeenModellingEndogenousMoneyICAPE.pdf Endogenous Money], Steve Keen</ref> Some consider this a perverse and dysfunctional way of introducing new money into the economy.<ref name="death"/>

The term, "debt-based monetary system," and related terms such as "debt money" are not used by conventional economists. Mainstream economists often refer to "debt money" by its antonym "credit" and distinguish between types of money only ''after'' the money is created. The very definition of "money" and the distinction between "debt" and "money" (and their respective economic effects) are still sources of vigorous ongoing debate.<ref>[http://lewrockwell.com/wile/wile25.1.html Daily Bell Interview: Dr. Joseph Salerno]</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5052/Deflation-Confusion-Money-Is-Not-Credit Money Is Not Credit], Robert Blumen</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/02/fiat-world-mathematical-model.html Fiat World], MISH</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/09/myths-about-whats-economically.html What's Economically Important], MISH</ref> Mainstream economists rarely if ever discuss the origins of modern money and generally do not actively discuss or comment on the fact that virtually all money is now created through individuals, or businesses, or governments going into debt to government-sponsored commercial banks.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/3108 The Social Imperative of Sound Money], Lew Rockwell</ref><ref>For an example of the mainstream use of the term "credit" instead of "debt-money" see [http://www.ft.com/cms/s/bdfa429e-17a2-11dd-b98a-0000779fd2ac,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2Fbdfa429e-17a2-11dd-b98a-0000779fd2ac.html&_i_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fhome%2Fasia this] example from the Financial Times, 1 May 2008</ref> Discussion around the nature of "debt-based" money and the arguments over its effects on the economy are notably absent from most established mainstream academic economic publications<ref>Paul Krugman, writing at [http://www.slate.com/id/9593 Slate.com], stated that the Austrian theory of business cycles was "about as worthy of serious study as the phlogiston theory of fire".</ref> and most mainstream economists instead argue that the origin of different kinds of money (and the volume of their issuance) does not really matter, at least in the long run.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/wenzel/wenzel87.1.html Senior Fed Economist Calls Ron Paul a Pinhead]</ref> This mainstream idea is referred to as the theory of "money neutrality".<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/wenzel/wenzel87.1.html Senior Fed Economist Calls Ron Paul a Pinhead]</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5172/Is-Inflation-Harmless-or-Even-Good Is Inflation Harmless or Even Good?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://libertarianpapers.org/articles/2011/lp-3-14.pdf Free Banking and the Structure of Production], Dan Mahoney</ref> Some commentators have speculated that the unusual "silence" around the topics of fractional reserve banking and central banking and the staunch refusal to consider alternative theories of money can be attributed to the simple fact that many economists are on the payroll of the major commerical or central banks of the world and are unprincipled or, at worst, corrupt.<ref>[http://www.safehaven.com/article/15068/economists-opposing-fed-audit-are-on-fed-payroll Economists on Fed Payroll], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/07/priceless-how-the-federal_n_278805.html Priceless], Ryan Grim, Huffington Post</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26581.html Ten Reasons The Banksters Got Away With It], Danny Schechter</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxtCn2GyqKc&feature=related Corruption in Academic Economics], Charles Ferguson</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27805.html Currency Dead End Paradox], Jim Willie CB</ref>

== Typical criticisms ==

Norm Franz states in his ''Money and Wealth in the New Millennium'':<ref>[http://www.amazon.com/Money-Wealth-Millennium-Norm-Franz/dp/0971086303 ''Money and Wealth in the New Millennium''], Norm Franz</ref>

{{quote|Gold is the money of kings, silver is the money of gentlemen, barter is the money of peasants – but debt is the money of slaves.}}

12th century Chinese scholar Hu Zhiyu stated:<ref>Ralph T. Foster, ''Fiat Paper Money, The History and Evolution of Our Currency'', page 19</ref>

{{quote|Paper money, the child, is dependent on precious metals, the mother. [Inconvertible paper notes are therefore] orphans who lost their mother in childbirth.}}

Robert H. Hemphill, credit manager of the Federal Reserve in Atlanta, stated in 1939:<ref>Preface to ''100% Money'', Irving Fisher</ref>

{{quote|If all the bank loans were paid, no one would have a bank deposit and there would not be a dollar of coin or currency in circulation. This is a staggering thought. Someone has to borrow every dollar we have in circulation, cash or credit. If the banks create ample synthetic money we are prosperous; if not, we starve. When one gets a complete grasp of the picture the tragic absurdity of our hopeless position is almost incredible, but there it is. It (the banking problem) is the most important subject intelligent persons can investigate and reflect upon. It is so important that our present civilization may collapse unless it becomes widely understood and the defects remedied very soon.}}

British monetary reformer Michael Rowbotham states the following in his book, ''The Grip of Death'' (the title being derived from the literal origin of the word "mortgage"):<ref name="death">{{cite book |last= Rowbotham |first= Michael |title= The Grip of Death: A Study of Modern Money, Debt Slavery and Destructive Economics | year= 1998 |publisher= Jon Carpenter Publishing |isbn= 9781897766408 }}</ref>

{{quote|It is actually not in the least surprising that nations are chronically in debt, governments have inadequate resources, public services are under-funded and people are beset by mortgages and overdrafts. The reason for all this monetary scarcity and insolvency is that the financial system used by all national economies worldwide is actually founded upon debt. To be direct and precise, modern money is created in parallel with debt. The reason for the failure of economists to question patently invalid monetary data becomes clear - there is a total acceptance by them of the most extraordinary method for supplying money to the modern economy.

The creation and supply of money is now left almost entirely to banks and other lending institutions. Most people imagine that if they borrow from a bank, they are borrowing other people's money. In fact, when banks and building societies make any loan, they create new money. Money loaned by a bank is not a loan of pre-existent money; money loaned by a bank is additional money created. The stream of money generated by people, businesses and governments constantly borrowing from banks and other lending institutions is relied upon to supply the economy as a whole. Thus the supply of money depends upon people going into debt, and the level of debt within an economy is no more than a measure of the amount of money that has been created...

All around us, the gross failure of modern economics screams out to be addressed. The towering indifference of those shining offices scraping the sky above the menacing ghettos of Brooklyn; the speculative channelling of billions of pounds of volatile international finance, which can leave a country prosperous one week and plunged into decline the next; the ludicrous production of cheap goods of poor durability, so that jobs are 'protected', and we can recycle the materials and make the goods all over again; the ridiculous export drives by which every country simultaneously attacks the economies of every other nation, under the pretence that such global free trade improves the general wellbeing; the staggering waste of a throwaway, quick-growth, all-new spiral of constant economic change; the outrageous financial debt which Third World countries have actually paid many times over, but which, due to interest, is now larger than ever before - a debt which forces those impoverished nations to compete to supply goods already in surplus; the cynical manipulation of human emotions into buying fashion-obsessed trivia; the burgeoning transport demands of escalating economic growth and centralisation, with identical goods crisscrossing the globe, regardless of environmental cost; the fact that despite the incredible productive capacity of the modern economy, people are obliged to work harder, with ever greater efficiency, forever forced to adapt and retrain or face a life of indignity and misery as one of the unemployed.

Both those in work and out must watch, as the world they know and understand changes almost in front of their eyes like some nightmarish Kafka-esque novel. This is the era of accelerating economic change. The benefits are highly dubious, and no-one even pretends that the economy is responding to what people actually want. The only justification offered for the changes is that this is 'the age of progress', and 'you can't stop progress', even if you are human and the progress you are discussing is supposed to be about people and the lives they might lead in the future. The world of economics has got mankind by the throat and everyone knows it, and no-one has a clue where we are going or why we are going there.

But is this surprising? If a monetary system is invalid or flawed, then the entire economy is based on the mathematics of error, and must be riddled with the effects. If the financial system upon which our economies are built is defective, and yet monetary considerations dominate our economic decisions, should we be surprised if the results are less than satisfactory?

The major role played by bank credit, which forms over 95% of the money stock in most developed nations, suggests that it cannot but be implicated in these trends. This is further suggested by the way that banking has literally become the focal point of modern economic management, through manipulating interest rates. The stargazers of Whitehall and the Federal Reserve hold their councils, trying to tread the non-existent tightrope between growth and recession by debating quarter percentage-points of interest rates. Alan Greenspan, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, engagingly describes his task in controlling the American economy through adjusting interest rates as a matter of 'taking the champagne away once the party has started'. Businessmen around the world hold their breath, measuring his every word, wondering what he will decide. There could be no greater indictment of contemporary financial economics than this; that a fluctuating financial digit on a single computer system in a single street in a single country should have the ability to dominate the economies of an entire planet...

The past thirty years are almost unique by comparison with the previous three centuries in the lack of attention that has been directed at debt and the financial system. Throughout the eighteenth century, there were repeated calls for reform. During the nineteenth century, excessive banking was held by many to be directly responsible for the waves of appalling poverty that swept Europe and America during a period of increasing industrialisation and agricultural development. In this century, during the depression of the 1930s, the financial system effectively seized up and brought virtual collapse to the economies of the world in an age which was, perhaps for the first time, obviously wealthy, and in which technology offered people real freedom as well as material prosperity. One observer judged that over 2,000 schemes for monetary reform were put forward at that time - all with a common theme in their outright rejection of the debt-based financial system as it then operated. The same system continues to this day, modified in small details, but unchanged in principle; and the recent financial crisis in Asia shows the potential for collapse still exists.

However the issue of economic volatility through booms, slumps, crises, and collapses has never been the sole point of criticism. It is the long-term trends that a debt-based financial system fosters which are most destructive. The most obvious of these is declining personal solvency. Mortgages support over 60% (£420 billion) of the money stock in the UK and over 70% ($4.2 trillion) in the US. Housing-debt statistics for the UK and the US show that there has been a dramatic decline in true home ownership as mortgages become higher and ever more widespread. There can be little question that relying upon housing debt to supply money to an economy lacks economic and political justification. However, taken in conjunction with the marked rise in commercial debt, mortgages have a knock-on effect. In an economy where the price of goods is elevated by commercial debt and consumer incomes are deeply eroded by mortgage debt, there is a persistent and subtle advantage given to low-quality, mass-produced goods, and growth is fostered in this direction. The persistent decline in product durability and the growth-culture of a rapacious consumer society can be directly traced to the debt-based financial system.

The financial system has also generated a serious distortion of agriculture. Excessive farming debt has driven out the most efficient producers - small/medium sized farms. Meanwhile, the relentless pursuit of farming and processing methods oriented towards a low-price market now involves the production of foodstuffs of poor nutritional value, inferior to that which the land can provide and inferior to that which consumers actually desire.

The nature of growth within a debt economy affects not only the quality of output, but distribution and marketing. Intense competition for sales within a debt-based economy results in the use of transport as a competitive strategy by businesses. This has led to a progressive breakdown of local and regional supply networks, and marketing over ever-greater distances, leading to escalating commercial traffic demands.

At the international level, trade is deeply affected by the debt-based financial system. The aggressive pursuit of maximum export revenues, rather than seeking a simple balance of trade, is entirely due to the fact that even the wealthiest nations operate from a position of gross insolvency. International trade has degenerated into a competition between nations to alleviate their indebtedness, rather than a process involving a mutually beneficial exchange of goods and services.

Endemic Third World debt is also directly attributable to the reliance upon debt and banking to supply money. The theoretical model of borrowing from the World Bank/IMF, investing in development and repaying loans from export revenues, is one of the great failures of contemporary economics. The persistent inability on the part of debtor nations to repay these loans suggests strongly that the nature of the indebtedness suffered by the Third World has absolutely no actual legitimacy or validity...

The more one explores the broad impact of debt, the more apparent it becomes that bank-credit constitutes a dysfunctional form of money. An economy based almost entirely upon bank-credit and debt experiences an intense drive for growth, regardless of need or demand. Bank credit engenders financial dependence, injects instability and fosters growth-distortions, both within an economy and throughout the international arena.

Reform of the debt-based financial system is clearly not a minor issue. It is not a matter of fiddling around with taxes, incomes and allowances to make things apparently more equal, more efficient, or perhaps more straightforward. Changing the debt-based financial system involves gradually altering the very foundations upon which national and international economics is based. Monetary reform is concerned with attempting to determine a new principle for the supply of money to an economy - the purpose being to create a supportive financial environment in which more constructive economic trends are allowed to emerge, and in which more benign systems of overall economic management become possible. In view of the rapacious onslaught on the environment, the waste of natural resources and the social and political friction caused by de-regulated commerce and capital flows, this is at once a promising, but a sobering prospect.}}

Ron Paul states in his book ''End the Fed'':<ref name="Paul_End">Ron Paul. [http://mises.org/daily/3687 ''End the Fed''], ''Mises Institute'', September 03, 2009. Chapter 2 of the book ''End the Fed''. Referenced 2011-03-16.</ref>

{{quote|American presidents actually worked to implement and defend the gold standard, which put a brake on the ability of the largest banks to expand credit without limit. The gold standard worked like a regulator in this way. Ultimately, banks had to function like every other business. They could expand and make risky loans up to a point, but when faced with bankruptcy, they had nowhere they could turn. They would have to contract loans and deal with extreme financial pressures. Risk bearing is a wonderful mechanism for regulating human decision making. This created a culture of lending discipline.

In the jargon of the day, the system lacked "elasticity." That's another way of saying that banks couldn't expand money and credit as much as they wanted. They couldn't inflate without limit and count on a centralized institution to bail them out...

The banking industry has always had trouble with the idea of a free market that provides opportunities for both profits and losses. The first part, the industry likes. The second part is another issue. That is the reason for the constant drive in American history towards the centralization of money and banking, a trend that not only benefits the largest banks with the most to lose from a sound money system, but also the government, which is able to use an elastic system as an alternative form of revenue support. The coalition of government and big bankers provides the essential backbone of support for the centralization of money and credit...

Consider the Soviet case: to my knowledge, no business ever went under with the Soviet system but society in general grew ever poorer. Think of that Soviet system applied to the banking industry and you have the Fed.}}

In the foreward to ''Fiat Money Inflation in France'', Mr John McKay wrote the following:<ref>[http://mises.org/books/inflationinfrance.pdf ''Fiat Money Inflation in France''], Andrew Dickson White, 1912</ref>

{{quote|The story of "Fiat Money Inflation in France" is one of great interest to legislators, to economic students, and to all business and thinking men. It records the most gigantic attempt ever made in the history of the world by a government to create an inconvertible paper currency, and to maintain its circulation at various levels of value. It also records what is perhaps the greatest of all governmental efforts—with the possible exception of Diocletian's—to enact and enforce a legal limit of commodity prices. Every fetter that could hinder the will or thwart the wisdom of democracy had been shattered, and in consequence every device and expedient that untrammelled power and unrepressed optimism could conceive were brought to bear.

But the attempts failed. They left behind them a legacy of moral and material desolation and woe, from which one of the most intellectual and spirited races of Europe has suffered for a century and a quarter, and will continue to suffer until the end of time. There are limitations to the powers of governments and of peoples that inhere in the constitution of things, and that neither despotisms nor democracies can overcome.

Legislatures are as powerless to abrogate moral and economic laws as they are to abrogate physical laws. They cannot convert wrong into right nor divorce effect from cause, either by parliamentary majorities, or by unity of supporting public opinion. The penalties of such legislative folly will always be exacted by inexorable time. While these propositions may be regarded as mere commonplaces, and while they are acknowledged in a general way, they are in effect denied by many of the legislative experiments and the tendencies of public opinion of the present day. The story, therefore, of the colossal folly of France in the closing part of the eighteenth century and its terrible fruits, is full of instruction for all men who think upon the problems of our own time.}}

C.J. Maloney wrote of the desperation of Henry VIII of England to counterfeit gold by engaging charlatan-alchemists:<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/maloney/maloney28.1.html The Desperation of King Henry VIII], C.J. Maloney</ref>

{{quote|Despite his formidable education and great historic reputation, the disastrous interventions into the economy, the lifelong dishonesty with the currency in his care and, most of all, his laughable attempts to bring a sorcerer into his court to conjure gold, mark the great King Henry VIII as a fool. Yet there is no reason, be warned, for anyone to feel superior to the King; one only needs to pick up a newspaper to see that though alchemy may be a dead science, it has merely taken up new forms.

This has always been and always will be, for its immortality is powered by economic man’s most dangerous, fondest wish, the one that will drive us to endless imbecilities and repeated destruction – the ardent desire to believe that you can get something for nothing. His adherence to that belief made King Henry VIII a man of his times – and ours.}}

In his treatise, ''The Ethics of Money Production'', which was published by the Mises Institute in October 2008, Jörg Guido Hülsmann presents (at pages 238-239) the following description of the perverse rise of fiat money and fractional reserve banking:

{{quote|There is no tenable economic, legal, moral, or spiritual rationale that could be adduced in justification of paper money and fractional-reserve banking. The prevailing ways of money production, relying as they do on a panoply of legal privileges, are alien elements in the capitalist [i.e., true free market] economy. They provide illicit incomes, encourage irresponsibility and dependence, stimulate the artificial centralization of political and economic decision-making, and constantly create fundamental disequilibria that threaten the life and welfare of millions of people. In short, paper money and fractional-reserve banking go a long way toward accounting for the excesses for which the capitalist economy is widely chided.

We have argued that these monetary institutions have not come into existence out of any economic necessity. They have been created because they allow an alliance of politicians and bankers to enrich themselves at the expense of all other strata of society. This alliance emerged rather spontaneously in the seventeenth century; it developed in multifarious ways up to the present day, and in the course of its development it created the current monetary institutions.

…The driving force that propelled the development of central banks and paper money was the reckless determination of governments, both aristocratic and democratic, to increase their revenue, if necessary in violation of good faith and of all established rules of commerce.}}

Many [[monetary reform]]ers claim that a fiat money/fractional-reserve based banking system is inherently destructive and inevitably generates [[inflation|debasement of the currency]], extreme inequality, the destruction of the middle class<ref name="Paul_End" /> and [[Austrian Business Cycle Theory|wrenching business crises]].<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25212.html The Faults of FRB], Thorsten Polleit</ref><ref name="Paul_End" /><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Money-Bank-Credit-and-Economic-Cycles-P290C0.aspx Money, Bank Credit and Economic Cycles], Jesus Huerta de Soto, Mises Institute ISBN: 978-1-933550-39-8</ref><ref>[http://www.mises.org/Books/mysteryofbanking.pdf Murray Rothbard, ''The Mystery of Banking'']</ref><ref name="books.google.com">{{cite book |last= Brown |first= Ellen H. |title= Web of Debt |url= http://books.google.com/books?id=ILMGrEC524UC |accessdate= 2007-12-15 |year= 2007 |publisher= Engdahl Publishing|isbn= 0979560802 }}</ref><ref name="death"/><ref name="monetary.org">[http://www.monetary.org/lostscienceofmoney.html Stephen A. Zarlenga, ''The Lost Science of Money'' AMI (2002)]</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/story/3108 Sound Money], Lew Rockwell</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/story/1971 Our Money Madness], Lew Rockwell</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/rothbard/genuine.asp The Case for a Gold Dollar], Murray Rothbard</ref><ref name="twilight"/> Vladimir Z. Nuri has analyzed fractional reserve banking and considers it a form of economic parasitism.<ref>[http://econpapers.repec.org/paper/wpawuwpma/0203005.htm Fractional Reserve Banking as Economic Parasitism]</ref>

These views are not accepted by mainstream government-supported economists. For example David Andolfatto, Vice President in the Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, has openly called Dr. Ron Paul a "pinhead" for holding such views.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/wenzel/wenzel87.1.html Senior Fed Economist Calls Ron Paul a Pinhead], LRC</ref> He later tried unsuccessfully to delete or retract his statements and expressed his regret over making the comments.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/wenzel/wenzel92.1.html Fed Economist in Retreat], Robert Wenzel</ref>

Critics of fractional reserve banking frequently argue that since money creation requires ''loans'' from the banking system, people are required to go further into debt in order for any new money to be created. They theorize that this eventually causes [[Austrian Business Cycle Theory|credit cycle]]s (or [[Austrian Business Cycle Theory|business cycles]]) and debases the [[means of exchange]].<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25212.html The Faults of FRB], Thorsten Polleit</ref> They also argue that if debts were ever paid back, there would be no money and the economy would collapse in a debt-deflation trap.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVkFb26u9g8 Money As Debt]</ref> They therefore argue the system is ''inherently unstable'', requiring constantly increasing injections of debt just to avoid deflationary collapse.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVkFb26u9g8 Money As Debt]</ref> They claim this is ultimately unsustainable.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVkFb26u9g8 Money As Debt]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZAzBDDnhwg Rich Dad Advisors Discuss Food Storage]</ref>

Many critics find it problematic that banks "create money out of nothing" and consider this fundamentally immoral, akin to [[counterfeiting]] and/or [[embezzlement]].<ref>[http://www.dailypaul.com/node/119914 Ron Paul video - fractional reserve banking is fraudulent]</ref><ref name="Paul_End" /><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25212.html The Faults of FRB], Thorsten Polleit</ref>

Some also link the alleged negative effects of fractional reserve banking with central banking<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-qe-end-america-we-know-it QE Is The End Of American], ZeroHedge</ref> and a government-enforced "paper" or [[fiat currency]],<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27768.html The Federal Reserve Note Is Dead], Jeff Berwick</ref> which they claim allows the practice of fractional reserve banking to continue without a "natural" limitation on the growth of the [[money supply]], thereby causing inherently unsustainable "[[bubble (economics)|bubbles]]" in asset and capital markets, which are vulnerable to Ponzi-like speculation by highly leveraged [[hedge funds]] and other bank agents.<ref name="Paul_End" /><ref>[http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2009/12/23/mish-on-the-fictional-reserve-system/ MISH on the Fictional Reserve System], Steve Keen</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Money-Bank-Credit-and-Economic-Cycles-P290C0.aspx Money, Bank Credit and Economic Cycles], Jesus Huerta de Soto, Mises Institute ISBN: 978-1-933550-39-8</ref><ref name="books.google.com">{{cite book |last= Brown |first= Ellen H. |title= Web of Debt |url= http://books.google.com/books?id=ILMGrEC524UC |accessdate= 2007-12-15 |year= 2007 |publisher= Third Millennium Press |location= Baton Rouge, Louisiana |isbn= 0979560802 }}</ref><ref name="death"/><ref name="monetary.org">[http://www.monetary.org/lostscienceofmoney.html Stephen A. Zarlenga, ''The Lost Science of Money'' AMI (2002)]</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/story/3108 Sound Money], Lew Rockwell</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/story/1971 Our Money Madness], Lew Rockwell</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/rothbard/genuine.asp The Case for a Gold Dollar], Murray Rothbard</ref><ref name="twilight"/><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25212.html The Faults of FRB], Thorsten Polleit</ref>

Reformist economists such as [[Murray Rothbard]] support a "full reserve" banking system and criticize [[fractional reserve banking]] as inherently fraudulent.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5185/The-Need-for-100-Reserves The Need for 100% Reserves], Frank D. Graham</ref> [[Murray Rothbard]] held this view very strongly throughout his life.<ref name="Paul_End" /><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25212.html The Faults of FRB], Thorsten Polleit</ref> Other reformist economists are more tolerant of fractional-reserve banking and support [[free banking]] instead of full reserve banking.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=DFv6OzeBWpQC&pg=PP3&dq=steven+horwitz++banking&sig=VZasp_8pGVvpQsFKMI3W9yp4AlM#PPA231,M1 Microfoundations and Macroeconomics: An Austrian Perspective], Steven Horwitz, pp. 223-232.</ref>

==Basic debate==

The economic, environmental and social effects arising from money creation through fractional-reserve banking have been subject to much heated political debate for well over two centuries.<ref name="The Forgotten War"/><ref name="books.google.com"/><ref name="death"/><ref name="twilight"/><ref>[http://www.silverbearcafe.com/private/fracbank.html Antal E. Fekete, Fractional Reserve Banking Revisited]</ref><ref>[http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1297199137.php China Inflation and Gold], Darryl Robert Schoon</ref><ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-good-bad-and-ugly-part-3 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly], James Quinn</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article29255.html The Collapse of Paper Money], Darryl Robert Schoon</ref><ref>[http://www.goldismoney2.com/archive/index.php/t-524.html?s=d418ff253326772a09e1a8d992da7753 Venetian Bankers and the Dark Ages]</ref>

Many Austrian economists and monetary reformers focus on the combined use of [[fiat currency]], [[fractional-reserve banking]] and [[central banking]] as a negative feature of modern monetary systems.<ref>[http://mises.org/media/4014 The Economics of Legal Tender Laws], [[Jorg Guido Hulsmann]]</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Meltdown-P557.aspx ''Meltdown''], Tom Woods, Regnery Press ISBN: 9781596985872</ref> These commentators use the term "debt-based monetary system" to refer to an economic system where [[money]] is created primarily through fractional-reserve banking techniques, using the banking system.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4569 What Does Debt-Based Money Imply for Interest Payments?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4631 Is Our Money Based On Debt?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref name="speech"/> This form of money is called "debt-based" because as a ''condition of its creation'' someone must go into debt in order for the money to be created and it must be paid back plus interest at some time in the future.

To some commentators, this implies that as the [[money supply]] and the economy grows, the general populace becomes increasingly indebted at the same time due to the fact that debt grows in parallel with money supply growth, and increasing interest payments (from either taxpayers or indebted consumers) are needed to pay bondholders as the money supply grows.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28533.html The Global Debt Crisis], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref>
<ref name="death"/><ref name="twilight">[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article4489.html Antal E. Fekete, The Twilight of Irredeemable Debt]</ref><ref name="The Forgotten War">[http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1192819378.php America's Forgotten War Against the Central Banks], Mike Hewitt</ref>

One argument posits that since debt and the interest on the debt can only be paid in the same form of money, the total debt (principal plus interest) can never be paid in a debt-based monetary system unless more money is created through the same process.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28533.html The Global Debt Crisis], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref> For example: if 100 credits are created and loaned into the economy at 10% per year, at the end of the year 110 credits will be needed to pay the loan and extinguish the debt. However, since the additional 10 credits does not yet exist, it too must be borrowed. To some, this implies that the money supply must grow exponentially at the same rate as economic growth and compounding debt in order for the monetary system to remain solvent, as economic activity would be stifled with a static volume of money when interest became due, because in a static-money world no new money could be found to be taken out of circulation to allow debtors to pay outstanding interest to creditors.<ref name="death"/><ref name="twilight"/><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/01/steve-keen-responds-to-world-economic.html Exponential Credit], MISH,</ref><ref>[http://blog.mises.org/17737/chancellor-not-enough-gold/ Not Enough Gold], Robert Blumen</ref>

Others argue that there is in fact no mathematical necessity for the stock of money in a debt-based system to grow, as the "turnover" or "flow" or "velocity" of money can increase to allow for compounding interest payments.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4569 What Does Debt-Based Money Imply for Interest Payments?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2010/10/08/ami-talks-in-flv-format/ AMI Conference 2010], Steve Keen</ref><ref>[http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2010/11/05/solving-the-paradox-of-monetary-profits-2/ Solving the Paradox of Monetary Profits], Steve Keen</ref> However this does imply that either population growth is maintained or some consumers would have to increase their rate of spending to expand GDP sufficiently to allow the fixed stock of money to turnover sufficiently to pay for the interest compounding on top of the debt.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/01/steve-keen-credit-impulse.html The Credit Impulse], Steve Keen with commentary from MISH</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4569 What Does Debt-Based Money Imply for Interest Payments?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2010/10/08/ami-talks-in-flv-format/ AMI Conference 2010], Steve Keen</ref><ref>[http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2010/11/05/solving-the-paradox-of-monetary-profits-2/ Solving the Paradox of Monetary Profits], Steve Keen</ref> This may mean that Ponzi-like dynamics bubble up in "pockets" of the economy with interest payments being allowed in a fixed money economy, but these debt-fuelled bubbles of higher spending or speculation would pop and die out relatively quickly as there would be no central bank to keep the bubbles alive with further money creation.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4569 What Does Debt-Based Money Imply for Interest Payments?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/01/steve-keen-credit-impulse.html The Credit Impulse], Steve Keen with commentary from MISH</ref>

Gold, silver and other [[precious metals]] have in the past been used as money. Because of the difficulty in increasing the supply of precious metals quickly, some [[monetary reform]]ers believe a return to the [[gold standard]], or a similar system of "hard" or "real" asset-backed currency, is the only way to stabilize the growth of the money supply. These monetary reformers often refer to the gold standard and [[silver standard]] as "sound money" or "honest money".<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4860 Money: Sound and Unsound], Mark Thornton commentary on Joseph Salerno's book</ref>

==Main criticisms==

In a 2003 statement to the U.S. House of Representatives, Ron Paul stated "if unchecked, the economic and political chaos that comes from currency destruction inevitably leads to tyranny".<ref name="house.gov">[http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2003/cr090503.htm Paper Ron Paul, Paper Money and Tyranny, Speech in U.S. House of Representative, September 5, 2003]</ref>

Some economic thinkers (primarily members of the [[Austrian School]]) and political commentators believe that a debt-based monetary system amounts to a subtle form of monetary "[[fraud]]" in that it creates money "costlessly" through the use of [[fractional-reserve banking]] techniques.<ref>[http://www.mises.org/rothbard/moneyback.asp Taking Money Back, by Murray Rothbard]</ref>

Michael Rowbotham is an active proponent of [[monetary reform]], and argues that this system of [[money supply]] is perverse and inherently monopolistic and "anti-democratic", as it creates an inflationary exponential growth imperative in the economy which leads to over-centralization and environmentally damaging and unstable over-consumption. Critics such as Rowbotham argue that the indebted are forced to induce new consumers to spend their way into debt so existing loans can be repaid with new debt-created money. Failure to achieve this goal results in [[foreclosure]] for those businesses and [[insolvency]] in the banking system that leads to economic collapse due to the sudden contraction of the money supply.<ref name="death"/><ref name="Ponzi Nation">[http://www.iimagazine.com/article.aspx?articleID=1234345 Ponzi Nation]</ref>

Mark Anielski as well as some political thinkers such as Rowbotham and some economists (such as Hyman Minsky, Steve Keen and Mike Shedlock) argue that this system of money supply has characteristics similar to a [[pyramid scheme]], where the newly indebted are compelled to induce others into debt to pay off their own debts.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/01/steve-keen-credit-impulse.html The Credit Impulse], Steve Keen with commentary from MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.lin.ca/resource/html/arpa02/PC1-FertileObfuscation.pdf ''Fertile Obfuscation: Making Money Whilst Eroding Living Capital''], 34th Annual Conference of the Canadian Economics Association, Mark Anielski</ref> It is therefore argued by a number of monetary reformers that fractional-reserve banking and the associated exponential growth of money in the economy "forces" the economy towards indebted consumerism.<ref name="books.google.com"/>

Rowbotham argues that a major negative side-effect of the debt-based monetary system is its effect on agriculture, claiming that residential development produces by far the greatest continuous injection of debt money into Anglo-sphere economies. Therefore, significant super-normal profits can be generated by re-zoning agricultural land and replacing it with low-density [[House|housing]].<ref name="death"/>
If this is correct, this trend will lead to the destruction of fertile arable land, as farmers cannot compete to retain fertile arable land from property developers at the periphery of major population centers, and as this land is then progressively re-zoned for speculative new residential development. Rowbotham predicts that the global supply of fertile arable land will systematically and catastrophically decline as perverse incentives favor short-term speculative land development over long-term food security, leading to a broad decline in the quality and nutritional value of agricultural produce and, eventually, a dramatic increase in the prices of many "soft" commodities - which could then lead to actual food shortages for poorer segments of the world population.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27874.html Horrific Global Food Crisis is Looming], Michael Snyder</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/85588.html Inflation and Bacteria], Michael Rozeff</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/76920.html The Corporate State and the Tapeworm Economy], Catherine Austin Fitts</ref><ref name="death"/><ref>[http://www.wsws.org/articles/2007/dec2007/food-d22.shtml Naomi Spencer, World Socialist Website, "Severe food shortages, price spikes threaten world population", 22 December 2007]</ref><ref>[http://www.preparednesspro.com/blog/food-shortage-series-part-1/ Food Shortage Series],Kellene Bishop</ref> This has been referred to as the problem of "Peak Everything".<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/03/oil-prices-are-double-edged-sword-peak.html Peak Everything?], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28218.html "Peak Everything"], Jeremy Grantham</ref>

If for any reason the monetary system broke down, urban populations (nominally "rich" but poor in terms of direct access to food supply) could find basic foodstuffs either rationed or unavailable at any price, ultimately resulting in food security becoming a major public policy issue - particularly if combined with oil supply shortages or an oil price spike,<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27874.html Horrific Global Food Crisis is Looming], Michael Snyder</ref><ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2011/02/24/in-the-news-today-791/ Collapse]</ref> as major population centers worldwide are almost entirely reliant on mass transportation of food from distant (or even foreign) locations to survive day-to-day.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27874.html Horrific Global Food Crisis is Looming], Michael Snyder</ref><ref name="death"/><ref>[http://www.preparednesspro.com/blog/food-shortage-series-part-1/ Food Shortage Series],Kellene Bishop</ref><ref>[http://www.wsws.org/articles/2007/dec2007/food-d22.shtml Severe food shortages, price spikes threaten world population]</ref><ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/18/business/global/18yuan.html?hpw Inflation in China]</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/76920.html The Corporate State and the Tapeworm Economy], Catherine Austin Fitts</ref><ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2011/02/24/in-the-news-today-791/ Collapse]</ref><ref>[http://www.rickackerman.com/2011/04/bee-die-off-threatens-global-food-calamity/ Bee Die Off]</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/03/oil-prices-are-double-edged-sword-peak.html Peak Everything?], MISH</ref>

Others consider that the core problem is not food security, nor overpopulation, nor environmental destruction, nor excessive carbon emissions due to non-pricing of energy producing externalities, nor excessive "specialization" of labor in the midst of monetary dysfunction, but excessive government regulation, causing capital destruction.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5277/When-Capital-Is-Nowhere-in-View When Capital Is Nowhere In View], Jeffrey Tucker</ref><ref>[http://www.garynorth.com/public/8071.cfm Population Growth as Propaganda], Gary North</ref>

The fundamental problem with the current monetary system that all Austrian economists agree on is that in the midst of constant credit creation and monetary dysfunction is it ''impossible'' to know what unsustainable [[malinvestment]]s are taking place in the economy, except to acknowledge that they ''must'' be taking place somewhere in the midst of unsustainable credit growth.<ref>[http://www.goldensextant.com/SavingtheSystem.html Saving the System], Robert K. Landis</ref>

===Effects on economic health: Ponzi Scheme Dynamics===

According to Michael Rowbotham the expansion of money through debt is unsustainable and necessarily fuels and creates [[Austrian Business Cycle Theory|economic bubbles]]. This concentrates wealth in the hands of private banks as the populace is forced into [[debt]] simply to own a home and educate their children, hoping that the loans can be repaid by others going into debt in ''greater amounts'' later to purchase the assets they themselves have purchased through incurring large amounts of personal debt.<ref name="death"/> However, debt expansion leads to price appreciation of assets through speculation as the financial market becomes riskier and this process is unsustainable in the long run, with the last cycle of indebted being wiped out when they cannot find anyone to buy the assets they themselves have purchased by going into massive debt. Doug Noland, Steve Keen, Edward Chancellor, Bill Bonner and many others have compared this type of market to an enormous State-sponsored global monetary [[Ponzi scheme]].<ref>[http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2008/12/13/the-worlds-biggest-ponzi-scheme/ The World's Biggest Ponzi Scheme], Steve Keen</ref><ref>[http://www.iimagazine.com/article.aspx?articleID=1234345 Ponzi Nation,"Who is Hyman Minsky?", para 6]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26678.html One Gargantuan Ponzi Scheme], Paul Hallyer</ref><ref>[http://prudentbear.com/dmdocuments/HowCouldIrvingFisherHaveBeenSoWrong.pdf How Could Irving Fisher Have Been So Wrong?], Doug Noland</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/08/former-fed-governor-mishkin-paid-124000.html Mishkin], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/bonner/bonner467.html Warning], Bill Bonner</ref>

The bust phase of this Ponzi-like [[business cycle]] where "debt-based" money growth cannot continue because the debt levels are at saturation levels, meaning growth in debt money slows or contracts, catching newly indebted businesses and consumers who are left out of the growth cycle, triggering a combined liquidity and solvency crisis when markets seize up due to a collapse in the artificially-supported prices in financial markets.<ref name="death"/><ref name="Ponzi Nation"/>

===Effects on the environment===
There are also critics in the left-wing and environmentalist camps who contend fractional reserve banking (by creating a necessity for indefinite [[economic growth]]) leads to environmental destruction and a sudden, catastrophic depletion of the earth's natural resources as the unsustainable, exponential consumption of the world's scarce natural resources reaches its inevitable limits.<ref>David Korten, ''Agenda For A New Economy'', Berret-Koehler, 2009</ref><ref>[http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2004/10/06/no-longer-obeying-orders/ George Monbiot], about five sixths of the way down</ref>

===Inherent problems with the system===

Some monetary reformers predict that there will be an increased incidence of financial crises in the developed world, as economic and population growth inevitably slow and as the success of financial sector lobbying results in increased tax loopholes and a reduction in effective redistributive [[tax]]es which, combined with the debt-legacy of the [[welfare state]], allows an intense and unsustainable concentration of wealth and political power in the financial services sector.<ref name="death">{{cite book |last= Rowbotham |first= Michael |title= The Grip of Death: A Study of Modern Money, Debt Slavery and Destructive Economics | year= 1998 |publisher= Jon Carpenter Publishing |isbn= 9781897766408 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdVc40Mc9cQ&feature=related Andrew Sheng, INET presentation]</ref>

Some monetary reformers argue that perverse incentives in the financial services industry lead to a collusive relationships between governments and bankers which are economically and socially destablizing in the long run.<ref>[http://mises.org/media/4014 The Economics of Legal Tender Laws], Jorg Guido Hulsmann</ref>

Given that the financial system requires ever higher levels of indebtness from the general populace for its solvency, it is vital that the indebted "victims" who must sink deeper into debt for the system to survive do so voluntarily and willingly and are not made aware of the consequences of purchasing consumables with debt money.<ref name="death">{{cite book |last= Rowbotham |first= Michael |title= The Grip of Death: A Study of Modern Money, Debt Slavery and Destructive Economics | year= 1998 |publisher= Jon Carpenter Publishing |isbn= 9781897766408 }}</ref> Some isolated politicians have previously highlighted the fact that mainstream media organizations appear to downplay or minimize the seriousness of deficit spending by government and debt-sourced spending of all kinds.<ref>[http://www.senate.gov/~budget/democratic/statements/2005/fs_reconciliationfloorstmt102005.pdf Speech by Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) on October 20, 2005 regarding the "misleading" reporting of deficit spending by the mainstream media]</ref> Euphemisms for debt and personal and national bankruptcy associated with debt have been developed to delay a mass panic away from government bonds or debt. For example, the associated growth of debt-based derivatives during the upward phase of the debt money cycle was referred to as "[[innovation]]" in financial markets.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/03/opinion/03krugman.html?em&ex=1196917200&en=ac60abcdbd977d07&ei=5087%0A Innovating Our Way to Financial Crisis, by Paul Krugman]</ref>

[[Bankruptcy]] laws differ to a small degree in different jurisdictions but in all developed economies unpaid debt results in legal penalties, property confiscation on behalf of the creditor and income [[sequestration]]. Although in Christian, Jewish and Muslim religious practice there have been traditions of debt relief or laws against [[usury]], in no modern Western jurisdiction are any debts periodically forgiven or cancelled in recognition of the inherent impossibility of repaying debts in circumstances where the debt-based monetary cycle has inevitably resulted in too little new [[debt money]] being injected into the [[money supply]] to pay for the currently outstanding debts.<ref>[http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2007/11/new-bankruptcy-law-backfires-by.html Bankruptcy law backfires]</ref>

On a national level, if the issuance of [[government bonds]] becomes unsustainable, sovereign [[bankruptcy]] can occur - and has occurred many times in history.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4869 Can the Fed Become Insolvent?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://elainemeinelsupkis.typepad.com/money_matters/2007/10/greenspaniel-an.html Greenspaniel and U.S. bankruptcy]</ref><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/thebearslairview?art_id=10493 Dee-Fault!], Martin Hutchinson, Prudent Bear</ref> [[Sovereign debt]] crises due to the inability of nations to pay interest on [[government bonds]] have occurred frequently and regularly in the third wor and less frequently (every 30 years or so) in the first world as a result of high levels of unsustainable public debt - often because private debts are assumed by a corrupt government through large private bank bailouts.<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1331076/Ireland-bailout-Lets-frank-7bn-bunch-liars-crooks-bunglers.html Ireland Bailout], Alex Brummer</ref><ref name="Willie_Misdiagnosis">[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article24543.html QE2 and the Great Economic Misdiagnosis], Jim Willie, November 24, 2010.</ref> The [[Latin American debt crisis]] is an example of sovereign debt levels becoming unsustainable, resulting in a [[currency crisis]] and economic collapse, as [[interest rates]] rise precipitously due to the inability of the national government to attract financiers to purchase new [[government bonds]] to inject new debt money into the ailing economy.<ref name="Willie_Misdiagnosis" />

At such times, it is the responsibility of the [[IMF]] to come in as a kind of supranational [[central bank]] to mediate between the national government and international financiers.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/05/imf-chief-pulled-from-plane-in-new-york.html Time to Dissolve the IMF], MISH</ref> The role of the [[IMF]] as [[central bank]] to the world has similar responsibilities and risks inherent in [[central bank]]ing which are described below in relation to the role of the [[Federal Reserve]]. If the [[IMF]] repeatedly intervenes to save financiers from loss when sovereign bankruptcy occurs, this has a tendency to induce [[moral hazard]] and can encourage the financing of reckless government spending and borrowing.<ref>[http://www.rgemonitor.com/41 IMF Reform and International Lender of Last Resort, RGE Monitor]</ref><ref>[http://info.interactivist.net/article.pl?sid=02/11/07/199213&mode=thread&tid=8 Banking Bunkum, by Henry C.K. Liu]</ref><ref name="Willie_Misdiagnosis" />

A [[single currency]] regime such as the [[Euro]] can mask national liquidity or solvency crises, by ensuring that a national currency is not quickly exchangeable for another, thereby restricting the ability of national governments to depreciate their currencies and cutting off the possibility that the real value of [[government bond]] interest repayments could decline relative to other currencies.<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1316442/Anglo-Irish-Bank-bail-Will-Irish-economic-meltdown-hit-UKs-fragile-recovery.html Irish Meltdown], UK Mail On-line,</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article24459.html Ireland Bailout Consequences for Britain, Portugal Next?], Nadeem Walayat</ref><ref name="Willie_Misdiagnosis" /><ref>[http://news.goldseek.com/RichardDaughty/1192374060.php The Mogambo Theory of Currency Relativity]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvJEJEGzeU8&feature=player_embedded#! Putin ditches dollar], RTTV</ref> This may however increase the risk of bond default where indebted national governments cannot pay back the interest payments in the denominated common currency.<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1316442/Anglo-Irish-Bank-bail-Will-Irish-economic-meltdown-hit-UKs-fragile-recovery.html Irish Meltdown], UK Mail On-line,</ref><ref>[http://blog.mises.org/15129/bagus-explains-the-ecb-and-the-euro/ The Tragedy of the Euro], Philipp Bagus</ref>

===Types of downturns===
{{main|Austrian Business Cycle Theory}}
[[Austrian Business Cycle Theory]] states that artificially low interest rates set by any coercive price-fixing entity will inevitably stimulate malinvestment in the wrong capital projects which will inevitably lead to an unsustainable boom followed by a bust.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5164/The-Cure-Low-Interest-Rates-Is-the-Disease The Cure (Low Interest Rates) Is The Disease], Thorsten Polleit</ref> However, the precise nature of the downturn and the way in which losses are allocated within the economy are both dependent on the actions government and bankers take to forgive debt or control credit and there are two main kinds of debt money contraction that can cause a collapse in the value of inflated assets.

A "credit squeeze" occurs where new debt money is difficult to access without a high [[credit rating]]. At such times marginal borrowers, or those who have borrowed at the end of any debt-induced asset bubble, get "squeezed" out of further borrowing and a contraction in the growth of new debt money occurs, triggering a slow down in the growth of inflated assets. Those assets can then be "harvested" by the [[private bank]]s through widespread [[foreclosure]] or [[bankruptcy]] and re-sold to those with the money to buy the distressed assets.<ref name="marketoracle.co.uk">[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article2882.html Market Fundamentalism, by Richard C. Cook]</ref>

A "credit crunch" occurs where new debt money is not available at any [[interest rate]] - even for those with previously acceptable credit ratings - due to widespread insolvency in the banking system. At such times, it is the banking system itself that is [[insolvent]] and other financial institutions (including overseas financiers) become reluctant to lend to the domestic banking system, resulting in the domestic banking system being unable to issue loans even to credit worthy borrowers.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_crunch Credit crunch], Wikipedia definition</ref>

At any stage during the downward spiral of a "credit crunch", the [[central bank]] in a modern economy can try to save the system from complete economic meltdown by purchasing (either indefinitely or temporarily) the failed debts of the private banks.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTUY16CkS-k&feature=player_embedded#! Quantitative Easing Explained]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article24489.html Does the Fed Create Money?] Michael Pento</ref><ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=A1YourView&xml=/money/2007/12/19/ccom119.xml ECB's mind-numbing cash injection]</ref> This involves swapping depreciating "failed" assets with hard cash, thereby allowing the banks to maintain their net asset position and continue to give the impression of solvency to their auditors and depositors. However, doing so results in cash being transferred to the private banks in exchange for [[bad debt]], thereby violating the general economic precept to avoid [[moral hazard]] and effectively makes liquid the failed lending decisions of the [[private bank]]s.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/06/prudently-managed-banks-victimized-by.html Prudent Banks Victimized], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.rgemonitor.com/blog/roubini/228924/ Privitizing Profits and Socializing Losses, by Nouriel Roubini]</ref> In the U.S. banking system this is called "opening the Fed discount window", where the [[Federal Reserve]] temporarily purchases the failed investment portfolios of distressed private banks in exchange for cash. However, this rescue measure may only delay, rather than avoid, the realization of losses in the banking system, as the central bank cannot "force" new borrowing into the system to inject new debt money into the money supply. Somebody has to be a [[counterparty]] to borrow the debt money that is being offered. If all market participants realize a "[[bubble (economics)|bubble]]" has formed in assets markets, there will be few (or no) buyers for new debt money, as no one wants to borrow to buy inflated assets no one else will buy. Money markets can therefore remain illiquid even with intense [[central bank]] support.<ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/creditbubblebulletinview?art_id=10511 Favorable or Unfavorable], Doug Noland, Prudent Bear</ref>

Furthermore, banks can go bust even with intense central bank support, if the issue is not one of liquidity, but one of solvency.<ref>[http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/233ae764-abef-11dc-82f0-0000779fd2ac.html Central Banks have No Plan]</ref><ref>[http://www.rgemonitor.com/blog/roubini/233120 Central Banks get desperate]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMngK0t5WkY $20 Trillion in Bad Debt], Max Keiser</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27686.html Bernanke's QEx Money Printing Box], Gordon T. Long</ref>

===Pushing on a string===
Some monetary economists describe the opening of the Fed discount window after the bursting of an asset bubble and swapping of "junk" with new money as "pushing on a piece of string", as this measure does not solve the key problem – creating new credit (or debt money) to keep up the growth in the money supply and maintain the required level of liquidity in credit markets.<ref>[http://www.mises.org/story/2695 Don't Discount the Fed Discount Window]</ref><ref>[http://www.federalreserve.gov/Pubs/FEDS/2004/200401/200401pap.pdf Monetary Policy in Deflation: The Liquidity Trap in History and Practice]</ref> This is because unlimited central bank money and low interest rates ''allow'' credit creation, but cannot not ''force'' it into the system. In order for any new debt money to be created, somone has to borrow the excess reserves in order for the money to be injected into the system. With an endogenous money system, money is only created if someone wants to borrow money from a bank. If corporations and individuals are already heavily indebted (or insolvent after the bursting of another debt-induced bubble) there are no credit-worthy borrowers to lend to. This means there are no buyers at the margin to keep asset prices at high levels. If there are no marginal buyers, "liquidity" - or debt growth - dries up and volumes and prices drop suddenly, forcing liquidation and creating a sudden cascading effect in highly leveraged markets very similar to the end of an unsustainable Ponzi scheme.

To encourage fresh borrowing, central banks generally combine these rescue measures with an interest rate cut to encourage more new borrowing to allow the existing (failed) debts to be [[liquidate]]d at or close to their original value. When [[Alan Greenspan]] repeatedly resorted to this tactic to revive illiquid [[money market]]s this became known in the market as the "[[Greenspan put]]", as the effect of these repeated reductions in interest rates was similar to a [[put option]] in the [[stockmarket]], insuring [[bank]]s' lending mistakes would be covered up by the Federal Reserve.<ref>[http://www.iie.com/publications/wp/02-1.pdf Moral Hazard and the "Greenspan Put"]</ref>

When interest rates cannot go any lower (the so-called "zero bound" monetary problem) and people still will not - or cannot - load themselves up with more debt, then the Keynesian solution is to run large public deficits and indebt future generations (who, they hypothesize, are more likely to be able to pay through increased future growth).<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/business/26view.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=shiller&st=cse Stimulus Without More Debt], Robert Shiller</ref> Fabian socialists, and Keynesian economists such as Paul Krugman and Robert Shiller, argue that governments must take charge of the responsibility of spending more (and taking on more debt) on behalf of the public (who are too fearful to take on more debt themselves) in order to compensate for the immediate and urgent ''present'' insufficiency in total private consumption.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/business/26view.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=shiller&st=cse Stimulus Without More Debt], Robert Shiller</ref> Paul Krugman is a prominent advocate of the policy of spending trillions of government money to help stimulate the economy, if spending billions does not work.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/21/opinion/21krugman.html?dbk Budget Deficits], Paul Krugman</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/10/krugman-and-inevitable-i-told-you-so.html Krugman], MISH</ref><ref>[http://krugman-in-wonderland.blogspot.com/2010/11/inflation-prisoner.html The Inflation Prisoner], William Anderson</ref> For economists such as Paul Krugman, if the "more and more government spending" solution does not work initially, it is a sign that not enough government money has been spent.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/sowell/sowell44.1.html Fed Up With the Fed?], Thomas Sowell</ref><ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/20/opinion/20krugman.html?hp When Zombies Win], Paul Krugman, NY Times</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/10/krugman-and-inevitable-i-told-you-so.html Krugman], MISH</ref> It is his view that the "deflationary" Japanese recession from 1991/2 could have been cured by the Japanese government going into even more debt than the current net debt to GDP ratio of 110%.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/21/opinion/21krugman.html?dbk Budget Deficits], Paul Krugman</ref><ref>[http://www.economist.com/node/15867844 Japan's debt-ridden economy], The Economist</ref> Although some commentators have puzzled over exactly which group Krugman blames for the crisis, Krugman repeatedly calls for the government "to do more" as the way out of the crisis, regardless of the true culprits or cause of the crisis.<ref>[http://www.thedailybell.com/2271/Shock-Krugman-Turns-on-Elites.html Shock Krugman Turns on Elites], The Daily Bell</ref><ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/11/opinion/11krugman.html?_r=2&hp Obama Is Missing], Paul Krugman</ref>

Although there is active debate as to whether this policy (indebting future generations by the government spending debt-sourced money on projects the private sector would not touch) can actually help the economy long term,<ref>[http://dailyreckoning.com/the-pain-of-restoring-investor-confidence/ The Pain of Restoring Investor Confidence], Bill Bonner</ref><ref>[http://dailyreckoning.com/government-spending-and-the-path-to-money-printing/ Government Spending and the path to Money Printing], Bill Bonner</ref><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/featuredcommentaryview?art_id=10485 Krugman Is Eating America Alive], Neeraj Chaudhary, Prudent Bear</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25163.html Keynesian models], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://krugman-in-wonderland.blogspot.com/2010/11/inflation-prisoner.html The Inflation Prisoner], William Anderson</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north925.html Yes, Virginia, There Really Is a Free Lunch], Gary North</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5257/They-Want-Us-to-Love-the-Fed They Want Us to Love the Fed], William L. Anderson</ref> there is no argument that this would undoubtedly help the present group of private bankers, as increased income from the interest payments on new government bond issuance offsets the decline in private sector debt and allows banks to survive when otherwise they may face collapse due to the fatal impairment of their balance sheets through private debt write-offs after an unsustainable debt-fuelled bubble bursts.<ref>[http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/2010/08/quantitative-easing-wont-help-economy.html QE won't help the economy]</ref><ref>[http://moneymorning.com/2010/11/19/federal-reserves-quantitative-easing-strategy-save-the-us-economy/ QE won't save the economy]</ref>

As government debt is effectively an asset on the books of the banks, increasing Treasury bond issuance necessarily increases the profitability and net asset position of the debt-issuing banks - at least until government insolvency or mass tax evasion renders the value of those bonds worthless.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/featuredcommentaryview?art_id=10485 Krugman Is Eating America Alive], Neeraj Chaudhary, Prudent Bear</ref>

===Inequities in system===
Many inequities arise because of the damage an overly leveraged financial system can have on the real economy.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26581.html Ten Reasons The Banksters Got Away With It], Danny Schechter</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28949.html United States of Denial], James West</ref> The standard government strategy to help the banks out of the "tailspin" of an insolvency crisis follows a standard chronology:

The government first tries to stimulate the economy and spend money into the markets directly without individuals needing to borrow and spend, thereby "inflating" its way out of economic crisis by causing asset prices to rise and bank balance sheets to appear solvent. It does this by colluding with the central bank to print money and then spending this new money on random (or pre-planned) projects that the private sector is not already engaged in.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25964.html QE is Nothing New], Mike Hewitt</ref>

Unfortunately, there is no easy solution to an economy-wide insolvency crisis caused by credit expansion.<ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/creditbubblebulletinview?art_id=10511 Favorable or Unfavorable], Doug Noland, Prudent Bear</ref> Although superficially and politically appealing, government spending only further distorts the economy through widespread malinvestment and makes things worse over the medium term.<ref>[http://mises.org/store/Rollback-P10449.aspx ''Rollback''], Thomas Woods</ref> Later, after the immediate crisis, when bond yields rise, governments are often forced to reduce basic social services or welfare to the poor to pay for the increased bond payments to bankers and other wealthy investors, making those least responsible and least able to pay for the crisis suffer wrenching economic hardship.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26581.html Ten Reasons The Banksters Got Away With It], Danny Schechter</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Rollback-P10449.aspx ''Rollback''], Thomas Woods</ref>

Antal E. Fekete compares quantitative easing to the repeated supply of opium by an immoral drug dealer to a dependent drug addict:<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26339.html Silver and Opium], Antal E. Fekete</ref>

{{quote|The explanation for this self-destructing behavior is the addictive, debilitating and mind-corrosive nature of paper money, in direct analogy with that of opium. The high caused by administering the opium pipe to the patient (read: administering QE) had to be repeated when the effect faded by a fresh administration of more opium (read: more QE2).}}

Aside from the [[moral hazard]] issue, the key risk with [[quantitative easing]] is that the [[central bank]] exposes the financial system to disruptive inflation, as the growth in the [[money supply]] spirals out of control due to the need to save the [[bank]]s from themselves.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north961.html Tiger], Gary North</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27530.html The Fed Obliterates the Savings Ethic], Douglas French</ref> This eventually tends to precipitate a currency and/or government bond crisis, as the debt-based currency becomes completely dysfunctional when either the currency becomes worthless or when debtors - including government debtors - cannot even pay interest on the debt money.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25964.html QE is Nothing New], Mike Hewitt</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref><ref>[http://www.swlearning.com/economics/hall/hall-lieb2e-upd/ppt_lecture/exchange_rate_macro_policy.ppt Exchange Rates and Macroeconomic Policy]</ref><ref>[http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VGT-41WBFRG-1&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=4e89075114dcdb58b503172ff1801bd2 Central Bank Intervention]</ref><ref>[http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/mishkin20071026a.htm Financial Instability and the Federal Reserve as a Liquidity Provider, by Frederic S. Mishkin]</ref>

For these reasons, a collapse in confidence in the [[solvency]] of the domestic banking system (and the central government) is one of the most complex and difficult policy issues any central government can face.<ref>[http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/ambroseevans-pritchard/100008812/irelands-debt-servitude/ Ireland's Debt Servitude], Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, UK Telegraph</ref> If central bank continues to try to save the current players in the banking sector by continually printing money and inflating its way out of the crisis, at some point hyperinflation suddenly appears, and has appeared many times in history.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4869 Can the Fed Become Insolvent?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://blog.mises.org/14626/quantitative-easing-explained/ Quantitative Easing Explained], YouTube video</ref>

Some comentators have observed that the media and the Fed have to constantly come up with new terms (such as "quantitative easing") to hide the fact that they are simply repeating the same failed policy of monetary inflation that corrupt sovereigns have deployed at the end of failed regimes many times over the millenia.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25679.html Many Euphemismis for Money Creation], Thorsten Polleit</ref> This is also now referred to by some [[monetary reform]]ers and [[economist]]s as "socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor", as many indebted [[consumers]] will still lose their [[house]]s and be declared [[bankrupt]] regardless whether or not the central bank intervenes to save marginal lenders who have been made [[insolvent]] through their mis-timing of the [[credit cycle]].<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny6YI2JCP9Q&feature=player_embedded#at=147 Blood Starts Flowing on the Streets], Max Keiser interview with Gerald Celente</ref><ref>[http://www.rgemonitor.com/blog/roubini/228924/ Privatizing Profits and Socializing Losses, by Nouriel Roubini]</ref><ref>[http://www.beearly.com/pdfFiles/Satyajit%20Das.pdf Regulatory Debauchery by Satyajit Das]</ref> Future generations of innocent taxpayers may ultimately finance any [[bail out]] of reckless lenders, as the money used to fund any [[bail out]] will be funds diverted from the general revenue of the central government.<ref>[http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f4cf8426-654d-11dc-bf89-0000779fd2ac.html A run on the bank]</ref>

In times of crisis, some bankers still refer to [[Walter Bagehot]]'s 1873 commentary on monetary crises, ''Lombard Street'', in an attempt to gain insights into the way in which central bankers should revive illiquid banking systems.<ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/thebearslairview?art_id=10513 The Evils of Crony Capitalism], Martin Hutchinson</ref><ref>[http://blogs.ft.com/economistsforum/2010/04/a-history-lesson-from-lombard-street-for-wall-street-in-2010/ History Lesson from Lombard Street], Roger Farmer, Ft.com</ref> However this old text may be outdated in circumstances where the community's debt limits have been reached and where the banking crisis arises from insolvency or environmental depletion rather than illiquidity.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KInB2rvgaY Eco Eco Disaster], Keiser Report</ref><ref name="Willie_Misdiagnosis" /><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/creditbubblebulletinview?art_id=10511 Favorable or Unfavorable], Doug Noland, Prudent Bear</ref> A prime example where aging demographics combined with reckless bank lending in a purely fiat debt-based monetary system resulted in economic problems which no amount of money printing or government spending could fix can be found in the case of the [[Japanese asset price bubble]].<ref>[http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10286992 The Japanese and American Bubbles: Been There, Done Some of That]</ref> Some believe the West will repeat the mistakes of the Japanese and the result will be worldwide monetary disorder.<ref>[http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10286992 The Japanese and American Bubbles: Been There, Done Some of That]</ref><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/creditbubblebulletinview?art_id=10508 Monetary Disorder], Doug Noland</ref>

===Debt Saturation and the Keynesian Endpoint===

Keynesians often refer to Keynes' dictum "In the long run we are all dead" to justify artificially low interest rates and short-term stimulus spending by government to "kick start" a stalled economy where pre-existing private debt levels have caused spending to collapse. Tyler Cowen has responded to this Keynesian rejoinder with the following response:<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/06/business/06view.html The Fiscal Illusion], Tyler Cowan</ref>

{{quote|The famous Keynesian rejoinder, “In the long run we are all dead,” is less comforting when that long run comes into sight. Short-run planning is a hard carousel to stop, especially when there are frequent election cycles, but the federal government must act soon...

The technocratic Keynesian recommendation was to run deficits in bad times and surpluses in good times. But except for one stretch during the Clinton administration, this notion has been broken since the early 1980s. In the United States, at least, Keynesian economics has failed to find the necessary political institutions to enact and sustain a wise version of the theory.

Now that fiscal constraints are starting to bite, many politicians are afraid to reform or even to discuss changes in the largest problem areas...

Fiscal austerity may sometimes sound like a dogmatic religion, but fixed principles often help us do the right thing, especially when temptation beckons. Professor Buchanan argued that the real choice was between a religion of budget balance and a rule of illusion.

...the rigor of the numbers will soon sweep away the fiscal illusion. The only question is whether we will end the charade on our own terms or continue to play the fool.}}

No current commentator predicts bankers, politicians or government employee unions will spontaneously reform themselves.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/lewrockwell-show/2011/03/27/193-gold-guns-and-getaway-plans/ Gerald Celente interview with Lew Rockwell]: Lew Rockwell: "When do you see social unrest coming to this country?" Gerald Celente: "I see more crime happening in this country, and social unrest at a much lower level. The people in this country don't have what it takes... This is a country of soccer mommies boys. We're prescription drug-addicted and we're junk food fat... Look at the way they dress, look at the way they talk, look how the Nation's become so Snooki-stupid."</ref> Noted commentator Bill Bonner and others have described politicians, welfare recipients, bankers and other tax beneficiaries as economic "zombies" unable to adapt or adjust to new economic realities and has predicted that the "zombies" will continue to "steal" as much money from the economic system as possible and convert that money into ownership of real resources until the whole monetary system completely collapses.<ref>[http://dailyreckoning.com/the-coincidental-rise-of-oil-and-the-monetary-base/ The Coincidental Rise of Oil and the Monetary Base], Bill Bonner</ref><ref>[http://dailyreckoning.com/california-the-greece-of-the-us-financial-crisis/ California: Teh Greece of the U.S.], Bill Bonner</ref><ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/not-program-salvage-greek-economy-its-program-pillage-bankruptcy Pillage Before Bankrupcty], Washington's Blog</ref> They will then move on to the next host country with their real wealth converted into land, precious metals and jewels and other real assets. The difficulty with any attempt at reform measures is that the "Ponzi" elements of finance are inextricably tied to pension funds and "real" elements in the economy, making it impossible to eliminate the "cancer" without damaging the wealth-creating structures as well.<ref>The term "cancer" is specifically mentioned in [http://www.pytheas.net/docs/Laissez-faire-and-policymakers.pdf Laissez-faire, investment banks and policy makers], Pytheas Market Focus, August 2009</ref><ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/jeffrandall/8436123/We-must-call-the-bluff-of-the-big-bad-banks.html We must call the bluff of the big banks], Jeff Randall</ref><ref name="Repudiating the National Debt"/><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zMv4Offm_8&feature=player_embedded#at=1341 Max Keiser Interview with Alex Jones]</ref><ref>[http://www.buildfreedom.com/tl/rape3.shtml Economic Rape of America]</ref> Commentator Max Keiser has coined the term "Suicide Banking" to describe the paradoxical situation where virtually every politician and economist acknowledges that "Too Big To Fail" is a dysfunctional policy but no one has a viable solution, given that the banking system is "rigged to blow" if threatened.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCRXz5oOQVY&feature=player_embedded Suicide Bankers], Max Keiser</ref> He also refers to the current crisis as a fight to the death not between countries or ethnic groups or political ideologies but between future-oriented, prudent and conservative "Savers" on one side and present-focused, imprudent and overconsuming "Speculators" on the other.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzzIqi2sbQY&feature=player_embedded US flashing Orange]</ref>

Many non-mainstream financial commentators believe the U.S. and the E.U. will soon experience terminal financial crises, but there is vigorous on-going debate amongst numerous commentators regarding whether this terminal currency crisis will end in hyperinflation and currency destruction (making government bonds worthless) or repeated bouts of deflation and depression (making government bonds more valuable).<ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28148.html How to Keep a Damaged Financial and Economic System Afloat?], Bob Chapman</ref><ref>[http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1305306000.php Winning in the Hyperinflation/Deflation War], Deepcaster LLC</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27733.html Compound Inflation], John Mauldin</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north973.html Rick Ackerman Defects], Gary North</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/04/no-miracle-cures-from-inflation.html Impossible to Inflate Out of this Mess], MISH</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/06/big-inflationist-scare.html The Big Inflationist Scare], MISH</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/09/debating-flat-earth-society-about.html Debating the Flat Earth Society About Hyperinflation], MISH</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/01/peter-schiff-was-wrong.html Peter Schiff Was Wrong], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27726.html Deflation Threat is Still Alive], EWI</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27791.html Can We Give The Hyperinflation Thing a Rest?], Mike Whitney</ref> Most - but not all - Austrian commentators now believe the denouement will inevitably result in hyperinflation and render the U.S. dollar near-worthless in real terms, as U.S. bond and dollar holders compete to offload excess holdings in the face of massive ongoing issuance.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article29393.html US Dollar Supply and Demand], Jim Willie CB</ref><ref>[http://fofoa.blogspot.com/2011/04/deflation-or-hyperinflation.html Deflation or Hyperinflation?], FOFOA</ref><ref>[http://maxkeiser.com/2011/04/25/ding-ding-ding-its-all-over-rick-ackerman-concedes-hes-been-wrong-and-joins-the-hyperinflationist-camp/ It's all over! Rick Ackerman Concedes!], Max Keiser</ref> Mike Shedlock and Antal E. Fekete are amongst a small group of deflationists who believe contracting credit will continue to have a deflationary impact on the economy, causing government bonds to become even more valuable over time.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/05/hyperinflation-nonsense-in-multiple.html Hyperinflation Nonsense], MISH</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/04/no-miracle-cures-from-inflation.html No Miracle Cures from Inflation], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.julianmidwinter.com.au/ The Federal Reserve as an engine of deflation], Antal E. Fekete</ref>

In stark contrast to the predictions of catastrophe from the Austrians, mainstream Keynesians regard the current financial system as benign and most financial analysts still use the normal distribution - or "Bell Curve" - to represent the likely distribution of future returns in financial markets.<ref>[http://seekingalpha.com/article/163271-rethinking-alpha-and-beta Rethinking Alpha and Beta], Paul Amery</ref> This continues despite extensive research demonstrating that the normal distribution does not apply to financial market returns, which display so-called "fat tail" distributions, with much more volatlity at the extremes than the normal distribution would predict.<ref>[http://www.bearcave.com/bookrev/misbehavior_of_markets.html The Misbeahvior of Markets], Ian Kaplan</ref> The Austrian view - that the economy will either slide into depression or hyperinflation under the stresses of the current debt-based monetary monetary system - may be supported by more recent analysis of actual financial market behavior under conditions of high debt and extreme stress.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5352/What-Mises-Can-Teach-the-Quants What Mises Can Teach the Quants], Daniel James Sanchez</ref><ref>[http://lewrockwell.com/north/north990.html The Next Financial Crisis], Gary North</ref><ref>[http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2011/06/11/dude-where%E2%80%99s-my-recovery/ Where's My Recovery?], Steve Keen</ref>

Regardless whether the government chooses hyperinflation or periodic delfationary depression as the way out, throughout history, only two real alternatives occur in the midst of economic or financial crisis: ever greater centralization (often on a "higher level") or disintegration of the core power structures and (eventually) rejuvenation.<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/greeces-ultimatum-bailout-bankers-or-loss-sovereignty Greece's Ultimatum], ZeroHedge</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north966.html Wealth Through Decentralization], Gary North</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Rollback-P10449.aspx ''Rollback''], Thomas Woods</ref><ref>[http://blog.mises.org/9321/crisis-and-leviathan/ Crisis and Leviathan], Robert Higgs</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Money-Bank-Credit-and-Economic-Cycles-P290C0.aspx Money, Bank Credit and Economic Cycles], Jesus Huerta de Soto, Mises Institute ISBN: 978-1-933550-39-8</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Meltdown-P557.aspx ''Meltdown''], Tom Woods, Regnery Press ISBN: 9781596985872</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/media/4014 The Economics of Legal Tender Laws], [[Jorg Guido Hulsmann]] (includes detailed commentary on centralization during crises)</ref> Accordingly, many of the more extreme monetary reformers and [[conspiracy theorists]] anticipate repeated and ever more desperate attempts at ''higher-order centralization'',<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27051.html A New World Currency?], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref> as the exisiting coordinated domestic central bank architecture becomes discredited through repeated economic failure and environmental crises caused by the need for unsustainable exponential debt-driven economic "growth" within the current debt-based financial architecture.<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-economic-abyss The Economic Abyss], Brandon Smith</ref> This centralization is anticipated to include the empowerment of the UN to increasingly intervene in the domestic political affairs of nations,<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/rozeff/rozeff343.html World Government], Mike Rozeff</ref> the IMF and EU to increasingly intervene in the domestic financial affairs of nations,<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/greeces-ultimatum-bailout-bankers-or-loss-sovereignty Greece's Ultimatum], ZeroHedge</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/11/terms-of-enslavement-irish-citizens-say.html Terms of Enslavement], MISH</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/11/imf-ready-to-help-ireland-can-imf-help.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MishsGlobalEconomicTrendAnalysis+%28Mish%27s+Global+Economic+Trend+Analysis%29 Can the IMF help anyone?], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/8150137/Ireland-forced-to-take-EU-and-IMF-bail-out-package.html Ireland forced to take IMF bailout package], Telegraph</ref> and the declaration of [[martial law]] and the imposition of [[fascist]]-style restrictions on [[civil rights]]<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-us-monetary-system-and-descent-fascism-interview-dr-edwin-vieira The U.S. Monetary System and Descent Into Fascism], Dr Edwin Vieir</ref><ref>[http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/04/201142612714539672.html Global capitalism and 21st cenury fascism], William I. Robinson</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/rep2/jesse-ventura-on-tsa-abusers.html Jesse Ventura on the TSA' Sexual Abusers]</ref> and [[freedom of speech]] by the political [[The Establishment|Establishment]] to physically protect it from [[anarchy]] or military [[coup]] when the [[bubble (economics)|bubble]] of debt completely bursts, through a precipitous currency crisis, debt-created [[Depression (economics)|depression]], environmental crisis or oil shortage.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26605.html Population Reduction], Chris Kitze</ref><ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2011/02/24/in-the-news-today-791/ Collapse]</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/lewrockwell-show/2010/12/14/179-the-espionage-act-and-the-death-of-american-freedoms/ Death of American Freedoms], Naomi Wolf, LRC interview, Dec 14, 2010</ref><ref>[http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2007/cr120507h.htm New security legislation threats freedoms]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26325.html Bank Credit Ends in Catastrophe], Richard Daughty, The Mogambo Guru</ref> Ultimately this is anticipated to yield either repressive world government or chaos (or most likely both), with a world central bank stationed in Basel, Switzerland.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMngK0t5WkY Max Keiser]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28533.html The Global Debt Crisis], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27051.html A New World Currency?], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27554.html Libya Ware All About Oil or Gold and Banking?], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref><ref>[http://blog.mises.org/9321/crisis-and-leviathan/ Crisis and Leviathan], Robert Higgs</ref> During this transition period, some analysts and conspiracy theorists anticipate multiple wars to force governments into the BIS financial "net",<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMngK0t5WkY Max Keiser]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28533.html The Global Debt Crisis], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27051.html A New World Currency?], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27554.html Libya Ware All About Oil or Gold and Banking?], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref> impotent and counterproductive price controls,<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/03/food-prices-rise-11-in-china-overall.html Chinese inflation], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/goyette/goyette18.1.html Too Late!], Charles Goyette</ref> repeated sell-offs of monopoly state assets in a desperate attempt to feed private domestic banks with steady, coercively acquired income to keep the value of government bonds collapsing,<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/05/whos-bigger-socialist-president-obama.html Who's the Bigger Socialist?], MISH</ref> and then, once this attempt (to feed unsustainable compounding debt with any remaining basic infrastructure) destroys any remaining parts of the productive economy, there will be in the end coercively-enforced rationing of basic essentials to ensure continued supply of food and oil to senior government officials, bankers and their associates amidst widespread general starvation and chaos,<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26605.html Population Reduction], Chris Kitze</ref> as the coalescence of a corrupt banker-government coalition solidifies<ref>[http://maxkeiser.com/2011/04/28/kr142-keiser-report-blind-cult-of-america/ Blind Cult of America]. Quote: Max Keiser: "Yes, it's beyond religious fervour. That's the point. It's become this echo chamber, cult-like 'America can't fail' which is very endemic when you see suicide cults. Remember Jim Jones. Remember him. The Kool Aid. He made the idea of drinking Kool Aid... he popularized that notion. Everyone committed suicide in Guyana. Or the Hail-Bot Comet Cult. Here you've got 300 million Americans who are worshipping this idea of 'American-style' Free Market Capitalism that doesn't exist. They support market manipulation on Wall Street and they're all gonna ''die'' as a result. Now that's less than 5% of the world's population. It is 25% of the world's garbage so the world will breathe a sigh of relief, but, as far as those living inside they don't really understand that they're being used as cult fodder." Stacy Herbert: "The equivalent of drinking the cyanide-laced Kool Aid would be purchasing a McMansion with a sub-prime mortgage. This is them committing suicide. It's the equivalent of drinking cyanide-laced Kool Aid." Max Keiser: "It's financial suicide. As we've talked about. Financialization of the economy has turned into this hybrid reality that combines political malfeasance with financial larceny and that's the combination between Obama's White House and Wall Street merging together into something even more insidious than fascism. It's a Klepto-F*@kingSh*tism. It's a... it's a Klepto-Sh*tism is the current political-financial school of thought in America today and it's not working. It's unsustainable."</ref> to eliminate potential dissent and ensure the forced elimination - by any means necessary - of any actual or potential competing [[currencies]] that could threaten the viability or legitimacy of the [[monopoly]] currency, which could include war against any country considering using any currency other than US dollars to price essential commodities such as oil <ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/holland/holland44.1.html Anglo-American Deception], Ron Holland</ref> and the compulsory confiscation of all privately-owned [[gold]] (gold being the ultimate reserve currency, still used by central banks as a universally accepted medium of exchange for the settlement of international debts).<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5184/The-Crime-of-Private-Money The "Crime" of Private Money], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-thoughts-liberty-dollar-debacle Liberty Dollar], ZeroHedge.com</ref><ref>[http://blog.mises.org/14795/the-gold-clause-cases-and-constitutional-necessity/ Gold Clause Cases]</ref><ref>[http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1196605589.php America's Trade Debts Lead to a Likely Gold Confiscation]</ref><ref>[http://www.libertydollar.org/ld/legal/raid.htm FBI Raids Liberty Dollar]</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/solution.html The Solution]</ref><ref>[http://prudentinvestor.blogspot.com/2007/09/us-mint-suspends-gold-coin-sales-due-to.html US Mint Suspends Gold Coin Sales]</ref><ref>[http://www.swissamerica.com/article.php?art=06-2004/200406140537f.txt Why a Gold Standard Now?]</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/73468.html Bank of America an arm of US government policy]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26325.html Bank Credit Ends in Catastrophe], Richard Daughty, The Mogambo Guru</ref><ref>[http://www.sovereignman.com/expat/bernanke-terrorist Bernanke is the domestic terrorist], Sovereign Man</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28225.html DSK Was Trying to Torpedo the Dollar], Mike Whitney</ref>

There have been many [[financial crisis|monetary crises]] throughout history,<ref>[http://www.delanion.com/main/dom.htm Fiat Money Inflation in France], Gold Money video featuring Max Keiser, James Turk and Pierre Jovanovic</ref><ref>[http://www.delanion.com/main/dom.htm Dying of Money], Jens O. Parsson</ref><ref>[http://www.delanion.com/main/dom.htm Dying of Money], Jens O. Parsson</ref><ref name="Bonner_Swan">[http://www.lewrockwell.com/bonner/bonner454.html Revolution in Egypt and Black Swans], Bill Bonner, February 15, 2011.</ref><ref>[http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1297199137.php China Inflation and Gold], Darryl Robert Schoon</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Early-Speculative-Bubbles-P578.aspx Early Speculative Bubbles and Increases in the Money Supply], Doug French, Mises Institute ISBN: 978-1-933550-44-2</ref><ref>[http://dailyreckoning.com/a-word-of-advice-to-financial-authorities/ Advice to Financial Authorities], Bill Bonner</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26325.html Bank Credit Ends in Catastrophe], Richard Daughty, The Mogambo Guru</ref> and there are a number of standard warning signs of impending depression or hyperinflation caused by a complete breakdown of trust in any [[monetary system]].<ref>[http://mises.org/store/Product.aspx?ProductId=435 Fiat Money Inflation in France], Andrew Dickson White, Mises Institute</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref><ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-economic-abyss The Economic Abyss], Brandon Smith</ref><ref>[http://lewrockwell.com/orig12/martenson8.1.1.html Argentina: A Case Study], Chris Martenson and FerFAL</ref> Just prior to the complete collapse of the [[pyramid scheme]] of public and private debt, the economic system tends to feed on itself, and in the past, where debt-created [[Depression (economics)|depression]]s or periods of [[hyperinflation]] have occurred in [[Europe]],<ref name="Bonner_Swan" /> the [[U.S.]] and [[China]], there has been a sustained spike in predatory economic behavior, as the heavily indebted central government and producers are forced to find more extreme (previously considered unethical) methods to extract any remaining wealth from increasingly desperate and impoverished [[consumers]], who are either unwilling or unable to go into further debt without forceful coercion.<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-ethics-mortgage-loan-default The Ethics of Mortgage Loan Default], Greg Lemelson</ref><ref name="Bonner_Swan" /><ref name="http">{{cite book |last= Widdig |first= Bernd |title= Culture and Inflation in Weimar Germany |url= http://books.google.com/books/ucpress?id=kvKAATycUzIC |accessdate= 2007-12-16 |year= 2001 |publisher= University of California
Press |isbn= 0520222903 }}</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/3569 John Law and the Invention of Modern Finance], Doug French (Mises.org)</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/1690 The Saga of John Law and Richard Cantillon], Sean Corrigan (Mises.org)</ref> [[Long-term]] investment and sustained [[capital investment]] are almost impossible in this environment because the "measuring stick" of [[return on investment]] (the real value of [[money]]) is so uncertain at times of debt-induced [[credit crunch]], depression or hyperinflation.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref>

As potential new [[borrower]]s and international financiers are scared away from participating in the [[pyramid scheme]] of debt and borrowing further, the [[monetary system]] seizes up, starved of the fresh injections of [[debt money]] it needs for its survival, thereby precipitating economic [[anarchy]],<ref name="Bonner_Swan" /><ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-economic-abyss The Economic Abyss], Brandon Smith</ref> widespread [[lawlessness]]<ref name="Bonner_Swan" /> and [[insolvency]] of the monetary and banking system.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPxYg6mgGpE Inflation is There], Peter Schiff</ref><ref>[http://www.oftwominds.com/blognov07/empire-debt1.html Empire of Debt]</ref><ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref><ref name="Bonner_Swan" /> Some have described the moment when governments cannot borrow any more from banks to keep up the growth in debt money as the "Keynesian Endpoint" or "Keynesian Endgame" or point of "Debt Saturation" - which is the point in time when ''in extremis ''"emergency" measures by the government to kick-start the economy by increasing total gross debt have no lasting positive effect on GDP.<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-economic-death-spiral-has-been-triggered The Economic Death Spiral], Gordon T. Long</ref><ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/charting-ten-year-prelude-keynesian-endgame Keynesian Endgame], ZeroHedge</ref><ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keynesian_endpoint Keynesian Endpoint], Wikipedia definition</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27801.html U.S. Debt Saturation and Money Illusion], Gordon T. Long</ref> Antal E. Fekete identifies this "crisis" point as the point when the marginal increase in total gross debt has no positive marginal effect on GDP.<ref>[http://www.professorfekete.com/articles/AEFGotterdammerung.pdf Gotterdammerung], Antal E. Fekete</ref> According to Professor Fekete, once the marginal productivity of debt turns negative, a disastrous depression is inevitable.<ref>[http://www.professorfekete.com/articles/AEFGotterdammerung.pdf Gotterdammerung], Antal E. Fekete</ref>

This final denouement is triggered when [[borrower]]s cannot be found to buy depreciating heavily indebted assets, and international financiers reduce lending as they experience losses on pre-existing loans either through asset or currency [[depreciation]].<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPxYg6mgGpE Inflation is There], Peter Schiff</ref> Some analysts predict that the [[monetary system]] will seize up due to a [[deflationary]] depression<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-heres-setup-con-decade The Con of the Decade], ZeroHedge</ref> or a sustained period of [[stagflation]]ary hyperinflation resulting in a "final and total catastrophe of our fiat monetary system."<ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPxYg6mgGpE Inflation is There], Peter Schiff</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27402.html Deflationists Blind to Inflationary Storm], Jim Willie</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27466.html Compounding Debt]</ref>

Examples of debt and monetary crises can often be found after failed wars, when international financiers realize the heavily indebted [[government]] they funded will not gain the resources it planned to seize as a result of the waging of aggressive war. When this pay-off does not materialize, the losing government is left with the debt of war without the ability to offset this government debt through the imposition of reparations on the defeated nation and the acquisition of the defeated state's resources, thereby boosting the victorious state's GDP and tax revenues. This sudden monetary collapse occurred to [[Germany]] after the [[First World War]] and [[Japan]] after the [[Second World War]].

Whatever the trigger, the key warning sign of any impending monetary crisis and economic [[anarchy]] is a sudden [[currency crisis]], or a sudden spike in domestic interest rates, or a sudden [[credit crunch]].<ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /> Early warning signs that the [[private banks]] themselves are aware of an impending breakdown in the [[solvency]] of the [[financial system]] would be any combination of some or all the following: a spike in the prices for [[oil]] (which is an internationally accepted, inherently limited, store of value, and therefore can act as a modern form of [[hard currency]], oil sometimes being referred to as "black gold"), [[gold]],<ref>[http://www.minyanville.com/businessmarkets/articles/gold-spot-price-gold-prices-gold/5/10/2011/id/34441?camp=syndication&medium=portals&from=yahoo Permanent Gold Backwardation: Why a "Crack Up Boom" Is Inevitable], Keith Weiner</ref> [[silver]]<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=021yEhjPDa0&feature=player_embedded#at=826 $400 Ounce Silver, $8000 Ounce Gold], James Turk</ref> <ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPxYg6mgGpE Inflation is There], Peter Schiff</ref> and other stable, non-perishable, inherently limited [[natural resources]] essential for non-discretionary industrial production;<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref> a spike in the [[futures contract]]s for vital agricultural [[commodities]]<ref>[http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-dictator-bernanke-needs-to-be-toppled-2011-02-15 Fed dictator Bernanke needs to be toppled], Paul B. Farrell</ref><ref>January 27, 2011 – ''Financial Times'' (Javier Blas and Chris Giles): “Governments across the developing world are stockpiling food staples in an attempt to contain panic buying, inflation and social unrest. But the hoarding is driving agricultural commodity prices even higher. The cost of wheat, the world’s most important staple, reached a fresh two-and-a-half-year high on Thursday, after countries from Algeria to Saudi Arabia announced extraordinary purchases. High food prices have been a contributing factor to the recent wave of social unrest across North Africa and the Middle East. In Algeria earlier this month, young rioters chanted ‘Bring us sugar!’ The cost of the sweetener in the wholesale market is at its highest in 30 years. Earlier this week, Algeria bought 800,000 tonnes of wheat – much more than usual – and Saudi Arabia announced plans to double the size of its wheat stockpile. Bangladesh and Indonesia joined the rush on Thursday, placing extraordinary on rice orders.”</ref> such as [[sugar]],<ref>[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-15/portugal-tries-to-prevent-sugar-hoarding-amid-shortage-ft-says.html 2010 Portugal Sugar Crisis]</ref> [[corn]], [[wheat]], [[soybean]]s and [[rice]], as investors realize the debt-based monetary system has squeezed supplies of [[arable land]];<ref>[http://webofdebt.wordpress.com/2011/02/03/the-egyptian-tinderbox-how-banks-and-investors-are-starving-the-third-world/#more-1052 Banks and investors are starving the Third World], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref><ref>[http://www.preparednesspro.com/blog/food-shortage-series-part-1/ Food Shortage Series],Kellene Bishop</ref><ref>[http://www.smh.com.au/environment/world-hungers-for-more-food-20110402-1csbh.html World hungers for more food], Sydney Morning Herald,</ref> a sudden flight of money ''to'' [[Treasury bills]] and/or a sudden spike in the [[interest rate]] differential between short-term [[Treasury bills]] and asset-backed corporate paper (or a sudden spike in the [[LIBOR]] rate in [[London]])<ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /><ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/12/03/cnrates103.xml&CMP=ILC-mostviewedbox Pleas for rate cut as interbank loans dive]</ref> - and then, in the very late stages of a credit crisis, a sudden and disorderly flight of money ''away from'' government bonds and a "shock" or "panic" collapse in government bond prices, as banks perceive that some governments will ultimately find it ''impossible'' to pay interest on their debt from coercively acquired taxes.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/8190059/Global-bond-rout-deepens-on-US-fiscal-worries.html Global bond rout], Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, UK Telegraph</ref><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/thebearslairview?art_id=10480 When Will The U.S. Become Greece?], Michael Hutchinson</ref>

Shortly thereafter, some [[monetary reform]]ers predict that there would be desperate, but ultimately futile [[central bank]] intervention involving massive, repeated bouts of "quantitative easing",<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/did-fed-its-stealthy-synthetic-bet-keep-yields-low-become-next-aig Doubling Down], ZeroHedge</ref> then a [[currency crisis]],<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/jim-grant-inflation-there-will-be-lot-it-suddenly-because-our-interest-rate-structure-beyond Jim Grant on Inflation], ZeroHedge</ref> then a panic run on a number of marginal, [[insolvent]] [[banks]] and [[hedge funds]] as desperate wealthy investors try to get [[cash]] out before the [[pyramid scheme]]<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPxYg6mgGpE Inflation is There], Peter Schiff</ref> collapses to invest in inherently limited, non-perishable, in-demand commodities such as [[oil]] and [[gold]]<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/golden-tipping-point-university-texas-takes-delivery-1-billion-physical-gold A Golden Tipping Point], ZeroHedge</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPxYg6mgGpE Inflation is There], Peter Schiff</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref> (and undeveloped agricultural and industrial [[land]] in areas of the world with strong [[economic growth]]),<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/04/business/04farms.html?_r=1&hp Price of Farmland] NYTimes</ref> followed by a [[recession]] or [[depression]] in the broader heavily indebted economy as the [[money supply|credit]] contracts but base money continues to rise exponentially.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27172.html Why QE has NOT brought back inflation], EWI</ref><ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref><ref>[http://www.newyorkfed.org/research/staff_reports/sr291.pdf Hedge Funds, Financial Intermediation and Systemic Risk]</ref><ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2011/02/24/in-the-news-today-791/ Collapse]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27596.html US Accelerating Inflation Mega-Trend], Nadeem Walayat</ref>

In 2010 Ireland and Greece experienced simiilar financial crises along the lines described above and many financial commentators and politicians expect more countries to go through the same debt crisis.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/12/video-fire-bombs-stones-fly-in-greek.html Greek protests]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gm9q8uabTs "Who the Hell do you think you people are?"], Nigel Farage, UKIP leader</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref> In 2011, Tunisia experienced a financial and political crisis that was almost identical to those already experienced on the poorer European periphery, except that in this case the pre-existing political establishment quickly fled the country in fear for their safety - with some allegations that the wife of the deposed leader, Leila Trabelsi, ordered the country's central bank to transfer 1.5 tonnes of [[gold]] to Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his family.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25636.html We are all Tunisians], Yvonne Ridley</ref><ref>[http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/tunisia-missing-15-tonnes-of-gold/story-e6frf7jx-1225992107457 Tunisia missing 1.5 tonnes of gold], Herald Sun</ref> The Egyptian uprising resulted in Hosni Mubarek fleeing after desperate attempts were made by him and his associates to preserve his family's wealth and power.<ref>[http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110212/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_egypt_mubarak_s_final_hours Mubarak's final hours], Associated Press</ref> Several newspapers have reported that, once again, appropriating the nation's gold reserves was a major priority for the fallen leader.<ref>[http://www.smh.com.au/world/mubaraks-lastminute-rush-to-hide-his-billions-20110213-1as1c.html Mubarak's Rush to Hide Billions], SMH</ref> Following the overthrow of the ruling elites in Tunisia and Egypt, other North African countries have experienced similar uprisings - all attributable to higher food prices, according to some noted commentators,<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/8492078/How-the-Fed-triggered-the-Arab-Spring-uprisings-in-two-easy-graphs.html How the Fed triggered the Arab Spring uprisings], Andrew Lilico</ref> who have accused Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke of literally having "blood on his hands" due to the encouragement of food price inflation via sustained inflationary loose-monetary policies.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/01/blood-on-bernankes-hands-riots-in-egypt.html Blood on Bernanke's Hands], MISH</ref><ref>[http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/KWN_DailyWeb/Entries/2011/4/6_Marc_Faber_-_Mr._Bernanke_is_a_Murderer_of_the_Middle_Class.html Marc Faber calls Mr Bernanke a Murderer of the Middle Class], King World News</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3NdUU1wWa4&feature=player_embedded#at=89 Max Keiser - Bernanke is a Murderer]</ref><ref>[http://dailyreckoning.com/lessons-from-egypt-for-the-american-people/ Lessons from Egypt], Charles Kadlec</ref><ref>[http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-dictator-bernanke-needs-to-be-toppled-2011-02-15 Fed dictator Bernanke needs to be toppled], Paul B. Farrell</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5050/QE2-Fuels-a-Global-Fury QE2 Fuels a Global Fury], Mark Thornton</ref><ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/bernanke-blame-rising-global-revolutionary-wave?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+zerohedge%2Ffeed+%28zero+hedge+-+on+a+long+enough+timeline%2C+the+survival+rate+for+everyone+drops+to+zero%29 Is Bernanke To Blame?], Tyler Durden, ZeroHedge</ref> The central banker has denied that his inflationary loose-monetary policies have contributed to food inflation.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/8302111/Fed-chief-Ben-Bernanke-denies-US-policy-behind-record-global-food-prices.html Ben Bernanke Denies US Policy Behind Food Price Inflation], UK Telegraph, 3 February 2011</ref> Implicit in Mr Bernanke's argument is the assumption that the central bank can create "good" inflation in some markets and avoid "bad" inflation in others. This alleged central bank power to direct good inflation and abate bad inflation is derided by a number of commentators.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3NdUU1wWa4&feature=player_embedded#at=89 Max Keiser - Bernanke is a Murderer]</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/01/blood-on-bernankes-hands-riots-in-egypt.html Blood on Bernanke's Hands], MISH</ref><ref>[http://dailyreckoning.com/lessons-from-egypt-for-the-american-people/ Lessons from Egypt], Charles Kadlec</ref><ref>[http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-dictator-bernanke-needs-to-be-toppled-2011-02-15 Fed dictator Bernanke needs to be toppled], Paul B. Farrell</ref><ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/bernanke-blame-rising-global-revolutionary-wave?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+zerohedge%2Ffeed+%28zero+hedge+-+on+a+long+enough+timeline%2C+the+survival+rate+for+everyone+drops+to+zero%29 Is Bernanke To Blame?], Tyler Durden, ZeroHedge</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28587.html QE2 Unmitigated Failure], James Quinn</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28998.html The Great Misdiagnosis], Jim Willie CB</ref>

Noted British ''Telegraph'' commentator Ambrose Evans-Pritchard has called these the first Malthusian "Food Revolutions" of the modern era, as agflation causes political instability on the periphery of major economies worldwide - particularly those countries that have already denuded their agricultural base and have to import grain and other foods to survive.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/8291470/Egypt-and-Tunisia-usher-in-the-new-era-of-global-food-revolutions.html A New Era of Food Revolutions], Ambrose Evans-Pritchard</ref><ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2011/02/24/in-the-news-today-791/ Collapse]</ref>

It is also reported that very complex, delicate negotiations are taking place between debtor and creditor nations to swap government bonds with gold at prices far in excess of the declared "market price" of gold.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25878.html China Buys European Gold], Jim Willie</ref> These so-called "off-market" deals - and possible diversions of government-owned gold to corrupt bankers and political leaders - are signs the Keynesian Endpoint has arrived and the politicians and bankers recognize they have lost control of the economic system and must focus on saving themselves.<ref>[http://lewrockwell.com/wenzel/wenzel113.html Fort Knox Gold], Robert Wenzel</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25878.html China Buys European Gold], Jim Willie</ref>

Finally, it should be noted that, with the destruction of the fascist regimes in Italy, Germany and Japan post-WWII and the collapse of communism in the 1990s, there no longer exists any major economy where the banking system is fully government-owned or has any strictly enforceable social responsibilities beyond pure profit motive. All major world economies have now adopted essentially the same monetary system, with profit-driven private banks (government-licensed institutions legally permitted to engage in unlimited credit creation) able to pocket profits during upswings and socialize losses during downswings by use of central bank asset swaps. If critics are correct that all such systems are doomed to severe boom-bust cycles because of excessive expansion of speculative credit and endemic [[moral hazard]], it is to be expected that all major economies will also experience essentially the same kind of environmental and food crises, and even allegedly "strong" economies such as China will experience severe economic downturns at some stage.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5070/Bust-Looms-As-China-Booms Bust Looms], Markus Bergstrom</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/03/bloodstained-property-map-and-trampled.html Bloodstained Property Map], MISH</ref> However, equally, if critics are correct that fractional reserve banking, excessive credit expansion and artificially low interest rates are at the root of all financial crises, then higher reserve ratios and capital requirements for domestic banks (or the existence of heavily controlled nationalized banks) should reduce the severity of economic crises in those economies with higher reserve requirements for their own banks.<ref>[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-18/china-increases-banks-reserve-ratio-for-second-time-to-curb-property-boom.html China increases bank reserves to curb inflation], Bloomberg</ref><ref>[http://video.ft.com/ Lex's John Authers and Richard Stovin-Bradford discuss how to regulate banks better and how to handle those that are just too big to fai]</ref>

==Proposals for monetary reform==
===Potential solutions===
Many consider it too late to reform the financial system.<ref>[http://news.goldseek.com/LewRockwell/1306767600.php Is Greece the Future of America?], Mike Rozeff</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27739.html Financial Slaughterhouse], Ashvin_Pandurangi</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27764.html The Big QE2 Shakedown], Mike Whitney</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GmBoJ7qHYg&feature=player_embedded Simon Johnson INET]</ref><ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/sep/14/banking-reforms-too-little-too-late Too Little Too Late], UK Guardian, 14 Sept 2010</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27583.html Fed Reckoning Day Realities for Investor Pains and Gains], Deepcaster LLC</ref> Coercive, rule-bound government, by its nature, seeks to have a monopoly of force and is the final arbiter of disputes between any two parties within its jurisdiction.<ref>[http://www.dailypaul.com/140907/hans-hoppe-on-why-he-thinks-limited-government-is-impossible Hans Hoppe on why limited government is impossible]</ref> Good government exists to provide public goods, regulate externalities and protect and enforce property rights.<ref>[http://blog.mises.org/6546/james-wilson-on-the-purpose-of-government-and-the-constitution/ James Wilson on the purpose of government], James Galles</ref> However, if government force is used not for public purposes but to protect and enhance the power of a tiny political and financial elite, parasitic thieving forces can take over monopoly government and destruction of the economy can occur without the ability of the people to revolt or defend themselves against the depredations of government force.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig11/wile13.1.html One World Government], Hans Hermann Hoppe</ref> Destructive policies can therefore continue for longer than the survival of the economy itself, especially if people have been lulled into complacency by a long history of relatively benign government whilst parasitic forces slowly take over power from behind the scenes.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig11/wile13.1.html One World Government], Hans Hermann Hoppe</ref> Some consider that modern democracy has been subverted and that the two-party choices being presented today are a charade, with little real difference between duopoly political parties, which are just shams to cover the slow but inexorable takeover of the levers of power by the financial "elite", who do not respect nor care about the will of the people, who they consider too stupid or powerless to be treated seriously.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/06/vote-for-whoever-you-want-bailout.html Vote for Whoever You Want], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28949.html United States of Denial], James West</ref> Since the mid-1990s and even earlier it has been argued by many commentators that the gold default of August 15, 1971 would inevitably lead to economic disaster due to the distorting and parasitic effects unlimited fiat money and credit creation would have on the productive private economy.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/01/business/deal-may-avert-default-but-some-ask-is-that-good.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hpw Deal May Avert Default, but Some Ask 'Is That Good?'</ref><ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /> The relentless exponential growth in retirement and welfare benefits will now be enough to bankrupt many Western governments (including the United States).<ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /><ref>[http://www.amazon.com/Boomergeddon-Deficits-Government-Devastate-Retirement/dp/1892538539/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1305008253&sr=8-1 Boomergeddon], James A. Bacon Jr</ref> No one in power today appears willing to tackle either the corrupt banking industry or government largesse.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/06/vote-for-whoever-you-want-bailout.html Vote for Whoever You Want], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/thebearslairview?art_id=10538 Sayonara, Washington], Martin Hutchinson</ref> Too many in power have a vested interest in the continuation of the system of spiraling inflation and debt to stop it, even if it could be stopped.<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-global-economy-burns-while-its-leaders-fiddle Global Economy Burns, While Its Leaders Fiddle], Nomi Prins, ZeroHedge</ref> Whilst the general economy suffers, old infrastructure collapses, man-made environmental crises abound, retailers go bankrupt, millions are foreclosed upon and are left homeless (whilst at the same time hundreds of thousands of houses lie empty and decaying) and real average incomes are decimated, perversely, banking bonuses and lobbyists' incomes have skyrocketed and the powers of the Fed and other central banks have increased because of increased regulatory duties despite their previous failures.<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/jan/10/banks-unlimited-bonuses-ministers Banks given go-ahead to pay unlimited bonuses], Guardian UK</ref><ref>[http://www.creditcrunch.co.uk/forum/topic/9253-banking-cheats-will-always-prosper/ Bank Cheats Will Always Prosper], CreditCrunch.co.uk</ref><ref>[http://dailyreckoning.com/the-expanding-industry-of-us-government/ The Expanding Industry of US Government], Bill Bonner</ref> Despite this obvious incompetence and despite repeated failures of policy at the highest levels, anyone advocating solutions beyond those approved within failed mainstream two-party thought is commonly labelled "insane", "crazy" or an "extremist".<ref>[http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/05/28/crazy Who are the real "crazies"?], Glenn Greenwald, Salon.com</ref><ref>[http://lewrockwell.com/orig11/mullen-t4.1.1.html Extremism is the New Race Card], Tom Mullens</ref><ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/8669352/Global-slump-warnings-if-US-triggers-insane-default.html Global slump warning if US triggers 'insane' default], Ambrose Evans-Pritchard</ref> Noted gold investor, Jim Sinclair, has publicly stated that the chaos has one cause - bankers have bought governments around the world and today's bankers are little more than irredeemably shallow "sociopaths", unable to grow a conscience and unable to forsee or care about the broader societal consequences of their actions beyond their own incestuous social groupings.<ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2009/08/31/china-invokes-a-stop-loss-on-otc-derivatives/ OTC Derivatives], Jim Sinclair</ref><ref>[http://maxkeiser.com/2011/07/17/alex-jones-on-satanic-rituals-of-bohemian-grove/ Alex Jones on Bohemian Grove], RTTV</ref> Leading British specialists in the pathology of the psychopath, Professors Robert Hare and Paul Babiak suspect the banking industry does indeed attract psychopaths and probably has a much higher proportion of mentally unstable psychopaths as executives compared to other industry sectors, although their comprehensive test (determining the degree of psychopathology in the workplace) has yet to be applied to the banking sector or to senior government officials or politicians.<ref>[http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/41fe2882-9cbe-11e0-bf57-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1QH9AQOwG Alfred Hitchcock' 'The Bankers'], James Makintosh, FT.com</ref> Michael Price, co-director of the Centre for Culture and Evolutionary Psychology at Brunel University in London agrees that the characteristics that make for good traders and investment bankers are very similar to those that define psychopaths. Therefore, given their likely sociopathic mind-set and culture, provided they themselves are acquiring a greater share of gross national income, many bankers simply do not care about the consequences and will continue to label others as "crazy" or "insane" or "terrorists" for so long as it gives them cover to engage in their own [[embezzlement|criminal]] conduct and for so long as it permits the in-bred corruption to continue at the highest levels.<ref>[http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/nilegardiner/100099341/joe-biden-compares-the-tea-party-to-terrorists-is-this-the-most-crass-and-nasty-white-house-in-modern-us-history/ Joe Biden compares the Tea Party to terrorists], Nile Gardiner, UK Telegraph</ref> If the charade collapses and the elite are threatened, they will simply kill anyone who threatens them and attempt to steal gold, oil, and other vital resources, as they have done repeatedly in the past.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/lewrockwell-show/2011/02/15/187-confessions-of-an-economic-hit-man/ Confessions of an Economic Hit-Man], John Perkins</ref>

Jim Sinclair suggests that many senior participants in the international banking and derivatives industry should be jailed<ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2010/10/31/jims-mailbox-573/ Debt Burden Being Transferred], Jim Sinclair</ref> to protect the public from repeatedly being "raped"<ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2010/11/21/in-the-news-today-713/ EU Ministers Said To Plan Meeting Over Ireland], Jim Sinclair</ref> by their scams and has the following conclusion on his website:<ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2010/11/09/in-the-news-today-701/ There is no practical solution], Jim Sinclair</ref>

{{quote|For years I have been telling you that there is NO PRACTICAL SOLUTION to the total of all the mistakes that have been made since Roosevelt, in a depression, started it all.}}

Jim Sinclair considers it too late to save the system and recommends people become self-sufficient and buy gold to await the inevitable collapse of the political and economic system and the associated breakdown in the division of labor.<ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2011/04/07/the-system-has-failed/ The System Has Failed], Jim Sinclair</ref>

Max Keiser has stated that the culture of actual ''physical'' sexual coercion and rape allegedly exhibited a number of prominent financial figures is simply symptomatic and an outgrowth of a culture of ''financial'' rape and exploitation.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skwj6e9xvH8&feature=player_embedded#at=102 Savers vs Speculators] Quote: Max Keiser: "Munich Re, a financial terrorist responsible for creating ghettos. Financially disadvantaged folks who are on the short end of the 'ghettoization' of the financial terrorist schemes...are forced to wear ''yellow armbands'' and be ''sex slaves'' for their German hosts." Stacy Herbert: "Yes. And be stamped on their arms afterward to prove that they were used." Max Keiser: "Yes. Let's not forget the little serial code-stamp on the wrist as part of the package." Stacy Herbert: "But Max, the story here is that this goes from the very bottom. These are just agents going door-to-door selling insurance products in the financial services industry. The top of the pyramid of the banking Establishment is Dominique Strauss-Kahn." Max Keiser: "This is a culture. Dominique Stauss-Kahn is part of the banking ''culture''. There's Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Lloyd Blankfein, Jamie Dimon, this guy Pandit over at Citigroup, the CEO just paid himself $42 million for stealing $420 million - they have a culture of predator behavior where once you - like a serial killer - once you steal money from people with mortgage fraud or with banking fees that are illegitimate or with collateralized debt obligations you get a taste for serial financial killing. You graduate to these higher crimes and you become a Dominique Strauss-Kahn or a Lloyd Blankfein or a Jamie Dimon where serial financial murder is part of your day-to-day life. That's the culture you live in."</ref> In order to be part of the system, you must be blind to its consequences. Therefore, no one with a conscience can become powerful enough within the system to fundamentally change trajectory from its current catastrophic path.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqyCjR9JEMA&feature=player_embedded Nothing Stops Banks], Matt Taibbi</ref>

Ironically, many victims of rape and abuse come to blame themselves and never fight back, preferring to adapt to a life of abuse or enslavement. This is called "learned helplessness" in psychological terms. Doug French finds a direct analogy between the dynamics of ''physical'' rape and ''financial'' abuse, with many indebted individuals ''blaming themselves'' for their predicament and refusing to default on their debts, even though it would be in their clear financial interest to do so.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5409/BatteredHomeowner-Syndrome Battered Homeowner Syndrome], Doug French. Quote: 'Lenore Walker is the pioneer in the field of battered-spouse syndrome, with her book The Battered Woman. She believes that experiencing the repeated cycles of violence can result in a spouse developing "learned helplessness," a psychological state identified by psychologist Martin Seligman. The abused believe they lack control over their situation and are convinced escape is impossible. Their motivation to escape diminishes as they become increasingly passive.

Walker explains that the constant cycles of violence and reconciliation result in the following beliefs:

The abused

believes that the violence was his or her fault,
has an inability to place the responsibility for violence elsewhere,
fears for his/her life and/or the lives of his/her children, and
has an irrational belief that the abuser is omnipresent and omniscient.

These beliefs are strikingly similar to what underwater homeowners feel.

The abused believes that the violence was his or her fault. "It was my own fault for buying a house at the top of the market in the first place and borrowing too much money to do it." "I made my bed, now I must sleep in it, no matter how much financial pain it causes me."

The abused has an inability to place the responsibility for violence elsewhere. "It's nobody's fault but my own," say people with 20/20 hindsight. "Nobody made me sign the mortgage. I'm so stupid. The bank doesn't have to negotiate with me."

The abused fears for his/her life and/or the lives of his/her children. "My credit will be ruined. I won't be able to rent an apartment. My low credit score may keep me from getting a job. I don't want to uproot the kids and have to admit that daddy and mommy made a financial mistake."

The abused has an irrational belief that the abuser is omnipresent and omniscient. The abuser in this case is the lender or owner of the mortgage. The borrower fears that these lenders can take everything they have, leave them with nothing, and make their lives miserable forever.

At the same time, default moralizers reinforce these feelings. They have no sympathy for those making a poor housing and mortgage choice. A person must suffer the consequences of their actions, it's claimed.'</ref>

John Perkins, author of ''Economic Hitman'', has openly stated that the U.S. government is merely a front runner for major corporate interests and has brutally assassinated leaders of countries where reform has been attempted.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmU9R-BaFIQ Max Keiser Interview with John Perkins]</ref> The zealotry and extremism against genuine and honest monetary reformers on the one hand and the payoffs and largesse given to unprincipled and corrupt supporters of the current monetary regime on the other ensure there is no path of reform left for those potential leaders with a conscience.<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/more-political-capture-goldman-hires-top-republican-fed-transparency-foe-spends-more-time-se More Political Capture], ZeroHedge</ref>

Dimitry Orlov, author of ''Reinventing Collapse'', has written extensively about the striking similarities between the collapse of the USSR and the multiple environmental, economic and social crises facing the USA. He also predicts economic, political and social collapse in much of the West and in particular predicts that peak oil will result in some countries being cut off completely from oil supplies resulting in sudden social upheaval and starvation and believes that it is too late for any kind of meaningful reform:<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLdwzcA9ZdM&feature=player_embedded#at=997 Dimitry Orlov Interview with Max Keiser - ''Reinventing Collapse'']</ref>

{{quote|(US military adverturism overseas) is just a very striking example of being unable to stop, even though what you're doing isn't actually working...

By demolishing as much of the social infrastructure as exists in the country... you will end up with an even less literate population that will be unable to oppose the government, unable to stand up for themselves and demand that their rights and needs be met...

People who think they can somehow skirt the financial system are wrong. They will be dominated by the Bernankes of this world and others. There isn't really a way out except to make do without money. And that's kind of what I try to explain to people is: Reduce your needs for any kind of interaction with the official economy and you will do better.}}

Even if worldwide economic catastrophe cannot be averted at this stage of the metastasizing financial crisis, choices will still need to be made by each government in response to the crisis.

On a national level, for unsustainably indebted nations, the simplest and cleanest solution for any debt-fuelled crisis is to [[default]].<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/02/massive-rout-in-irish-elections.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MishsGlobalEconomicTrendAnalysis+%28Mish%27s+Global+Economic+Trend+Analysis%29 Default Best Option for Ireland], MISH</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5449/Defaulting-on-the-Feds-Bonds Defaulting on the Fed's Bonds], Robert Murphy</ref> Bankers generally despise this solution because it (a) reduces the value of their asset (debt-based government bonds) (b) reduces or even destroys their income stream (interest on bonds) and therefore may affect their retained earnings in future (and their credit rating and compliance with Basel III rules on Tier 1 capital) (c) can result in a systemic crisis as many banks will be using that government debt to satisfy their liquidity requirements under Basel III (which requires a minimum proportion of "liquid" assets to be held by the banks - and those "assets" mainly consist of government bonds) and (d) signals to other countries that it is possible to escape debt without consequence and so potentially reduces the value of government debt in surrounding countries.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/05/trichet-goes-ballistic-walks-out-of.html Trichet Goes Ballistic], MISH</ref> Self-interested bankers are therefore often desperate to avoid government debt default, and generally much prefer an economy to be strangled by debt rather than be freed of it.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/05/trichet-goes-ballistic-walks-out-of.html Trichet Goes Ballistic], MISH</ref>

As an example of the consequences of the two alternatives, Iceland did not try to save its private bankers but instead permitted them to default on private bond payments. Ireland on the other hand guaranteed private bank debt and in doing so subjected the taxpayers of that country to decades of payments for debts that were not incurred on their behalf or for their benefit. Many commentators have observed that in 2010 [[Iceland]] recovered much faster than other countries such as [[Ireland]].<ref>[http://www.smh.com.au/business/iceland-bounces-back-as-pain-leads-to-gain-20101208-18pvm.html Iceland Bounces Back]</ref><ref>[http://www.vanityfair.com/business/features/2011/03/michael-lewis-ireland-201103?printable=true When Irish Eyes Are Crying], Michael Lewis</ref> In his extensive analysis of the aftermath of the banking panic in Ireland, Michael Lewis wrote of his puzzlement that the Irish government thought it was beyond the bounds of acceptable political discourse to consider default on privately issued Irish bank bonds, when Iceland successfully and easily defaulted and only after this did they nationalize their banking system.<ref>[http://www.vanityfair.com/business/features/2011/03/michael-lewis-ireland-201103?printable=true When Irish Eyes Are Crying], Michael Lewis</ref>

In the absence of outright default, time is the only other remedy for monetary crises (allowing re-inflation of the markets through the gradual injection of new [[debt money]] into the system through new borrowings). It is a rare "[[black swan]]" event for a cluster of private businesses or banks to default at the same time and governments often hope that this will not happen again once it has happened already. However, if the crisis is one of national solvency, waiting passively for recovery may only delay - and exacerbate - the final catastrophe as the debt-based monetary system pushes all businesses slowly towards the next crisis by confusing and misleading market participants with false price signals, particularly as they relate to interest rates. Once the next crisis hits because of even more confused price signals due to government interference in the market for money, time is something panicked financiers and investors are least likely to want to give up when the threat is never getting their [[money]] out of the imploding investment [[bubble]]. In extreme cases [[bank]]s could set up "independent" corporate investment vehicles to buy the assets associated with the [[bad debt]],<ref>[http://www.dealbreaker.com/2007/10/citigroup_looks_to_lend_money.php Citigroup looks to lend money]</ref> thereby allowing [[borrower]]s to liquidate their investments and allow time for the markets to re-inflate. Alternatively, these "sour" loans, that have gone bad through too much debt overwhelming the markets, could be dumped or "hidden" on the central bank's balance sheet, and swapped for more secure government debt (financed through compulsorily acquired taxes, which are immune from the risk of private bankruptcy). However the holding costs involved in these measures would be extremely high and would not guarantee that the losses could be averted if no new gullible investors could be found to offload these distressed assets.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8w6Nx2rfiE A Wikileaks for the Fed?]</ref> More fundamentally, these short-term "parachutes" used after bubbles burst do not save ordinary borrowers from [[foreclosure]] and [[bankruptcy]], nor do they address the pernicious long-term dysfunctional aspects of [[fractional reserve banking]] described above. These problems are temporarily averted, only to be dealt with yet again by the next generation of indebted governments and peoples.<ref>[http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18431.htm The Era of Global Financial Instability, by Mike Whitney]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8w6Nx2rfiE A Wikileaks for the Fed?]</ref>

Given these repeated financial crises arising from the fiat monetary system, many [[monetary reform]]ers predict that there will inevitably be widespread default or hyperinflation or depression - or most likely all three simultaneously in what Ludwig von Mises predicted would be a "final and total catastrophe" of our unsustainable, Ponzi-like, fiat monetary system.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5041/Whats-Behind-the-Currency-War What's Behind the Currency War], Anthony Mueller</ref> After this "catastrophe"<ref name="Landis_Reprieve">[http://www.goldensextant.com/SavingtheSystem.html Fiat's Reprieve: Saving the System, 1979-1987], Robert K. Landis, August 21, 2004.</ref> in which a significant proportion of the population may die through starvation or war<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/20-signs-horrific-global-food-crisis-coming?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+zerohedge%2Ffeed+%28zero+hedge+-+on+a+long+enough+timeline%2C+the+survival+rate+for+everyone+drops+to+zero%29 20 Signs], ZeroHedge</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/adams-m/adams-m15.1.html US Agriculture Collapse]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26605.html Population Reduction], Chris Kitze</ref><ref>[http://www.rickackerman.com/2011/03/getting-the-jump-on-a-possible-food-shortage/ Getting the Jump on Food Shortages], Marilyn Ackerman</ref><ref>[http://www.goldismoney2.com/archive/index.php/t-524.html?s=d418ff253326772a09e1a8d992da7753 Venetian Bankers and the Dark Ages]</ref> a spontaneous market-induced return to the [[gold standard]] is anticipated to be the most likely result.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMngK0t5WkY Mike Maloney interview with Max Keiser], The Keiser Report</ref><ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/02/us-dollar-about-to-lose-reserve.html US Dollar About to Lose Reserve Currency Status: Fact or Fiction?], MISH</ref> Other possible solutions following the catastrophe include a return to legally enforced full reserve banking combined with the issuance government-issued debt-free [[fiat currency]], or [[free banking]] and the issuance of private coinage and private money. If these solutions are not initiated soon, it can be expected that a complete financial "meltdown" will ensue at some stage, as environmental crises and destruction of arable land slow GDP growth in developing nations and fewer young people in developed economies can be found who are willing to go into debt in sufficient magnitude to pay off the debts that have already been accumulated.<ref name="Bonner_Swan" /><ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /> As extreme inequality increases, [[foreclosure]]s mount and financial crises repeatedly erupt, many believe a political crisis will eventually result in calls for revolution and fundamental [[monetary reform]].<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV_gwvSibmM&feature=player_embedded#at=510 Max Keiser on Alex Jones]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMngK0t5WkY Mike Maloney interview with Max Keiser], The Keiser Report</ref><ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /> However, as noted above, some commentators consider that it is already too late to avoid a combined financial, environmental and demographic catastrophe even if reform is now attempted.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/03/oil-prices-are-double-edged-sword-peak.html Peak Everything?], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.population-security.org/28-APP2.html NSSM 200 Directive], Henry A. Kissinger, April 24, 1974</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KInB2rvgaY&feature=fvsr Eco Eco Disaster], Keiser Report</ref>

On-going, worsening, [[debt]]-created crises in the economy and society (and the unsustainable damage to the [[environment]] caused by debt-created [[overconsumption]]) are likely to turn monetary and economic policies either to the extreme left or to the extreme right, as there are a number of competing solutions to the debt-based monetary "problem".<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqjyk2cx5WU&feature=player_embedded#at=696 Taste of Freedom E126], Max Keiser, Keiser Report</ref>

===Libertarians, Austrians and commodity money===

[[Libertarians]] and [[Austrian School]] supporters envision a voluntary society of free markets, [[free banking]], small government<ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/thebearslairview?art_id=10473 Models of Capitalism], Michael Hutchinson</ref> and the abolition of [[legal tender laws]], allowing money backed by a ''free market'' [[gold standard]] or [[silver standard]] to come back in circulation.<ref>[http://lewrockwell.com/north/north1009.html Counterfeit Gold Standards], Gary North</ref><ref>[http://lewrockwell.com/orig11/krolman5.1.1.html Accidentally Conceived in 1971], Arthur M.M. Krolman</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27532.html Why Monetary Expansion Must Stop], Patrick Barron</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26339.html Silver and Opium], Antal E. Fekete</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25212.html The Faults of FRB], Thorsten Polleit</ref> A necessary pre-condition in establishing a true free-market order would be the complete abolition of all legal tender laws and the abolition of monopolistic central banking, including repeal of the ''Federal Reserve Act'' of 1913.<ref>[http://www.drschoon.com/articles%5CSilverGoldAndTheLastAmericanHeroJFK.pdf Silver, Gold and the Last American Hero JFK], Darryl Robert Schoon. Extracted quote from Ron Paul: "The United States Constitution grants to Congress the authority to coin money and regulate the value of the currency. The Constitution does not give Congress the authority to delegate control over monetary policy to a central bank. Furthermore, the Constitution certainly does not empower the federal government to erode the American standard of living via an inflationary monetary policy." Note: Another argument – that the power to "coin" money precludes issuance of paper money, and that the government must redeem paper money with "precious metal" – was dismissed as frivolous in ''Milam v. United States'', citing the Legal Tender Cases.</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/73833.html End the Fed], Freedom Watch</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4860 Money: Sound and Unsound], Mark Thornton commentary on Joseph Salerno's book</ref><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/thebearslairview?art_id=10471 Gold Standard Renaissance?]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article24632.html The Gold Standard Never Dies], [[Lew Rockwell]]</ref><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/thebearslairview?art_id=10471 Gold Standard], Michael Hutchinson</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Money-Bank-Credit-and-Economic-Cycles-P290C0.aspx Money, Bank Credit and Economic Cycles], Jesus Huerta de Soto, Mises Institute ISBN: 978-1-933550-39-8</ref><ref>[http://radio.goldseek.com/griffin04.10.10.php Goldseek interview] with [[G. Edward Griffin]]</ref><ref>See also these [[Murray Rothbard]] articles: [http://www.mises.org/money.asp What Has Government Done to Our Money?], [http://www.mises.org/story/1829 The Case for the 100% Gold Dollar]; [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/cartelization.pdf The Fed as Cartel], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard191.html Private Coinage], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard190.html Repudiate the National Debt]; [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard181.html Taking Money Back], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard163.html Anatomy of the Bank Run], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard128.html Money and the Individual]</ref> Some Libertarians would also support experimentation with [[full reserve banking]],<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4860 Money: Sound and Unsound], Mark Thornton commentary on Joseph Salerno's book</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Money-Bank-Credit-and-Economic-Cycles-P290C0.aspx Money, Bank Credit and Economic Cycles], Jesus Huerta de Soto, Mises Institute ISBN: 978-1-933550-39-8</ref><ref>[http://www.mises.org/Books/mysteryofbanking.pdf Murray Rothbard, ''The Mystery of Banking'']</ref> recognizing that when fractional-reserve banking is combined with the gold standard a strong cyclical bias (and the systematic transfer of real wealth to the banking system) is normally inevitable.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5174/Life-with-the-Fed-Sunshine-and-Lollipops Life With The Fed], Thomas Woods</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5185/The-Need-for-100-Reserves The Need for 100% Reserves], Frank D. Graham</ref> Those Libertarians who support full reserve banking would strongly support more flexible and forgiving bankruptcy laws in a fractional reserve banking environment, recognizing that no stigma should be attached to bankruptcy given the anti-Libertarian "unjust acquisition" of real wealth implicit in central banking, compulsory legal tender laws, fractional reserve banking and taxation.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4860 Money: Sound and Unsound], Mark Thornton commentary on Joseph Salerno's book</ref><ref name="Repudiating the National Debt">[http://mises.org/article.aspx?Id=1423 Repudiating the National Debt], Murray Rothbard</ref><ref>[http://www.mises.org/Books/mysteryofbanking.pdf Murray Rothbard, ''The Mystery of Banking'']</ref><ref>[http://gonzalolira.blogspot.com/2010/12/want-to-ruin-your-own-country-assume.html Want to Ruin Your Country?]</ref>

In the absence of sound money, over time private corporations become mere extensions of powerful government and banking fiat.<ref name="death"/><ref>[http://mises.org/rothbard/newlibertywhole.asp For A New Liberty], Murray Rothbard</ref> Libertarians such as Murray Rothbard argue that in such a toxic monetary environment resource allocation is perverted by some or all of the following factors: corrupt alliances between so-called private corporations and regulators; increasingly intensive business structures to suit the needs of a concentrated and cartelized banking system; and the constant overriding of small communities and local government planning with central government directives to satisfy the needs of big business.<ref name="death"/> In such a corrupted monetary system, libertarians argue that financial and man-made environmental crises cannot legitimately be blamed on "private" corporations but rather blame must fall squarely on the true source of the problem - centralized government control of credit and money, which in turn creates massive distortions in scarce resource allocation, with environmental crises being the predictable consequence.<ref name="death"/><ref>[http://mises.org/rothbard/newlibertywhole.asp For A New Liberty], Murray Rothbard</ref><ref>[http://maxkeiser.com/2011/06/11/ote114-on-the-edge-with-peter-schiff/ Peter Schiff Interview with Max Keiser]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article29029.html Getting Used to Life without Food], F. William Engdahl</ref>

Regarding the current accumulation of government bonds and private debt, many Libertarians believe that the creation of the [[Federal Reserve System|Federal Reserve]] under the [[Federal Reserve Act]] of 1913 was unconstitutional and consider that at least some of this accumulated debt should be canceled or forgiven ''prior'' to a return to the gold standard in recognition of its fundamental illegitimacy.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article29433.html The Never-Ending Economic Depression], Washington Blog</ref><ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/antal-feketes-open-letter-ron-paul-impeach-bernanke Antal Fekete's Letter to Ron Paul]</ref><ref name="Repudiating the National Debt"/><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zMv4Offm_8&feature=player_embedded#at=1341 Max Keiser Interview with Alex Jones]</ref> Arguably this would be supported by the "just acquisition" jurisprudence of legal philosopher [[Robert Nozick]] and Libertarian advocate [[Murray Rothbard]].<ref name="Repudiating the National Debt"/> As Murry Rothbard states:<ref>[http://angloaustria.blogspot.com/2010/05/quote-of-day-on-repudiation.html The Ethics of Liberty], Murray Rothbard</ref>

{{quote|Many libertarians fall into confusion on specific relations with the State, even when they concede the general immorality or criminality of State actions or interventions. Thus, there is the question of default, or more widely, repudiation of government debt. Many libertarians assert that the government is morally bound to pay its debts, and that therefore default or repudiation must be avoided. The problem here is that these libertarians are analogizing from the perfectly proper thesis that private persons or institutions should keep their contracts and pay their debts. But government has no money of its own, and payment of its debt means that the taxpayers are further coerced into paying bondholders. Such coercion can never be licit from the libertarian point of view. For not only does increased taxation mean increased coercion and aggression against private property, but the seemingly innocent bondholder appears in a very different light when we consider that the purchase of a government bond is simply making an investment in the future loot from the robbery of taxation.}}

In late 2010, financial commentator Max Keiser started the [[Buy Silver Crash JP Morgan Campaign 2010]] in an attempt to expose the flaws underlying the [[fractional reserve banking]] system.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zMv4Offm_8&feature=player_embedded#at=1341 Max Keiser Interview with Alex Jones]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IKbAmsGey0&feature=player_embedded#at=66 Bob Chapman Silver Predictions]</ref><ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/dec/02/jp-morgan-silver-short-selling-crash Want JP Morgan to crash? Buy silver], Max Keiser</ref>

====Free Banking and Full Reserve Banking====

On the issue of the required level of bank reserves, Austro-libertarians are sharply divided on the optimal solution to eliminate the parasitic and destructive forces inherent in fractional reserve banking.<ref>[http://mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae13_4_2.pdf Fractional Reserve Free Banking: Some Quibbles], Philip Bagus and David Howden</ref><ref name="Cochran_Free">John P. Cochran. [http://mises.org/daily/4898 ''Free Banking''], ''Mises Daily'', review of ''Free Banking: Theory, History, and a Laissez-Faire Model'' by Larry Sechrest</ref>

Some Austrian scholars advocate "free banking", where banks are legally permitted to engage in fractional-reserve banking activities ''provided'' they comply with the standard laws against fraud and are not supported in any way against the possibility of bank runs and are forced into bankruptcy should they not be able to pay their debts as and when they fall due.<ref name="Cochran_Free" />

Advocates of this system of banking include Lawrence White, Steven Horwitz, George Selgin, and Kevin Dowd, amongst others.<ref name="Cochran_Free" /> F.A. Hayek also advocated the de-nationalization of money production and implicitly supported a free banking financial system in some of his works on monetary reform.<ref>[http://www.mises.org/store/Free-Market-Monetary-System-A-P553.aspx?AFID=14 ''Free Market Money System''] by [[F.A. Hayek]]</ref>

Other Austrian scholars advocate "[[full reserve banking]]", considering fractional-reserve banking and the associated issuance of irredeemable paper money to be inherently fraudulent, unethical, unjust, disruptive and dysfunctional, akin to embezzlement and counterfeiting.<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/citizen-sues-atlanta-fed-based-allegation-its-issuing-federal-reserve-notes-it-has-no-intent Citizen Sues Atlanta Fed], ZeroHedge</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae13_4_2.pdf Fractional Reserve Free Banking: Some Quibbles], Philip Bagus and David Howden</ref><ref>See for example these [[Murray Rothbard]] articles: [http://www.mises.org/money.asp What Has Government Done to Our Money?], [http://www.mises.org/story/1829 The Case for the 100% Gold Dollar]; [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/cartelization.pdf The Fed as Cartel], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard191.html Private Coinage], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard190.html Repudiate the National Debt]; [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard181.html Taking Money Back], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard163.html Anatomy of the Bank Run], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard128.html Money and the Individual]</ref> [[Full reserve banking]] would require banks to retain in reserve all deposits that are legally available for immediate withdrawal, and permit lending only from longer-term deposits.

Advocates of this system of banking include [[Murray Rothbard]],<ref name="The Mystery of Banking">[http://www.mises.org/Books/mysteryofbanking.pdf ''The Mystery of Banking''], Murray Rothbard</ref><ref name="The Case for a 100% Gold Dollar">[http://mises.org/story/1829 The Case for a 100% Gold Dollar], Murray Rothbard</ref> [[Jesus Huerta de Soto]],<ref>[http://www.mises.org/books/desoto.pdf ''Money, Bank Credit, and Economic Cycles''], Jesus Huerta de Soto, First English edition (2006), pp. 98-114</ref> [[Jörg Guido Hülsmann]],<ref>[http://mises.org/media/4014 The Economics of Legal Tender Laws], and [[Jorg Guido Hulsmann]] (includes detailed commentary on [[central banking]], [[inflation]] and [[fractional reserve banking|FRB]])</ref><ref name=FBFB>[http://mises.org/journals/rae/pdf/RAE9_1_1.pdf Free Banking and the Free Bankers], Jörg Guido Hülsmann, Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics (Vol. 9, No. 1)</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/lewrockwell-show/2011/01/04/181-hyperinflation-ahead/ Interview with Jörg Guido Hülsmann], The Lew Rockwell Show</ref> amongst others.<ref>[http://mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae13_4_2.pdf Fractional Reserve Free Banking: Some Quibbles], Philip Bagus and David Howden</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4880 The Faults of Fractional-Reserve Banking], Thorsten Polleit</ref>

Most recently, in late 2010, two British MP's, Douglas Carswell and Steven Baker, sought to introduce legislation into the British Parliament that would allow depositors to decide if their money should be lent out and for what period.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/8004540/The-radical-reform-that-would-end-boom-and-bust-in-banking.html ''The Radical Reform in Banking''], Toby Baxendale, ''Daily Telegraph'', 15 Sept 2010</ref> If this legislative reform were to pass, British depositors would have the option to elect to save their money in full reserve bank accounts.

===Public banks, debt-free money and the possibility of "benign government"===

The concept of debt-free money is most notably represented by [[Michael Rowbotham]], [[Stephen Zarlenga]] of the American Monetary Institute and [[Ellen Hodgson Brown]]. They advocate various forms of "pure" fiat money issuance by government, without the need for the government to issue a bond to print or issue the fiat money.

Currently virtually all money issued in modern economies is sourced from debt; in other words, it is "debt money". "Debt money" is money created in parallel with debt or [[Credit (finance)|credit]] via the process of [[fractional reserve banking]].

"Debt-free money" is a "true" or "pure" fiat currency issued by the [[Treasury]] of a [[central government]], where there is no requirement for its eventual return as a condition of its creation (except by way of payment of taxes).<ref name="death"/> It is argued by Rowbotham and others that this would allow for the substantial lowering of tax rates, would allow public works projects to be funded cheaply, and would stimulate economic development, if the fiat money is spent sensibly on inflation-lowering long-term capital projects.<ref name="death"/>

====Properties====
According to its proponents, government-issued debt-free fiat currency (such as debt-free notes and coins) can circulate perpetually in the economy as "stable" money and although not as secure as [[hard currency]], government-issued debt-free notes and coins (such as United States Notes and silver certificates) do not have the same effects of debt-based money.<ref>[http://www.entrewave.com/freebooks/docs/a_pdfs/gnhm.pdf Honest Money]</ref> It should be noted however that fiat currency can be a source of [[hyperinflation]] if its production is not controlled, as the government has the potential to issue unlimited amounts of fiat currency - ''provided'' it is accepted as "money" by the private banking system.<ref>[http://mises.org/books/shorthistorypapermoney.pdf A Short History of Paper Money in the United States], William M. Gouge, Mises Institute</ref> Notes and coins in circulation (being defined as [[Money supply#M0|M0]]) now account for a tiny fraction of the total M3 [[money supply]] in all developed, debt-based [[capitalism|capitalist]] economies (and M0 is also generally less than 10% of the total [[Money supply#M2|M2]] money supply in most developed economies).<ref>[http://www.dollardaze.org/blog/?post_id=00216 Global Money Supply Ratios]</ref>

Instead of [[money]] being created "indirectly" and "furtively" at the point of loan creation by the private banking system, with periodic bailouts to already-rich bankers, it would be created directly and openly by the democratically elected government and issued to its citizenry by way of instruction to the private banking system.

Michael Rowbotham and Ellen Hodgson Brown both argue in their books that this would not raise consumer prices (or at least would not be as inflationary or as dysfunctional as the present system).<ref>[http://www.webofdebt.com/articles/hyperinflation.php Weimar Hyperinflation], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref> This would also reduceoverconsumption and the associated environmental damage associated with debt-based consumerism. It would also give individuals the free time to engage once again in non-marketable religious, artistic and recreational activities if they chose to do so.<ref name="death"/>

It is to be expected that these policies would be violently opposed by the private banking "elite", as it would render impotent their control over the money supply, dissipating this crucial decision-making power away from its current power base. It would also be likely to reduce [[economic growth]], dramatically increase the cost of labor and, potentially, result in an exacerbation of price inflation and malinvestment.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/12/fatally-flawed-end-fed-proposal-from.html Fatally Flawed End the Fed Proposal], MISH</ref> However, Rowbotham argues that this proposal would address the problem of inequality inherent in a debt-based monetary system and reduce the devastating impact of personal [[bankruptcy]] and allow individual citizens to quickly recover from financial hardship.<ref name="death"/> He also argues that this social security measure (and government spending in general) would not have to be paid for by future generations from future streams of [[income tax]].<ref name="death"/>

====Related proposals====
Ex-U.S. Treasury Department analyst Richard C. Cook also supports the issuance of debt-free money and zero-interest credit by the central government and has provided a detailed blueprint of monetary reform recommendations to transition to a debt-free money supply.<ref name="marketoracle.co.uk"/>

[[Stephen Zarlenga]] and [[Ellen Hodgson Brown]] also call for the nationalization of the private banking system once the full losses on the banks' portfolios are recognized.<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ellen-brown/restoring-economic-sovere_b_823697.html Restoring Economic Sovereignty], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref><ref>[http://www.webofdebt.com/articles/new_theory.php Time for a New Theory of Money]</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/01/steve-keen-responds-to-world-economic.html Exponential Growth], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.webofdebt.com/articles/force_nationalization.php Foreclosuregate could force bank nationalization]</ref><ref>[http://webofdebt.wordpress.com/2010/12/22/austerity-fails-in-euroland-time-for-some-%e2%80%9cdeficit-easing%e2%80%9d/ Austerity Fails in Europe], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref> Ellen Hodgson Brown has repeatedly called for the creation of publicly-owned banks, where the interest earned by these banks could be ploughed back into local economies instead of being sucked out of local communities into the major commercial banks.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article29338.html Why Aren't Banks Lending], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref>

Brown also supported "[[Quantitative easing|QE2]]" - which she described as a necessary and desirable funding of government spending via money printing rather than by the indirect means of issuing of interest-bearing government bonds, which simply allows private bankers to profit from costless money creation.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article24443.html QE2 and the Looming Threat of a Crippling Debt Service]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article24719.html QE2 and Hyperinflation], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref>

[[Michael Rowbotham]] seeks the cancellation of "unjust" debts (such as [[third world debt]]), but would also support the re-introduction of strongly redistributive tax policies involving higher financial transaction taxes (such as a [[Tobin tax]]), [[land tax]]es and [[inheritance tax]]es, and, crucially and most importantly, a [[social security]] [[safety net]] involving a guaranteed minimum [[social credit|debt-free income]] (sourced from government-issued debt-free money independent of any central bank) for all citizens in the debt-based economy. Under this proposal, every adult citizen would be given a livable debt-free income transferred electronically into their [[bank account]], simply by virtue of their [[citizen]]ship. They could then use this debt-free money to pay off their [[mortgage]]s or to live, debt-free, without being compelled to work as a [[wage slavery|wage slave]] in the market economy if they chose not to. The government would finance these payments simply by ordering the private banks to accept their electronic instructions as legal tender. It would therefore not result in the expansion of [[government debt]].<ref name="death"/>

Many monetary reformers who call on the government to take back the money creation from debt-sourced banks also call for full reserve banking to remove the bank's alleged "embezzlement" and "counterfeiting" abilities.<ref name="marketoracle.co.uk"/><ref>[http://www.monetary.org/ AMI website, calling on full-reserve banking]</ref>

====Criticisms====
In late 2010, [[Ellen Hodgson Brown]] and Austrian School commentator [[Gary North]] engaged in an intense debate over the direction of [[monetary reform]], with gold-standard supporter [[Gary North]] accusing Brown of going down a path that inevitably leads to the economics of fascism and hyperinflation.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north908.html Criticism of Ellen Hodgson Brown]</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north912.html Ellen Betrays], Gary North</ref> Government deficit spending is not a substitute for private consumption due to the inability of coercive goverment to invest rationally long-term, given the [[economic calculation problem]] inherent in socialized economies. North argues that it is not possible to trust a coercive, non-market entity - government - to limit its spending in circumstances where pure fiat money is in the hands of politicians and that [[inflation]], being an invisible tax, is much harder to resist than regular taxes. Greedy, corrupt, short-sighted politicians could buy off special interest groups to get elected and the general public could only watch on the sidelines as the purchasing power of their dollars steadily declines; this decline would be blamed on currency speculators and eventually foreign currencies (including "natural" monies such as gold and silver and copper) would have to be banned and confiscated from the public to ensure continued use of depreciating fiat.<ref name="North_Congress">Gary North. [http://www.garynorth.com/public/7030.cfm "Economic Error #15: Congress Can Safely Be Trusted to Manage the Money System Without Any Price Inflation."]. Referenced 2011-02-24.</ref> The fundamental error of Brown's analysis, according to North, is that Brown expects the source of the problem - corrupt governments bought and paid for by bankers - to be the source of the solution. She calls for a move away from war spending, whilst recoginizing that the current fiat monetary system favors government spending on war.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28831.html More Efficient Ways to Stimulate Economy], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref> To date, she has yet to reconcile these inconsistencies in her writings.

[[Mike Shedlock]] agrees with the abolition of fractional reserve banking, but criticizes the concept on similar grounds as North. Commenting on a bill to end the Fed introduced by Representative [[Dennis Kucinich]], he wrote: "Neither sound money nor the free market comes from printing money into existence. Arguably the only thing worse than the Fed printing money out of thin air is Congress printing money out of thin air for the purpose of full employment and/or any other absurd ideas Congress has."<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25175.html Kucinich's End the Fed campaign fatally flawed], Mike Shedlock.</ref>

===Left-leaning ideas===
Some left-leaning [[social democrats]] would also support ''raising'' minimum wages immediately after a financial crisis (rather than reducing wage rates - which only prolongs the depression through reduced spending), taxing of the banking system and implementing of strongly redistributive income and [[land tax]]es to ensure the financially dispossessed are "replenished" with income. They would also support a [[social security]] [[safety net]] involving the provision of unemployment benefits and government-supplied free medical care, education and other essential services and [[public goods]].<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4yVhxDTom0 Steve Keen interview with Max Keiser]</ref> It is to be expected however that this coercive regulatory regime would result in the systematic destruction of the entrepreneurial class as profits are squeezed by rising costs. In addition, without the issuance of debt-free [[fiat currency]] the result of these programs would be the persistent, exponential, accumulation of [[government debt]], financed by the [[private banking]] system by the issuance of [[government bonds]]. If not properly managed, this could result in a progressively higher tax burden and may result in higher [[interest rates]] in the long term, as financiers require higher [[interest rates]] to lend to the increasingly indebted central government. Without the issuance of [[debt-free money]] these policies can be self-defeating, with the net result simply being that a larger stream of guaranteed income goes to the [[private bank]]ing system via the issuance of interest-bearing [[government bonds]] (which are purchased by the [[private banks]] "out of nothing" through [[fractional reserve banking]] techniques). This [[government debt]] must then be financed in perpetuity by compulsorily acquired [[tax]]es from future generations.

It could be argued that the early success of extreme so-called "right-wing" (but socialist government-guided) [[fascism]] in [[Nazi Germany]] and [[Italy]] in the period after [[World War I]] was a response to the economic chaos created by the debt-based monetary system in early 20th century [[Europe]]. Some of the economic policies introduced by [[Hitler]] and [[Mussolini]] were in direct response to the economic collapse and social [[anarchy]] caused by soaring government and personal debt levels in both countries in the post-[[Versailles Treaty]] era, and (indirectly) arose from the writings of [[Silvio Gesell]] and others on the nature of the problems associated with a debt-based [[monetary system]]. Although many [[historian]]s justifiably criticize many of the non-economic policies of the [[fascist]] governments of [[Germany]] and [[Italy]] during this period, the [[economics of fascism]] seemed to provide a degree of [[prosperity]] to the populace, and their stated objective of restoring economic and social order during the pre-[[World War II]] era.<ref>[http://www.webofdebt.com/articles/bankrupt-germany.php How a Bankrupt Germany Solved its Economic Problems], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref> These economic policies and their results are the subject of vigorous debate even today.<ref name="North_National_Great">Gary North. [http://www.garynorth.com/public/7009.cfm "Historical Error #27: Hitler's National Socialist Economic Policies Ended the Great Depression in Germany."], ''GaryNorth.Com''. Referenced 2011-02-24.</ref> (See also [[Inflation in Nazi Germany]].)

Similarly it could be argued that [[socialism]] and [[communism]] were movements inspired by the inequalities caused by the intense (and in [[Karl Marx]]'s view unsustainable) concentrations of monetary wealth, power and influence inherent in the practice of [[fractional reserve banking]] in a [[laissez-faire]], [[monopoly]] [[capitalist]] environment (particularly when [[fractional reserve banking]] is combined with a [[gold standard]] or other [[hard currency]] [[monetary system]]).<ref>[http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/02/steve-keen-roving-cavaliers-of-credit.html ''Roving Cavaliers of Credit'', Steve Keen, with commentary from Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism]</ref>

The [[communist]]/[[socialist]] solution to the problem of [[fractional reserve banking]] is simple: re-enfranchising workers through widespread organization and unionism, complete removal (and if necessary, violent non-democratic removal) of the allegedly "parasitic" financial, capitalist and upper classes, wholesale repudiation of [[government debt]] resulting in complete debt [[default]]; forced [[expropriation]] of [[land]] and wealth from the [[upper classes]] to the dispossessed and needy [[working classes]]; [[nationalization]] of the [[private banks]] (which has required armed [[coup]]s by the [[military]] in some past [[revolution]]s); and the return of the banking function from a dominant, speculative to a subordinate, administrative institution, where the banking system is reduced to a subservient arm of the centralized [[Leviathan]]. In this system, government-owned banks are directed by government policy; often provide different kinds of loans to different industry sectors at different interest rates depending on the perceived "needs" of the economy and the community; normally have a significant proportion of [[non-performing loan]]s due to weak or non-existent [[bankruptcy]] laws; and periodically "forgive" failed debts in recognition of the impossibility of some businesses in paying this debt money back. In addition, individuals are prohibited from possessing large property holdings, in excess of their individual needs.

It is to be expected that the [[profitability]] of the government-owned banking system would be more stable - but dramatically lower - than that in a debt-based [[capitalist]] economy. It is also to be expected that a significantly higher misallocation of resources could occur in this system, where lending decisions are "infected" by political considerations and are not made on the basis of expected [[return on investment]]. The risk of [[corruption]] in the banking system is also expected to be higher where there is no separation between the political and monetary systems in an economy. Market-oriented [[monetary reform]]ers and [[neo-classical]] economists therefore do not support [[nationalization]] of the [[private banking]] system.

It should be noted that partial [[nationalization]] of the [[private bank]]ing system would only be temporary, as any remaining [[private banks]] could still engage in unlimited [[fractional reserve banking]] and facilitate the eventual acquisition and control of any strategic assets in a partially socialized economic system. It is to be expected that in the absence of complete [[nationalization]] of the banking system, the [[private bank]]ing system would eventually dominate the financial system in any nominally [[socialist]] society.

===Status under current systems===
Whatever their political leanings, nearly all [[monetary reform]]ers agree that the current financial and economic system imposed on the populace by governments worldwide, involving the perpetuation of government-protected private banks (organizations legally permitted to engage in unlimited and inherently speculative fractional-reserve banking activities during boom times, with recourse to monopoly central banks - and in some cases corrupt governments<ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/thebearslairview?art_id=10513 The Evils of Crony Capitalism], Martin Hutchinson</ref><ref>[http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/ambroseevans-pritchard/100008812/irelands-debt-servitude/ Ireland's Debt Servitude], Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, UK Telegraph</ref> - to provide bail outs of fiat money during downturns), "deregulated" labor markets (which have the effect of increasing the marketization and commodification of human activity), strictly enforced bankruptcy laws (which permit the periodic transfer of assets from failed [[bankrupt]] investors caught at the end of "Ponzi-scheme" cycles to the private banks and their associates) and [[personal income tax]] (which, combined with periodic economic collapses, dispossesses the majority of the populace from their accumulated income and wealth and transfers this wealth to the owners of illicit government bonds) amounts to an inherently unstable, unjust and dysfunctional financial system resulting in environmentally damaging over-consumption, the systematic and irredeemable destruction of fertile [[arable land]] and the government-sponsored (and ultimately unsustainable) oppression of the indebted, impoverished and economically enslaved majority.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4893 ''The Ethics of Money Production''], Jorg Guido Hulsmann</ref>

==See also==
* [[Austrian Business Cycle Theory]]
* [[Central bank]]
* [[Monetary reform]]
* [[Murray Rothbard]]
* [[Ron Paul]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Links==
*[http://econpapers.repec.org/paper/wpawuwpma/0203005.htm Fractional Reserve Banking as Economic Parasitism]
*[http://www.prosperityuk.com/prosperity/links/links.html Monetary Reform websites]
*[http://www.relfe.com/plus_5_.html I want the Earth Plus 5%]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVkFb26u9g8 Money As Debt (videoplay animation)]
*[http://www.financialarmageddon.com/ Financial Armageddon]
*[http://jsmineset.com/ Jim Sinclair's MineSet]
*[http://www.lewrockwell.com/ LewRockwell.com]
*[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/ Market Oracle]
*[http://maxkeiser.com/ Max Keiser]
*[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/ MISH]
*[http://www.prudentbear.com/ PrudentBear.com]
*[http://www.rgemonitor.com/index.php RGE Monitor]
*[http://www.webofdebt.com/ Web of Debt]
*[http://www.zerohedge.com/ Zero Hedge]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Criticism Of Fractional-Reserve Banking}}
[[Category:Argumentation]]
[[Category:Money]]

Criticism of fractional reserve banking

2011-06-26T23:38:30Z

203.209.200.99: /* Potential solutions */

{{main|Fractional-reserve banking}}
{{wikipedia text}}
'''Criticisms of [[fractional reserve banking]]''' and [[central bank|central banking]] have been put forward from a variety of perspectives, although the most vigorous and sustained criticism now comes from libertarians and anarcho-capitalists such as economists [[Jesús Huerta de Soto]] and [[Jörg Guido Hülsmann]], American politician [[Ron Paul]], and commentators such as historian Thomas Woods, Jim Grant of ''Grant's Interest Rate Observer'' and former US Budget Director David Stockman.<ref>[http://blog.mises.org/16521/fantastic-speech-by-de-soto/ Jesús Huerta de Soto Speech]</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5174/Life-with-the-Fed-Sunshine-and-Lollipops Life with the Fed], Thomas Woods</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5146/Over-to-You-H-Parker-Willis Over to you H Parker Willis], Jim Grant</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VcN_Z6L0jM&feature=player_embedded#at=609 James Grant Interview with James Turk]</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5113/The-End-of-Sound-Money-and-the-Triumph-of-Crony-Capitalism The End of Sound Money and the Triumph of Crony Capitalism], David Stockman, Henry Hazlitt Memorial Lecture, Austrian Scholar's Conference</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig11/stockman6.1.1.html Crony Capitalism Strikes Again], David Stockman</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/imperative-sound-money.html The Social Imperative of Sound Money], Lew Rocwell</ref> Most in the mainstream (both on the left and right) remain silent on the issue of fractional reserve banking and central banking,<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/lewrockwell-show/2008/10/31/58-americas-slow-motion-fascist-coup/ Naomi Wolf Interview with Lew Rockwell], Lew Rockwell: "I've frankly never understood why people on the Left are ''not'' upset about the Federal Reserve. If you look back to the history..." Wolf: "We probably don't understand it!" Lew Rockwell:"...but you know the founding of the Fed before the law was, you know, with bipartisan support signed in 1913, the Federal Reserve Act was drafted at J.P. Morgan's private club - it's sounds like a conspiracy story, but I guess it sort of is - on Jekyll Island Georgia...Big bankers wrote the Federal Reserve Act for their benefit!"</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/imperative-sound-money.html The Social Imperative of Sound Money], Lew Rockwell: "I find it sickening that there are so few voices outside the Austrian School that will stand up to this policy [of fiat money, fractional reserve banking and central banking]."</ref> although past critics have included mainstream economists such as Irving Fisher,<ref>''100% Money'', Irving Fisher</ref> and [[Milton Friedman]].<ref>Friedman, M., A Program for Monetary Stability, New York, Fordham University Press, 1960, pp. 65</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/3108 The Social Imperative of Sound Money], Lew Rockwell: "I find it sickening that there are so few voices outside the [[Austrian School]] that will stand up to this policy (of [[fiat money]]/[[fractional reserve banking]]/[[central bank]]ing)".</ref> Within the economics profession, most criticisms are from the [[Austrian School]].<ref>[http://mises.org/media/4014 The Economics of Legal Tender Laws], [[Jorg Guido Hulsmann]] (includes detailed commentary on [[fractional reserve banking|FRB]])</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Money-Bank-Credit-and-Economic-Cycles-P290C0.aspx Money, Bank Credit and Economic Cycles], Jesus Huerta de Soto, Mises Institute ISBN: 978-1-933550-39-8</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Meltdown-P557.aspx ''Meltdown''], Tom Woods, Regnery Press ISBN: 9781596985872</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25212.html The Faults of FRB], Thorsten Polleit</ref> There are also critics from outside the economics profession who advocate [[monetary reform]].<ref>[http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2010/12/matt-stoller-end-this-fed.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29 End This Fed], Matt Stoller</ref><ref>For an example of the writings of these groups, see [http://www.bilderberg.org/monref.htm this] contribution from Bilderberg.org</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMngK0t5WkY Max Keiser]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28533.html The Global Debt Crisis], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref>

==Terminology==

Critics of fractional reserve banking and the related fiat paper monetary system may refer to it by the term '''debt-based monetary system''',<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4631 Is Our Money Based On Debt?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref name="speech">For an example of the public use of the term, see the [http://www.prosperityuk.com/prosperity/articles/earl.html speech] of the Earl of Caithness in the House of Lords on 5 March 1997</ref> or '''credit-based monetary system'''.<ref>For example of the public use of the term, see this speech given by [[Zhou Xiaochuan]], [http://www.bis.org/review/r090402c.pdf Reform the monetary system], 23 March 2009 (BIS), and this article, [http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/02/steve-keen-roving-cavaliers-of-credit.html ''Roving Cavaliers of Credit''] by Steve Keen (with commentary by Yves Smith)</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/09/myths-about-whats-economically.html Myths], MISH</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/07/are-we-trending-towards-deflation-or-in.html Deflation], MISH</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2008/04/deflation-in-fiat-regime.html Deflation In A Fiat Regime?], MISH</ref> They may also refer to money created in parallel with debt as '''debt money''' or '''endongenous money''', reflecting the fact that virtually all new money is currently created by people or businesses or governments further indebting themselves to banks.<ref name="death"/><ref>[http://www.debunkingeconomics.com/Papers/Money/KeenModellingEndogenousMoneyICAPE.pdf Endogenous Money], Steve Keen</ref> This monetary system is called "endogenous" because the money supply is flexible, expanding in parallel with the demand for debt and stalling or contracting when demand for debt declines.<ref>[http://www.debunkingeconomics.com/Papers/Money/KeenModellingEndogenousMoneyICAPE.pdf Endogenous Money], Steve Keen</ref> Some consider this a perverse and dysfunctional way of introducing new money into the economy.<ref name="death"/>

The term, "debt-based monetary system," and related terms such as "debt money" are not used by conventional economists or academic mainstream economists. Mainstream economists often refer to "debt money" by its antonym "credit" and distinguish between types of money only ''after'' the money is created. The very definition of "money" and the distinction between "debt" and "money" (and their respective economic effects) are still sources of vigorous ongoing debate.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5052/Deflation-Confusion-Money-Is-Not-Credit Money Is Not Credit], Robert Blumen</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/02/fiat-world-mathematical-model.html Fiat World], MISH</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/09/myths-about-whats-economically.html What's Economically Important], MISH</ref> Mainstream economists rarely if ever discuss the origins of modern money and generally do not actively discuss or comment on the fact that virtually all money is now created through individuals, or businesses, or governments going into debt to government-sponsored commercial banks.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/3108 The Social Imperative of Sound Money], Lew Rockwell</ref><ref>For an example of the mainstream use of the term "credit" instead of "debt-money" see [http://www.ft.com/cms/s/bdfa429e-17a2-11dd-b98a-0000779fd2ac,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2Fbdfa429e-17a2-11dd-b98a-0000779fd2ac.html&_i_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fhome%2Fasia this] example from the Financial Times, 1 May 2008</ref> Discussion around the nature of "debt-based" money and the arguments over its effects on the economy are notably absent from most established mainstream academic economic publications<ref>Paul Krugman, writing at [http://www.slate.com/id/9593 Slate.com], stated that the Austrian theory of business cycles was "about as worthy of serious study as the phlogiston theory of fire".</ref> and most mainstream economists instead argue that the origin of different kinds of money (and the volume of their issuance) does not really matter, at least in the long run.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/wenzel/wenzel87.1.html Senior Fed Economist Calls Ron Paul a Pinhead]</ref> This mainstream idea is referred to as the theory of "money neutrality".<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/wenzel/wenzel87.1.html Senior Fed Economist Calls Ron Paul a Pinhead]</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5172/Is-Inflation-Harmless-or-Even-Good Is Inflation Harmless or Even Good?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://libertarianpapers.org/articles/2011/lp-3-14.pdf Free Banking and the Structure of Production], Dan Mahoney</ref> Some commentators have speculated that the unusual "silence" around the topics of fractional reserve banking and central banking (and the staunch refusal to consider alternative theories of money) is due to the simple fact that many economists are on the payroll of the major commerical or central banks of the world and are unprincipled or, at worst, corrupt.<ref>[http://www.safehaven.com/article/15068/economists-opposing-fed-audit-are-on-fed-payroll Economists on Fed Payroll], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/07/priceless-how-the-federal_n_278805.html Priceless], Ryan Grim, Huffington Post</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26581.html Ten Reasons The Banksters Got Away With It], Danny Schechter</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxtCn2GyqKc&feature=related Corruption in Academic Economics], Charles Ferguson</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27805.html Currency Dead End Paradox], Jim Willie CB</ref>

== Typical criticisms ==

Norm Franz states in his ''Money and Wealth in the New Millennium'':<ref>[http://www.amazon.com/Money-Wealth-Millennium-Norm-Franz/dp/0971086303 ''Money and Wealth in the New Millennium''], Norm Franz</ref>

{{quote|Gold is the money of kings, silver is the money of gentlemen, barter is the money of peasants – but debt is the money of slaves.}}

12th century Chinese scholar Hu Zhiyu stated:<ref>Ralph T. Foster, ''Fiat Paper Money, The History and Evolution of Our Currency'', page 19</ref>

{{quote|Paper money, the child, is dependent on precious metals, the mother. [Inconvertible paper notes are therefore] orphans who lost their mother in childbirth.}}

Robert H. Hemphill, credit manager of the Federal Reserve in Atlanta, stated in 1939:<ref>Preface to ''100% Money'', Irving Fisher</ref>

{{quote|If all the bank loans were paid, no one would have a bank deposit and there would not be a dollar of coin or currency in circulation. This is a staggering thought. Someone has to borrow every dollar we have in circulation, cash or credit. If the banks create ample synthetic money we are prosperous; if not, we starve. When one gets a complete grasp of the picture the tragic absurdity of our hopeless position is almost incredible, but there it is. It (the banking problem) is the most important subject intelligent persons can investigate and reflect upon. It is so important that our present civilization may collapse unless it becomes widely understood and the defects remedied very soon.}}

British monetary reformer Michael Rowbotham states the following in his book, ''The Grip of Death'' (the title being derived from the literal origin of the word "mortgage"):<ref name="death">{{cite book |last= Rowbotham |first= Michael |title= The Grip of Death: A Study of Modern Money, Debt Slavery and Destructive Economics | year= 1998 |publisher= Jon Carpenter Publishing |isbn= 9781897766408 }}</ref>

{{quote|It is actually not in the least surprising that nations are chronically in debt, governments have inadequate resources, public services are under-funded and people are beset by mortgages and overdrafts. The reason for all this monetary scarcity and insolvency is that the financial system used by all national economies worldwide is actually founded upon debt. To be direct and precise, modern money is created in parallel with debt. The reason for the failure of economists to question patently invalid monetary data becomes clear - there is a total acceptance by them of the most extraordinary method for supplying money to the modern economy.

The creation and supply of money is now left almost entirely to banks and other lending institutions. Most people imagine that if they borrow from a bank, they are borrowing other people's money. In fact, when banks and building societies make any loan, they create new money. Money loaned by a bank is not a loan of pre-existent money; money loaned by a bank is additional money created. The stream of money generated by people, businesses and governments constantly borrowing from banks and other lending institutions is relied upon to supply the economy as a whole. Thus the supply of money depends upon people going into debt, and the level of debt within an economy is no more than a measure of the amount of money that has been created...

All around us, the gross failure of modern economics screams out to be addressed. The towering indifference of those shining offices scraping the sky above the menacing ghettos of Brooklyn; the speculative channelling of billions of pounds of volatile international finance, which can leave a country prosperous one week and plunged into decline the next; the ludicrous production of cheap goods of poor durability, so that jobs are 'protected', and we can recycle the materials and make the goods all over again; the ridiculous export drives by which every country simultaneously attacks the economies of every other nation, under the pretence that such global free trade improves the general wellbeing; the staggering waste of a throwaway, quick-growth, all-new spiral of constant economic change; the outrageous financial debt which Third World countries have actually paid many times over, but which, due to interest, is now larger than ever before - a debt which forces those impoverished nations to compete to supply goods already in surplus; the cynical manipulation of human emotions into buying fashion-obsessed trivia; the burgeoning transport demands of escalating economic growth and centralisation, with identical goods crisscrossing the globe, regardless of environmental cost; the fact that despite the incredible productive capacity of the modern economy, people are obliged to work harder, with ever greater efficiency, forever forced to adapt and retrain or face a life of indignity and misery as one of the unemployed.

Both those in work and out must watch, as the world they know and understand changes almost in front of their eyes like some nightmarish Kafka-esque novel. This is the era of accelerating economic change. The benefits are highly dubious, and no-one even pretends that the economy is responding to what people actually want. The only justification offered for the changes is that this is 'the age of progress', and 'you can't stop progress', even if you are human and the progress you are discussing is supposed to be about people and the lives they might lead in the future. The world of economics has got mankind by the throat and everyone knows it, and no-one has a clue where we are going or why we are going there.

But is this surprising? If a monetary system is invalid or flawed, then the entire economy is based on the mathematics of error, and must be riddled with the effects. If the financial system upon which our economies are built is defective, and yet monetary considerations dominate our economic decisions, should we be surprised if the results are less than satisfactory?

The major role played by bank credit, which forms over 95% of the money stock in most developed nations, suggests that it cannot but be implicated in these trends. This is further suggested by the way that banking has literally become the focal point of modern economic management, through manipulating interest rates. The stargazers of Whitehall and the Federal Reserve hold their councils, trying to tread the non-existent tightrope between growth and recession by debating quarter percentage-points of interest rates. Alan Greenspan, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, engagingly describes his task in controlling the American economy through adjusting interest rates as a matter of 'taking the champagne away once the party has started'. Businessmen around the world hold their breath, measuring his every word, wondering what he will decide. There could be no greater indictment of contemporary financial economics than this; that a fluctuating financial digit on a single computer system in a single street in a single country should have the ability to dominate the economies of an entire planet...

The past thirty years are almost unique by comparison with the previous three centuries in the lack of attention that has been directed at debt and the financial system. Throughout the eighteenth century, there were repeated calls for reform. During the nineteenth century, excessive banking was held by many to be directly responsible for the waves of appalling poverty that swept Europe and America during a period of increasing industrialisation and agricultural development. In this century, during the depression of the 1930s, the financial system effectively seized up and brought virtual collapse to the economies of the world in an age which was, perhaps for the first time, obviously wealthy, and in which technology offered people real freedom as well as material prosperity. One observer judged that over 2,000 schemes for monetary reform were put forward at that time - all with a common theme in their outright rejection of the debt-based financial system as it then operated. The same system continues to this day, modified in small details, but unchanged in principle; and the recent financial crisis in Asia shows the potential for collapse still exists.

However the issue of economic volatility through booms, slumps, crises, and collapses has never been the sole point of criticism. It is the long-term trends that a debt-based financial system fosters which are most destructive. The most obvious of these is declining personal solvency. Mortgages support over 60% (£420 billion) of the money stock in the UK and over 70% ($4.2 trillion) in the US. Housing-debt statistics for the UK and the US show that there has been a dramatic decline in true home ownership as mortgages become higher and ever more widespread. There can be little question that relying upon housing debt to supply money to an economy lacks economic and political justification. However, taken in conjunction with the marked rise in commercial debt, mortgages have a knock-on effect. In an economy where the price of goods is elevated by commercial debt and consumer incomes are deeply eroded by mortgage debt, there is a persistent and subtle advantage given to low-quality, mass-produced goods, and growth is fostered in this direction. The persistent decline in product durability and the growth-culture of a rapacious consumer society can be directly traced to the debt-based financial system.

The financial system has also generated a serious distortion of agriculture. Excessive farming debt has driven out the most efficient producers - small/medium sized farms. Meanwhile, the relentless pursuit of farming and processing methods oriented towards a low-price market now involves the production of foodstuffs of poor nutritional value, inferior to that which the land can provide and inferior to that which consumers actually desire.

The nature of growth within a debt economy affects not only the quality of output, but distribution and marketing. Intense competition for sales within a debt-based economy results in the use of transport as a competitive strategy by businesses. This has led to a progressive breakdown of local and regional supply networks, and marketing over ever-greater distances, leading to escalating commercial traffic demands.

At the international level, trade is deeply affected by the debt-based financial system. The aggressive pursuit of maximum export revenues, rather than seeking a simple balance of trade, is entirely due to the fact that even the wealthiest nations operate from a position of gross insolvency. International trade has degenerated into a competition between nations to alleviate their indebtedness, rather than a process involving a mutually beneficial exchange of goods and services.

Endemic Third World debt is also directly attributable to the reliance upon debt and banking to supply money. The theoretical model of borrowing from the World Bank/IMF, investing in development and repaying loans from export revenues, is one of the great failures of contemporary economics. The persistent inability on the part of debtor nations to repay these loans suggests strongly that the nature of the indebtedness suffered by the Third World has absolutely no actual legitimacy or validity...

The more one explores the broad impact of debt, the more apparent it becomes that bank-credit constitutes a dysfunctional form of money. An economy based almost entirely upon bank-credit and debt experiences an intense drive for growth, regardless of need or demand. Bank credit engenders financial dependence, injects instability and fosters growth-distortions, both within an economy and throughout the international arena.

Reform of the debt-based financial system is clearly not a minor issue. It is not a matter of fiddling around with taxes, incomes and allowances to make things apparently more equal, more efficient, or perhaps more straightforward. Changing the debt-based financial system involves gradually altering the very foundations upon which national and international economics is based. Monetary reform is concerned with attempting to determine a new principle for the supply of money to an economy - the purpose being to create a supportive financial environment in which more constructive economic trends are allowed to emerge, and in which more benign systems of overall economic management become possible. In view of the rapacious onslaught on the environment, the waste of natural resources and the social and political friction caused by de-regulated commerce and capital flows, this is at once a promising, but a sobering prospect.}}

Ron Paul states in his book ''End the Fed'':<ref name="Paul_End">Ron Paul. [http://mises.org/daily/3687 ''End the Fed''], ''Mises Institute'', September 03, 2009. Chapter 2 of the book ''End the Fed''. Referenced 2011-03-16.</ref>

{{quote|American presidents actually worked to implement and defend the gold standard, which put a brake on the ability of the largest banks to expand credit without limit. The gold standard worked like a regulator in this way. Ultimately, banks had to function like every other business. They could expand and make risky loans up to a point, but when faced with bankruptcy, they had nowhere they could turn. They would have to contract loans and deal with extreme financial pressures. Risk bearing is a wonderful mechanism for regulating human decision making. This created a culture of lending discipline.

In the jargon of the day, the system lacked "elasticity." That's another way of saying that banks couldn't expand money and credit as much as they wanted. They couldn't inflate without limit and count on a centralized institution to bail them out...

The banking industry has always had trouble with the idea of a free market that provides opportunities for both profits and losses. The first part, the industry likes. The second part is another issue. That is the reason for the constant drive in American history towards the centralization of money and banking, a trend that not only benefits the largest banks with the most to lose from a sound money system, but also the government, which is able to use an elastic system as an alternative form of revenue support. The coalition of government and big bankers provides the essential backbone of support for the centralization of money and credit...

Consider the Soviet case: to my knowledge, no business ever went under with the Soviet system but society in general grew ever poorer. Think of that Soviet system applied to the banking industry and you have the Fed.}}

In the foreward to ''Fiat Money Inflation in France'', Mr John McKay wrote the following:<ref>[http://mises.org/books/inflationinfrance.pdf ''Fiat Money Inflation in France''], Andrew Dickson White, 1912</ref>

{{quote|The story of "Fiat Money Inflation in France" is one of great interest to legislators, to economic students, and to all business and thinking men. It records the most gigantic attempt ever made in the history of the world by a government to create an inconvertible paper currency, and to maintain its circulation at various levels of value. It also records what is perhaps the greatest of all governmental efforts—with the possible exception of Diocletian's—to enact and enforce a legal limit of commodity prices. Every fetter that could hinder the will or thwart the wisdom of democracy had been shattered, and in consequence every device and expedient that untrammelled power and unrepressed optimism could conceive were brought to bear.

But the attempts failed. They left behind them a legacy of moral and material desolation and woe, from which one of the most intellectual and spirited races of Europe has suffered for a century and a quarter, and will continue to suffer until the end of time. There are limitations to the powers of governments and of peoples that inhere in the constitution of things, and that neither despotisms nor democracies can overcome.

Legislatures are as powerless to abrogate moral and economic laws as they are to abrogate physical laws. They cannot convert wrong into right nor divorce effect from cause, either by parliamentary majorities, or by unity of supporting public opinion. The penalties of such legislative folly will always be exacted by inexorable time. While these propositions may be regarded as mere commonplaces, and while they are acknowledged in a general way, they are in effect denied by many of the legislative experiments and the
tendencies of public opinion of the present day. The story, therefore, of the colossal folly of France in the closing part of the eighteenth century and its terrible fruits, is full of instruction for all men who think upon the problems of our own time.}}

C.J. Maloney wrote of the desperation of Henry VIII of England to counterfeit gold by engaging charlatan-alchemists:<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/maloney/maloney28.1.html The Desperation of King Henry VIII], C.J. Maloney</ref>

{{quote|Despite his formidable education and great historic reputation, the disastrous interventions into the economy, the lifelong dishonesty with the currency in his care and, most of all, his laughable attempts to bring a sorcerer into his court to conjure gold, mark the great King Henry VIII as a fool. Yet there is no reason, be warned, for anyone to feel superior to the King; one only needs to pick up a newspaper to see that though alchemy may be a dead science, it has merely taken up new forms.

This has always been and always will be, for its immortality is powered by economic man’s most dangerous, fondest wish, the one that will drive us to endless imbecilities and repeated destruction – the ardent desire to believe that you can get something for nothing. His adherence to that belief made King Henry VIII a man of his times – and ours.}}

In his treatise, ''The Ethics of Money Production'', which was published by the Mises Institute in October 2008, Jörg Guido Hülsmann presents (at pages 238-239) the following description of the perverse rise of fiat money and fractional reserve banking:

{{quote|There is no tenable economic, legal, moral, or spiritual rationale that could be adduced in justification of paper money and fractional-reserve banking. The prevailing ways of money production, relying as they do on a panoply of legal privileges, are alien elements in the capitalist [i.e., true free market] economy. They provide illicit incomes, encourage irresponsibility and dependence, stimulate the artificial centralization of political and economic decision-making, and constantly create fundamental disequilibria that threaten the life and welfare of millions of people. In short, paper money and fractional-reserve banking go a long way toward accounting for the excesses for which the capitalist economy is widely chided.

We have argued that these monetary institutions have not come into existence out of any economic necessity. They have been created because they allow an alliance of politicians and bankers to enrich themselves at the expense of all other strata of society. This alliance emerged rather spontaneously in the seventeenth century; it developed in multifarious ways up to the present day, and in the course of its development it created the current monetary institutions.

…The driving force that propelled the development of central banks and paper money was the reckless determination of governments, both aristocratic and democratic, to increase their revenue, if necessary in violation of good faith and of all established rules of commerce.}}

Many [[monetary reform]]ers claim that a fiat money/fractional-reserve based banking system is inherently destructive and inevitably generates [[inflation|debasement of the currency]], extreme inequality, the destruction of the middle class<ref name="Paul_End" /> and [[Austrian Business Cycle Theory|wrenching business crises]].<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25212.html The Faults of FRB], Thorsten Polleit</ref><ref name="Paul_End" /><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Money-Bank-Credit-and-Economic-Cycles-P290C0.aspx Money, Bank Credit and Economic Cycles], Jesus Huerta de Soto, Mises Institute ISBN: 978-1-933550-39-8</ref><ref>[http://www.mises.org/Books/mysteryofbanking.pdf Murray Rothbard, ''The Mystery of Banking'']</ref><ref name="books.google.com">{{cite book |last= Brown |first= Ellen H. |title= Web of Debt |url= http://books.google.com/books?id=ILMGrEC524UC |accessdate= 2007-12-15 |year= 2007 |publisher= Engdahl Publishing|isbn= 0979560802 }}</ref><ref name="death"/><ref name="monetary.org">[http://www.monetary.org/lostscienceofmoney.html Stephen A. Zarlenga, ''The Lost Science of Money'' AMI (2002)]</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/story/3108 Sound Money], Lew Rockwell</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/story/1971 Our Money Madness], Lew Rockwell</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/rothbard/genuine.asp The Case for a Gold Dollar], Murray Rothbard</ref><ref name="twilight"/> Vladimir Z. Nuri has analyzed fractional reserve banking and considers it a form of economic parasitism.<ref>[http://econpapers.repec.org/paper/wpawuwpma/0203005.htm Fractional Reserve Banking as Economic Parasitism]</ref>

These views are not accepted by mainstream government-supported economists. For example David Andolfatto, Vice President in the Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, has openly called Dr. Ron Paul a "pinhead" for holding such views.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/wenzel/wenzel87.1.html Senior Fed Economist Calls Ron Paul a Pinhead], LRC</ref> He later tried unsuccessfully to delete or retract his statements and expressed his regret over making the comments.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/wenzel/wenzel92.1.html Fed Economist in Retreat], Robert Wenzel</ref>

Critics of fractional reserve banking frequently argue that since money creation requires ''loans'' from the banking system, people are required to go further into debt in order for any new money to be created. They theorize that this eventually causes [[Austrian Business Cycle Theory|credit cycle]]s (or [[Austrian Business Cycle Theory|business cycles]]) and debases the [[means of exchange]].<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25212.html The Faults of FRB], Thorsten Polleit</ref> They also argue that if debts were ever paid back, there would be no money and the economy would collapse into deflation.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVkFb26u9g8 Money As Debt]</ref> They therefore argue the system is ''inherently unstable'', requiring increasing injections of debt just to remain viable.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVkFb26u9g8 Money As Debt]</ref> They claim this is ultimately unsustainable.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVkFb26u9g8 Money As Debt]</ref>

Many critics find it problematic that banks "create money out of nothing" and consider this fundamentally immoral, akin to [[counterfeiting]] and/or [[embezzlement]].<ref>[http://www.dailypaul.com/node/119914 Ron Paul video - fractional reserve banking is fraudulent]</ref><ref name="Paul_End" /><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25212.html The Faults of FRB], Thorsten Polleit</ref>

Some also link the alleged negative effects of fractional reserve banking with central banking<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-qe-end-america-we-know-it QE Is The End Of American], ZeroHedge</ref> and a government-enforced "paper" or [[fiat currency]],<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27768.html The Federal Reserve Note Is Dead], Jeff Berwick</ref> which they claim allows the practice of fractional reserve banking to continue without a "natural" limitation on the growth of the [[money supply]], thereby causing inherently unsustainable "[[bubble (economics)|bubbles]]" in asset and capital markets, which are vulnerable to Ponzi-like speculation by highly leveraged [[hedge funds]] and other bank agents.<ref name="Paul_End" /><ref>[http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2009/12/23/mish-on-the-fictional-reserve-system/ MISH on the Fictional Reserve System], Steve Keen</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Money-Bank-Credit-and-Economic-Cycles-P290C0.aspx Money, Bank Credit and Economic Cycles], Jesus Huerta de Soto, Mises Institute ISBN: 978-1-933550-39-8</ref><ref name="books.google.com">{{cite book |last= Brown |first= Ellen H. |title= Web of Debt |url= http://books.google.com/books?id=ILMGrEC524UC |accessdate= 2007-12-15 |year= 2007 |publisher= Third Millennium Press |location= Baton Rouge, Louisiana |isbn= 0979560802 }}</ref><ref name="death"/><ref name="monetary.org">[http://www.monetary.org/lostscienceofmoney.html Stephen A. Zarlenga, ''The Lost Science of Money'' AMI (2002)]</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/story/3108 Sound Money], Lew Rockwell</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/story/1971 Our Money Madness], Lew Rockwell</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/rothbard/genuine.asp The Case for a Gold Dollar], Murray Rothbard</ref><ref name="twilight"/><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25212.html The Faults of FRB], Thorsten Polleit</ref>

Reformist economists such as [[Murray Rothbard]] support a "full reserve" banking system and criticize [[fractional reserve banking]] as inherently fraudulent.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5185/The-Need-for-100-Reserves The Need for 100% Reserves], Frank D. Graham</ref> [[Murray Rothbard]] held this view very strongly throughout his life.<ref name="Paul_End" /><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25212.html The Faults of FRB], Thorsten Polleit</ref> Other reformist economists are more tolerant of fractional-reserve banking and support [[free banking]] instead of full reserve banking.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=DFv6OzeBWpQC&pg=PP3&dq=steven+horwitz++banking&sig=VZasp_8pGVvpQsFKMI3W9yp4AlM#PPA231,M1 Microfoundations and Macroeconomics: An Austrian Perspective], Steven Horwitz, pp. 223-232.</ref>

==Basic debate==

The economic, environmental and social effects arising from money creation through fractional-reserve banking have been subject to much heated political debate for well over two centuries.<ref name="The Forgotten War"/><ref name="books.google.com"/><ref name="death"/><ref name="twilight"/><ref>[http://www.silverbearcafe.com/private/fracbank.html Antal E. Fekete, Fractional Reserve Banking Revisited]</ref><ref>[http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1297199137.php China Inflation and Gold], Darryl Robert Schoon</ref><ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-good-bad-and-ugly-part-3 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly], James Quinn</ref>

Many Austrian economists and monetary reformers focus on the combined use of [[fiat currency]], [[fractional-reserve banking]] and [[central banking]] as a negative feature of modern monetary systems.<ref>[http://mises.org/media/4014 The Economics of Legal Tender Laws], [[Jorg Guido Hulsmann]]</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Meltdown-P557.aspx ''Meltdown''], Tom Woods, Regnery Press ISBN: 9781596985872</ref> These commentators use the term "debt-based monetary system" to refer to an economic system where [[money]] is created primarily through fractional-reserve banking techniques, using the banking system.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4569 What Does Debt-Based Money Imply for Interest Payments?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4631 Is Our Money Based On Debt?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref name="speech"/> This form of money is called "debt-based" because as a ''condition of its creation'' someone must go into debt in order for the money to be created and it must be paid back plus interest at some time in the future.

To some commentators, this implies that as the [[money supply]] and the economy grows, the general populace becomes increasingly indebted at the same time due to the fact that debt grows in parallel with money supply growth, and increasing interest payments (from either taxpayers or indebted consumers) are needed to pay bondholders as the money supply grows.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28533.html The Global Debt Crisis], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref>
<ref name="death"/><ref name="twilight">[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article4489.html Antal E. Fekete, The Twilight of Irredeemable Debt]</ref><ref name="The Forgotten War">[http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1192819378.php America's Forgotten War Against the Central Banks], Mike Hewitt</ref>

One argument posits that since debt and the interest on the debt can only be paid in the same form of money, the total debt (principal plus interest) can never be paid in a debt-based monetary system unless more money is created through the same process.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28533.html The Global Debt Crisis], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref> For example: if 100 credits are created and loaned into the economy at 10% per year, at the end of the year 110 credits will be needed to pay the loan and extinguish the debt. However, since the additional 10 credits does not yet exist, it too must be borrowed. To some, this implies that debt must grow exponentially in order for the monetary system to remain solvent.<ref name="death"/><ref name="twilight"/><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/01/steve-keen-responds-to-world-economic.html Exponential Credit], MISH,</ref>

Others argue that there is in fact no mathematical necessity for the stock of money in a debt-based system to grow, as the "turnover" or "flow" or "velocity" of money can increase to allow for compounding interest payments.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4569 What Does Debt-Based Money Imply for Interest Payments?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2010/10/08/ami-talks-in-flv-format/ AMI Conference 2010], Steve Keen</ref><ref>[http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2010/11/05/solving-the-paradox-of-monetary-profits-2/ Solving the Paradox of Monetary Profits], Steve Keen</ref> However this does imply that some consumers would increasingly have to consume and transact to expand the GDP sufficiently to allow the fixed stock of money to turnover sufficiently to pay for the interest compounding on top of the debt.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/01/steve-keen-credit-impulse.html The Credit Impulse], Steve Keen with commentary from MISH</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4569 What Does Debt-Based Money Imply for Interest Payments?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2010/10/08/ami-talks-in-flv-format/ AMI Conference 2010], Steve Keen</ref><ref>[http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2010/11/05/solving-the-paradox-of-monetary-profits-2/ Solving the Paradox of Monetary Profits], Steve Keen</ref> This may mean that Ponzi-like dynamics bubble up in "pockets" of the economy with interest payments being allowed in a fixed money economy, but these debt-fuelled bubbles of higher spending or speculation would pop and die out relatively quickly.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4569 What Does Debt-Based Money Imply for Interest Payments?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/01/steve-keen-credit-impulse.html The Credit Impulse], Steve Keen with commentary from MISH</ref>

Gold, silver and other [[precious metals]] have in the past been used as money. Because of the difficulty in increasing the supply of precious metals quickly, some [[monetary reform]]ers believe a return to the [[gold standard]], or a similar system of "hard" or "real" asset-backed currency, is the only way to stabilize the growth of the money supply. These monetary reformers often refer to the gold standard and [[silver standard]] as "sound money" or "honest money".<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4860 Money: Sound and Unsound], Mark Thornton commentary on Joseph Salerno's book</ref>

==Main criticisms==

In a 2003 statement to the U.S. House of Representatives, Ron Paul stated "if unchecked, the economic and political chaos that comes from currency destruction inevitably leads to tyranny".<ref name="house.gov">[http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2003/cr090503.htm Paper Ron Paul, Paper Money and Tyranny, Speech in U.S. House of Representative, September 5, 2003]</ref>

Some economic thinkers (primarily members of the [[Austrian School]]) and political commentators believe that a debt-based monetary system amounts to a subtle form of monetary "[[fraud]]" in that it creates money "costlessly" through the use of [[fractional-reserve banking]] techniques.<ref>[http://www.mises.org/rothbard/moneyback.asp Taking Money Back, by Murray Rothbard]</ref>

Michael Rowbotham is an active proponent of [[monetary reform]], and argues that this system of [[money supply]] is perverse and inherently monopolistic and "anti-democratic", as it creates an inflationary exponential growth imperative in the economy which leads to over-centralization and environmentally damaging and unstable over-consumption. Critics such as Rowbotham argue that the indebted are forced to induce new consumers to spend their way into debt so existing loans can be repaid with new debt-created money. Failure to achieve this goal results in [[foreclosure]] for those businesses and [[insolvency]] in the banking system that leads to economic collapse due to the sudden contraction of the money supply.<ref name="death"/><ref name="Ponzi Nation">[http://www.iimagazine.com/article.aspx?articleID=1234345 Ponzi Nation]</ref>

Mark Anielski as well as some political thinkers such as Rowbotham and some economists (such as Hyman Minsky, Steve Keen and Mike Shedlock) argue that this system of money supply has characteristics similar to a [[pyramid scheme]], where the newly indebted are compelled to induce others into debt to pay off their own debts.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/01/steve-keen-credit-impulse.html The Credit Impulse], Steve Keen with commentary from MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.lin.ca/resource/html/arpa02/PC1-FertileObfuscation.pdf ''Fertile Obfuscation: Making Money Whilst Eroding Living Capital''], 34th Annual Conference of the Canadian Economics Association, Mark Anielski</ref> It is therefore argued by a number of monetary reformers that fractional-reserve banking and the associated exponential growth of money in the economy "forces" the economy towards indebted consumerism.<ref name="books.google.com"/>

Rowbotham argues that a major negative side-effect of the debt-based monetary system is its effect on agriculture, claiming that residential development produces by far the greatest continuous injection of debt money into Anglo-sphere economies. Therefore, significant super-normal profits can be generated by re-zoning agricultural land and replacing it with low-density [[House|housing]].<ref name="death"/>
If this is correct, this trend will lead to the destruction of fertile arable land, as farmers cannot compete to retain fertile arable land from property developers at the periphery of major population centers, and as this land is then progressively re-zoned for speculative new residential development. Rowbotham predicts that the global supply of fertile arable land will systematically and catastrophically decline as perverse incentives favor short-term speculative land development over long-term food security, leading to a broad decline in the quality and nutritional value of agricultural produce and, eventually, a dramatic increase in the prices of many "soft" commodities - which could then lead to actual food shortages for poorer segments of the world population.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27874.html Horrific Global Food Crisis is Looming], Michael Snyder</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/85588.html Inflation and Bacteria], Michael Rozeff</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/76920.html The Corporate State and the Tapeworm Economy], Catherine Austin Fitts</ref><ref name="death"/><ref>[http://www.wsws.org/articles/2007/dec2007/food-d22.shtml Naomi Spencer, World Socialist Website, "Severe food shortages, price spikes threaten world population", 22 December 2007]</ref><ref>[http://www.preparednesspro.com/blog/food-shortage-series-part-1/ Food Shortage Series],Kellene Bishop</ref> This has been referred to as the problem of "Peak Everything".<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/03/oil-prices-are-double-edged-sword-peak.html Peak Everything?], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28218.html "Peak Everything"], Jeremy Grantham</ref>

If for any reason the monetary system broke down, urban populations (nominally "rich" but poor in terms of direct access to food supply) could find basic foodstuffs either rationed or unavailable at any price, ultimately resulting in food security becoming a major public policy issue - particularly if combined with oil supply shortages or an oil price spike,<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27874.html Horrific Global Food Crisis is Looming], Michael Snyder</ref><ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2011/02/24/in-the-news-today-791/ Collapse]</ref> as major population centers worldwide are almost entirely reliant on mass transportation of food from distant (or even foreign) locations to survive day-to-day.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27874.html Horrific Global Food Crisis is Looming], Michael Snyder</ref><ref name="death"/><ref>[http://www.preparednesspro.com/blog/food-shortage-series-part-1/ Food Shortage Series],Kellene Bishop</ref><ref>[http://www.wsws.org/articles/2007/dec2007/food-d22.shtml Severe food shortages, price spikes threaten world population]</ref><ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/18/business/global/18yuan.html?hpw Inflation in China]</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/76920.html The Corporate State and the Tapeworm Economy], Catherine Austin Fitts</ref><ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2011/02/24/in-the-news-today-791/ Collapse]</ref><ref>[http://www.rickackerman.com/2011/04/bee-die-off-threatens-global-food-calamity/ Bee Die Off]</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/03/oil-prices-are-double-edged-sword-peak.html Peak Everything?], MISH</ref>

Others consider that the core problem is not food security, nor overpopulation, nor environmental destruction, nor excessive carbon emissions due to non-pricing of energy producing externalities, nor excessive "specialization" of labor in the midst of monetary dysfunction, but excessive government regulation, causing capital destruction.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5277/When-Capital-Is-Nowhere-in-View When Capital Is Nowhere In View], Jeffrey Tucker</ref><ref>[http://www.garynorth.com/public/8071.cfm Population Growth as Propaganda], Gary North</ref>

The fundamental problem with the current monetary system that all Austrian economists agree on is that in the midst of constant credit creation and monetary dysfunction is it ''impossible'' to know what unsustainable [[malinvestment]]s are taking place in the economy, except to acknowledge that they ''must'' be taking place somewhere in the midst of unsustainable credit growth.<ref>[http://www.goldensextant.com/SavingtheSystem.html Saving the System], Robert K. Landis</ref>

===Effects on economic health: Ponzi Scheme Dynamics===

According to Michael Rowbotham the expansion of money through debt is unsustainable and necessarily fuels and creates [[Austrian Business Cycle Theory|economic bubbles]]. This concentrates wealth in the hands of private banks as the populace is forced into [[debt]] simply to own a home and educate their children, hoping that the loans can be repaid by others going into debt in ''greater amounts'' later to purchase the assets they themselves have purchased through incurring large amounts of personal debt.<ref name="death"/> However, debt expansion leads to price appreciation of assets through speculation as the financial market becomes riskier and this process is unsustainable in the long run, with the last cycle of indebted being wiped out when they cannot find anyone to buy the assets they themselves have purchased by going into massive debt. Doug Noland, Steve Keen, Edward Chancellor, Bill Bonner and many others have compared this type of market to an enormous State-sponsored global monetary [[Ponzi scheme]].<ref>[http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2008/12/13/the-worlds-biggest-ponzi-scheme/ The World's Biggest Ponzi Scheme], Steve Keen</ref><ref>[http://www.iimagazine.com/article.aspx?articleID=1234345 Ponzi Nation,"Who is Hyman Minsky?", para 6]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26678.html One Gargantuan Ponzi Scheme], Paul Hallyer</ref><ref>[http://prudentbear.com/dmdocuments/HowCouldIrvingFisherHaveBeenSoWrong.pdf How Could Irving Fisher Have Been So Wrong?], Doug Noland</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/08/former-fed-governor-mishkin-paid-124000.html Mishkin], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/bonner/bonner467.html Warning], Bill Bonner</ref>

The bust phase of this Ponzi-like [[business cycle]] where "debt-based" money growth cannot continue because the debt levels are at saturation levels, meaning growth in debt money slows or contracts, catching newly indebted businesses and consumers who are left out of the growth cycle, triggering a combined liquidity and solvency crisis when markets seize up due to a collapse in the artificially-supported prices in financial markets.<ref name="death"/><ref name="Ponzi Nation"/>

===Effects on the environment===
There are also critics in the left-wing and environmentalist camps who contend fractional reserve banking (by creating a necessity for indefinite [[economic growth]]) leads to environmental destruction and a sudden, catastrophic depletion of the earth's natural resources as the unsustainable, exponential consumption of the world's scarce natural resources reaches its inevitable limits.<ref>David Korten, ''Agenda For A New Economy'', Berret-Koehler, 2009</ref><ref>[http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2004/10/06/no-longer-obeying-orders/ George Monbiot], about five sixths of the way down</ref>

===Inherent problems with the system===

Some monetary reformers predict that there will be an increased incidence of financial crises in the developed world, as economic and population growth inevitably slow and as the success of financial sector lobbying results in increased tax loopholes and a reduction in effective redistributive [[tax]]es which, combined with the debt-legacy of the [[welfare state]], allows an intense and unsustainable concentration of wealth and political power in the financial services sector.<ref name="death">{{cite book |last= Rowbotham |first= Michael |title= The Grip of Death: A Study of Modern Money, Debt Slavery and Destructive Economics | year= 1998 |publisher= Jon Carpenter Publishing |isbn= 9781897766408 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdVc40Mc9cQ&feature=related Andrew Sheng, INET presentation]</ref>

Some monetary reformers argue that perverse incentives in the financial services industry lead to a collusive relationships between governments and bankers which are economically and socially destablizing in the long run.<ref>[http://mises.org/media/4014 The Economics of Legal Tender Laws], Jorg Guido Hulsmann</ref>

Given that the financial system requires ever higher levels of indebtness from the general populace for its solvency, it is vital that the indebted "victims" who must sink deeper into debt for the system to survive do so voluntarily and willingly and are not made aware of the consequences of purchasing consumables with debt money.<ref name="death">{{cite book |last= Rowbotham |first= Michael |title= The Grip of Death: A Study of Modern Money, Debt Slavery and Destructive Economics | year= 1998 |publisher= Jon Carpenter Publishing |isbn= 9781897766408 }}</ref> Some isolated politicians have previously highlighted the fact that mainstream media organizations appear to downplay or minimize the seriousness of deficit spending by government and debt-sourced spending of all kinds.<ref>[http://www.senate.gov/~budget/democratic/statements/2005/fs_reconciliationfloorstmt102005.pdf Speech by Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) on October 20, 2005 regarding the "misleading" reporting of deficit spending by the mainstream media]</ref> Euphemisms for debt and personal and national bankruptcy associated with debt have been developed to delay a mass panic away from government bonds or debt. For example, the associated growth of debt-based derivatives during the upward phase of the debt money cycle was referred to as "[[innovation]]" in financial markets.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/03/opinion/03krugman.html?em&ex=1196917200&en=ac60abcdbd977d07&ei=5087%0A Innovating Our Way to Financial Crisis, by Paul Krugman]</ref>

[[Bankruptcy]] laws differ to a small degree in different jurisdictions but in all developed economies unpaid debt results in legal penalties, property confiscation on behalf of the creditor and income [[sequestration]]. Although in Christian, Jewish and Muslim religious practice there have been traditions of debt relief or laws against [[usury]], in no modern Western jurisdiction are any debts periodically forgiven or cancelled in recognition of the inherent impossibility of repaying debts in circumstances where the debt-based monetary cycle has inevitably resulted in too little new [[debt money]] being injected into the [[money supply]] to pay for the currently outstanding debts.<ref>[http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2007/11/new-bankruptcy-law-backfires-by.html Bankruptcy law backfires]</ref>

On a national level, if the issuance of [[government bonds]] becomes unsustainable, sovereign [[bankruptcy]] can occur - and has occurred many times in history.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4869 Can the Fed Become Insolvent?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://elainemeinelsupkis.typepad.com/money_matters/2007/10/greenspaniel-an.html Greenspaniel and U.S. bankruptcy]</ref><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/thebearslairview?art_id=10493 Dee-Fault!], Martin Hutchinson, Prudent Bear</ref> [[Sovereign debt]] crises due to the inability of nations to pay interest on [[government bonds]] have occurred frequently and regularly in the third wor and less frequently (every 30 years or so) in the first world as a result of high levels of unsustainable public debt - often because private debts are assumed by a corrupt government through large private bank bailouts.<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1331076/Ireland-bailout-Lets-frank-7bn-bunch-liars-crooks-bunglers.html Ireland Bailout], Alex Brummer</ref><ref name="Willie_Misdiagnosis">[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article24543.html QE2 and the Great Economic Misdiagnosis], Jim Willie, November 24, 2010.</ref> The [[Latin American debt crisis]] is an example of sovereign debt levels becoming unsustainable, resulting in a [[currency crisis]] and economic collapse, as [[interest rates]] rise precipitously due to the inability of the national government to attract financiers to purchase new [[government bonds]] to inject new debt money into the ailing economy.<ref name="Willie_Misdiagnosis" />

At such times, it is the responsibility of the [[IMF]] to come in as a kind of supranational [[central bank]] to mediate between the national government and international financiers.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/05/imf-chief-pulled-from-plane-in-new-york.html Time to Dissolve the IMF], MISH</ref> The role of the [[IMF]] as [[central bank]] to the world has similar responsibilities and risks inherent in [[central bank]]ing which are described below in relation to the role of the [[Federal Reserve]]. If the [[IMF]] repeatedly intervenes to save financiers from loss when sovereign bankruptcy occurs, this has a tendency to induce [[moral hazard]] and can encourage the financing of reckless government spending and borrowing.<ref>[http://www.rgemonitor.com/41 IMF Reform and International Lender of Last Resort, RGE Monitor]</ref><ref>[http://info.interactivist.net/article.pl?sid=02/11/07/199213&mode=thread&tid=8 Banking Bunkum, by Henry C.K. Liu]</ref><ref name="Willie_Misdiagnosis" />

A [[single currency]] regime such as the [[Euro]] can mask national liquidity or solvency crises, by ensuring that a national currency is not quickly exchangeable for another, thereby restricting the ability of national governments to depreciate their currencies and cutting off the possibility that the real value of [[government bond]] interest repayments could decline relative to other currencies.<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1316442/Anglo-Irish-Bank-bail-Will-Irish-economic-meltdown-hit-UKs-fragile-recovery.html Irish Meltdown], UK Mail On-line,</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article24459.html Ireland Bailout Consequences for Britain, Portugal Next?], Nadeem Walayat</ref><ref name="Willie_Misdiagnosis" /><ref>[http://news.goldseek.com/RichardDaughty/1192374060.php The Mogambo Theory of Currency Relativity]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvJEJEGzeU8&feature=player_embedded#! Putin ditches dollar], RTTV</ref> This may however increase the risk of bond default where indebted national governments cannot pay back the interest payments in the denominated common currency.<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1316442/Anglo-Irish-Bank-bail-Will-Irish-economic-meltdown-hit-UKs-fragile-recovery.html Irish Meltdown], UK Mail On-line,</ref><ref>[http://blog.mises.org/15129/bagus-explains-the-ecb-and-the-euro/ The Tragedy of the Euro], Philipp Bagus</ref>

===Types of downturns===
{{main|Austrian Business Cycle Theory}}
[[Austrian Business Cycle Theory]] states that artificially low interest rates set by any coercive price-fixing entity will inevitably stimulate malinvestment in the wrong capital projects which will inevitably lead to an unsustainable boom followed by a bust.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5164/The-Cure-Low-Interest-Rates-Is-the-Disease The Cure (Low Interest Rates) Is The Disease], Thorsten Polleit</ref> However, the precise nature of the downturn and the way in which losses are allocated within the economy are both dependent on the actions government and bankers take to forgive debt or control credit and there are two main kinds of debt money contraction that can cause a collapse in the value of inflated assets.

A "credit squeeze" occurs where new debt money is difficult to access without a high [[credit rating]]. At such times marginal borrowers, or those who have borrowed at the end of any debt-induced asset bubble, get "squeezed" out of further borrowing and a contraction in the growth of new debt money occurs, triggering a slow down in the growth of inflated assets. Those assets can then be "harvested" by the [[private bank]]s through widespread [[foreclosure]] or [[bankruptcy]] and re-sold to those with the money to buy the distressed assets.<ref name="marketoracle.co.uk">[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article2882.html Market Fundamentalism, by Richard C. Cook]</ref>

A "credit crunch" occurs where new debt money is not available at any [[interest rate]] - even for those with previously acceptable credit ratings - due to widespread insolvency in the banking system. At such times, it is the banking system itself that is [[insolvent]] and other financial institutions (including overseas financiers) become reluctant to lend to the domestic banking system, resulting in the domestic banking system being unable to issue loans even to credit worthy borrowers.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_crunch Credit crunch], Wikipedia definition</ref>

At any stage during the downward spiral of a "credit crunch", the [[central bank]] in a modern economy can try to save the system from complete economic meltdown by purchasing (either indefinitely or temporarily) the failed debts of the private banks.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTUY16CkS-k&feature=player_embedded#! Quantitative Easing Explained]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article24489.html Does the Fed Create Money?] Michael Pento</ref><ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=A1YourView&xml=/money/2007/12/19/ccom119.xml ECB's mind-numbing cash injection]</ref> This involves swapping depreciating "failed" assets with hard cash, thereby allowing the banks to maintain their net asset position and continue to give the impression of solvency to their auditors and depositors. However, doing so results in cash being transferred to the private banks in exchange for [[bad debt]], thereby violating the general economic precept to avoid [[moral hazard]] and effectively makes liquid the failed lending decisions of the [[private bank]]s.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/06/prudently-managed-banks-victimized-by.html Prudent Banks Victimized], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.rgemonitor.com/blog/roubini/228924/ Privitizing Profits and Socializing Losses, by Nouriel Roubini]</ref> In the U.S. banking system this is called "opening the Fed discount window", where the [[Federal Reserve]] temporarily purchases the failed investment portfolios of distressed private banks in exchange for cash. However, this rescue measure may only delay, rather than avoid, the realization of losses in the banking system, as the central bank cannot "force" new borrowing into the system to inject new debt money into the money supply. Somebody has to be a [[counterparty]] to borrow the debt money that is being offered. If all market participants realize a "[[bubble (economics)|bubble]]" has formed in assets markets, there will be few (or no) buyers for new debt money, as no one wants to borrow to buy inflated assets no one else will buy. Money markets can therefore remain illiquid even with intense [[central bank]] support.<ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/creditbubblebulletinview?art_id=10511 Favorable or Unfavorable], Doug Noland, Prudent Bear</ref>

Furthermore, banks can go bust even with intense central bank support, if the issue is not one of liquidity, but one of solvency.<ref>[http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/233ae764-abef-11dc-82f0-0000779fd2ac.html Central Banks have No Plan]</ref><ref>[http://www.rgemonitor.com/blog/roubini/233120 Central Banks get desperate]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMngK0t5WkY $20 Trillion in Bad Debt], Max Keiser</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27686.html Bernanke's QEx Money Printing Box], Gordon T. Long</ref>

===Pushing on a string===
Some monetary economists describe the opening of the Fed discount window after the bursting of an asset bubble and swapping of "junk" with new money as "pushing on a piece of string", as this measure does not solve the key problem – creating new credit (or debt money) to keep up the growth in the money supply and maintain the required level of liquidity in credit markets.<ref>[http://www.mises.org/story/2695 Don't Discount the Fed Discount Window]</ref><ref>[http://www.federalreserve.gov/Pubs/FEDS/2004/200401/200401pap.pdf Monetary Policy in Deflation: The Liquidity Trap in History and Practice]</ref> This is because unlimited central bank money and low interest rates ''allow'' credit creation, but cannot not ''force'' it into the system. In order for any new debt money to be created, somone has to borrow the excess reserves in order for the money to be injected into the system. With an endogenous money system, money is only created if someone wants to borrow money from a bank. If corporations and individuals are already heavily indebted (or insolvent after the bursting of another debt-induced bubble) there are no credit-worthy borrowers to lend to. This means there are no buyers at the margin to keep asset prices at high levels. If there are no marginal buyers, "liquidity" - or debt growth - dries up and volumes and prices drop suddenly, forcing liquidation and creating a sudden cascading effect in highly leveraged markets very similar to the end of an unsustainable Ponzi scheme.

To encourage fresh borrowing, central banks generally combine these rescue measures with an interest rate cut to encourage more new borrowing to allow the existing (failed) debts to be [[liquidate]]d at or close to their original value. When [[Alan Greenspan]] repeatedly resorted to this tactic to revive illiquid [[money market]]s this became known in the market as the "[[Greenspan put]]", as the effect of these repeated reductions in interest rates was similar to a [[put option]] in the [[stockmarket]], insuring [[bank]]s' lending mistakes would be covered up by the Federal Reserve.<ref>[http://www.iie.com/publications/wp/02-1.pdf Moral Hazard and the "Greenspan Put"]</ref>

When interest rates cannot go any lower (the so-called "zero bound" monetary problem) and people still will not - or cannot - load themselves up with more debt, then the Keynesian solution is to run large public deficits and indebt future generations (who, they hypothesize, are more likely to be able to pay through increased future growth).<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/business/26view.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=shiller&st=cse Stimulus Without More Debt], Robert Shiller</ref> Fabian socialists, and Keynesian economists such as Paul Krugman and Robert Shiller, argue that governments must take charge of the responsibility of spending more (and taking on more debt) on behalf of the public (who are too fearful to take on more debt themselves) in order to compensate for the immediate and urgent ''present'' insufficiency in total private consumption.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/business/26view.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=shiller&st=cse Stimulus Without More Debt], Robert Shiller</ref> Paul Krugman is a prominent advocate of the policy of spending trillions of government money to help stimulate the economy, if spending billions does not work.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/21/opinion/21krugman.html?dbk Budget Deficits], Paul Krugman</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/10/krugman-and-inevitable-i-told-you-so.html Krugman], MISH</ref><ref>[http://krugman-in-wonderland.blogspot.com/2010/11/inflation-prisoner.html The Inflation Prisoner], William Anderson</ref> For economists such as Paul Krugman, if the "more and more government spending" solution does not work initially, it is a sign that not enough government money has been spent.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/sowell/sowell44.1.html Fed Up With the Fed?], Thomas Sowell</ref><ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/20/opinion/20krugman.html?hp When Zombies Win], Paul Krugman, NY Times</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/10/krugman-and-inevitable-i-told-you-so.html Krugman], MISH</ref> It is his view that the "deflationary" Japanese recession from 1991/2 could have been cured by the Japanese government going into even more debt than the current net debt to GDP ratio of 110%.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/21/opinion/21krugman.html?dbk Budget Deficits], Paul Krugman</ref><ref>[http://www.economist.com/node/15867844 Japan's debt-ridden economy], The Economist</ref> Although some commentators have puzzled over exactly which group Krugman blames for the crisis, Krugman repeatedly calls for the government "to do more" as the way out of the crisis, regardless of the true culprits or cause of the crisis.<ref>[http://www.thedailybell.com/2271/Shock-Krugman-Turns-on-Elites.html Shock Krugman Turns on Elites], The Daily Bell</ref><ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/11/opinion/11krugman.html?_r=2&hp Obama Is Missing], Paul Krugman</ref>

Although there is active debate as to whether this policy (indebting future generations by the government spending debt-sourced money on projects the private sector would not touch) can actually help the economy long term,<ref>[http://dailyreckoning.com/the-pain-of-restoring-investor-confidence/ The Pain of Restoring Investor Confidence], Bill Bonner</ref><ref>[http://dailyreckoning.com/government-spending-and-the-path-to-money-printing/ Government Spending and the path to Money Printing], Bill Bonner</ref><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/featuredcommentaryview?art_id=10485 Krugman Is Eating America Alive], Neeraj Chaudhary, Prudent Bear</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25163.html Keynesian models], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://krugman-in-wonderland.blogspot.com/2010/11/inflation-prisoner.html The Inflation Prisoner], William Anderson</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north925.html Yes, Virginia, There Really Is a Free Lunch], Gary North</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5257/They-Want-Us-to-Love-the-Fed They Want Us to Love the Fed], William L. Anderson</ref> there is no argument that this would undoubtedly help the present group of private bankers, as increased income from the interest payments on new government bond issuance offsets the decline in private sector debt and allows banks to survive when otherwise they may face collapse due to the fatal impairment of their balance sheets through private debt write-offs after an unsustainable debt-fuelled bubble bursts.<ref>[http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/2010/08/quantitative-easing-wont-help-economy.html QE won't help the economy]</ref><ref>[http://moneymorning.com/2010/11/19/federal-reserves-quantitative-easing-strategy-save-the-us-economy/ QE won't save the economy]</ref>

As government debt is effectively an asset on the books of the banks, increasing Treasury bond issuance necessarily increases the profitability and net asset position of the debt-issuing banks - at least until government insolvency or mass tax evasion renders the value of those bonds worthless.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/featuredcommentaryview?art_id=10485 Krugman Is Eating America Alive], Neeraj Chaudhary, Prudent Bear</ref>

===Inequities in system===
Many inequities arise because of the damage an overly leveraged financial system can have on the real economy.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26581.html Ten Reasons The Banksters Got Away With It], Danny Schechter</ref> The standard government strategy to help the banks out of the "tailspin" of an insolvency crisis follows a standard chronology:

The government first tries to stimulate the economy and spend money into the markets directly without individuals needing to borrow and spend, thereby "inflating" its way out of economic crisis by causing asset prices to rise and bank balance sheets to appear solvent. It does this by colluding with the central bank to print money and then spending this new money on random (or pre-planned) projects that the private sector is not already engaged in.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25964.html QE is Nothing New], Mike Hewitt</ref>

Unfortunately, there is no easy solution to an economy-wide insolvency crisis caused by credit expansion.<ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/creditbubblebulletinview?art_id=10511 Favorable or Unfavorable], Doug Noland, Prudent Bear</ref> Although superficially and politically appealing, government spending only further distorts the economy through widespread malinvestment and makes things worse over the medium term.<ref>[http://mises.org/store/Rollback-P10449.aspx ''Rollback''], Thomas Woods</ref> Later, after the immediate crisis, when bond yields rise, governments are often forced to reduce basic social services or welfare to the poor to pay for the increased bond payments to bankers and other wealthy investors, making those least responsible and least able to pay for the crisis suffer wrenching economic hardship.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26581.html Ten Reasons The Banksters Got Away With It], Danny Schechter</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Rollback-P10449.aspx ''Rollback''], Thomas Woods</ref>

Antal E. Fekete compares quantitative easing to the repeated supply of opium by an immoral drug dealer to a dependent drug addict:<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26339.html Silver and Opium], Antal E. Fekete</ref>

{{quote|The explanation for this self-destructing behavior is the addictive, debilitating and mind-corrosive nature of paper money, in direct analogy with that of opium. The high caused by administering the opium pipe to the patient (read: administering QE) had to be repeated when the effect faded by a fresh administration of more opium (read: more QE2).}}

Aside from the [[moral hazard]] issue, the key risk with [[quantitative easing]] is that the [[central bank]] exposes the financial system to disruptive inflation, as the growth in the [[money supply]] spirals out of control due to the need to save the [[bank]]s from themselves.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north961.html Tiger], Gary North</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27530.html The Fed Obliterates the Savings Ethic], Douglas French</ref> This eventually tends to precipitate a currency and/or government bond crisis, as the debt-based currency becomes completely dysfunctional when either the currency becomes worthless or when debtors - including government debtors - cannot even pay interest on the debt money.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25964.html QE is Nothing New], Mike Hewitt</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref><ref>[http://www.swlearning.com/economics/hall/hall-lieb2e-upd/ppt_lecture/exchange_rate_macro_policy.ppt Exchange Rates and Macroeconomic Policy]</ref><ref>[http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VGT-41WBFRG-1&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=4e89075114dcdb58b503172ff1801bd2 Central Bank Intervention]</ref><ref>[http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/mishkin20071026a.htm Financial Instability and the Federal Reserve as a Liquidity Provider, by Frederic S. Mishkin]</ref>

For these reasons, a collapse in confidence in the [[solvency]] of the domestic banking system (and the central government) is one of the most complex and difficult policy issues any central government can face.<ref>[http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/ambroseevans-pritchard/100008812/irelands-debt-servitude/ Ireland's Debt Servitude], Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, UK Telegraph</ref> If central bank continues to try to save the current players in the banking sector by continually printing money and inflating its way out of the crisis, at some point hyperinflation suddenly appears, and has appeared many times in history.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4869 Can the Fed Become Insolvent?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://blog.mises.org/14626/quantitative-easing-explained/ Quantitative Easing Explained], YouTube video</ref>

Some comentators have observed that the media and the Fed have to constantly come up with new terms (such as "quantitative easing") to hide the fact that they are simply repeating the same failed policy of monetary inflation that corrupt sovereigns have deployed at the end of failed regimes many times over the millenia.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25679.html Many Euphemismis for Money Creation], Thorsten Polleit</ref> This is also now referred to by some [[monetary reform]]ers and [[economist]]s as "socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor", as many indebted [[consumers]] will still lose their [[house]]s and be declared [[bankrupt]] regardless whether or not the central bank intervenes to save marginal lenders who have been made [[insolvent]] through their mis-timing of the [[credit cycle]].<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny6YI2JCP9Q&feature=player_embedded#at=147 Blood Starts Flowing on the Streets], Max Keiser interview with Gerald Celente</ref><ref>[http://www.rgemonitor.com/blog/roubini/228924/ Privatizing Profits and Socializing Losses, by Nouriel Roubini]</ref><ref>[http://www.beearly.com/pdfFiles/Satyajit%20Das.pdf Regulatory Debauchery by Satyajit Das]</ref> Future generations of innocent taxpayers may ultimately finance any [[bail out]] of reckless lenders, as the money used to fund any [[bail out]] will be funds diverted from the general revenue of the central government.<ref>[http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f4cf8426-654d-11dc-bf89-0000779fd2ac.html A run on the bank]</ref>

In times of crisis, some bankers still refer to [[Walter Bagehot]]'s 1873 commentary on monetary crises, ''Lombard Street'', in an attempt to gain insights into the way in which central bankers should revive illiquid banking systems.<ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/thebearslairview?art_id=10513 The Evils of Crony Capitalism], Martin Hutchinson</ref><ref>[http://blogs.ft.com/economistsforum/2010/04/a-history-lesson-from-lombard-street-for-wall-street-in-2010/ History Lesson from Lombard Street], Roger Farmer, Ft.com</ref> However this old text may be outdated in circumstances where the community's debt limits have been reached and where the banking crisis arises from insolvency or environmental depletion rather than illiquidity.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KInB2rvgaY Eco Eco Disaster], Keiser Report</ref><ref name="Willie_Misdiagnosis" /><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/creditbubblebulletinview?art_id=10511 Favorable or Unfavorable], Doug Noland, Prudent Bear</ref> A prime example where aging demographics combined with reckless bank lending in a purely fiat debt-based monetary system resulted in economic problems which no amount of money printing or government spending could fix can be found in the case of the [[Japanese asset price bubble]].<ref>[http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10286992 The Japanese and American Bubbles: Been There, Done Some of That]</ref> Some believe the West will repeat the mistakes of the Japanese and the result will be worldwide monetary disorder.<ref>[http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10286992 The Japanese and American Bubbles: Been There, Done Some of That]</ref><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/creditbubblebulletinview?art_id=10508 Monetary Disorder], Doug Noland</ref>

===The Keynesian Endpoint===

Keynesians often refer to Keynes' dictum "In the long run we are all dead" to justify artificially low interest rates and short-term stimulus spending by government to "kick start" a stalled economy where pre-existing private debt levels have caused spending to collapse. Tyler Cowen has responded to this Keynesian rejoinder with the following response:<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/06/business/06view.html The Fiscal Illusion], Tyler Cowan</ref>

{{quote|The famous Keynesian rejoinder, “In the long run we are all dead,” is less comforting when that long run comes into sight. Short-run planning is a hard carousel to stop, especially when there are frequent election cycles, but the federal government must act soon...

The technocratic Keynesian recommendation was to run deficits in bad times and surpluses in good times. But except for one stretch during the Clinton administration, this notion has been broken since the early 1980s. In the United States, at least, Keynesian economics has failed to find the necessary political institutions to enact and sustain a wise version of the theory.

Now that fiscal constraints are starting to bite, many politicians are afraid to reform or even to discuss changes in the largest problem areas...

Fiscal austerity may sometimes sound like a dogmatic religion, but fixed principles often help us do the right thing, especially when temptation beckons. Professor Buchanan argued that the real choice was between a religion of budget balance and a rule of illusion.

...the rigor of the numbers will soon sweep away the fiscal illusion. The only question is whether we will end the charade on our own terms or continue to play the fool.}}

No current commentator predicts bankers, politicians or government employee unions will spontaneously reform themselves.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/lewrockwell-show/2011/03/27/193-gold-guns-and-getaway-plans/ Gerald Celente interview with Lew Rockwell]: Lew Rockwell: "When do you see social unrest coming to this country?" Gerald Celente: "I see more crime happening in this country, and social unrest at a much lower level. The people in this country don't have what it takes... This is a country of soccer mommies boys. We're prescription drug-addicted and we're junk food fat... Look at the way they dress, look at the way they talk, look how the Nation's become so Snooki-stupid."</ref> Noted commentator Bill Bonner and others have described politicians, welfare recipients, bankers and other tax beneficiaries as economic "zombies" unable to adapt or adjust to new economic realities and has predicted that the "zombies" will continue to "steal" as much money from the economic system as possible and convert that money into ownership of real resources until the whole monetary system completely collapses.<ref>[http://dailyreckoning.com/the-coincidental-rise-of-oil-and-the-monetary-base/ The Coincidental Rise of Oil and the Monetary Base], Bill Bonner</ref><ref>[http://dailyreckoning.com/california-the-greece-of-the-us-financial-crisis/ California: Teh Greece of the U.S.], Bill Bonner</ref><ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/not-program-salvage-greek-economy-its-program-pillage-bankruptcy Pillage Before Bankrupcty], Washington's Blog</ref> They will then move on to the next host country with their real wealth converted into land, property and other assets. The difficulty with any attempt at reform measures is that the "Ponzi" elements of finance are inextricably tied to pension funds and "real" elements in the economy, making it impossible to eliminate the "cancer" without damaging the wealth-creating structures as well.<ref>The term "cancer" is specifically mentioned in [http://www.pytheas.net/docs/Laissez-faire-and-policymakers.pdf Laissez-faire, investment banks and policy makers], Pytheas Market Focus, August 2009</ref><ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/jeffrandall/8436123/We-must-call-the-bluff-of-the-big-bad-banks.html We must call the bluff of the big banks], Jeff Randall</ref><ref name="Repudiating the National Debt"/><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zMv4Offm_8&feature=player_embedded#at=1341 Max Keiser Interview with Alex Jones]</ref><ref>[http://www.buildfreedom.com/tl/rape3.shtml Economic Rape of America]</ref> Commentator Max Keiser has coined the term "Suicide Banking" to describe the paradoxical situation where virtually every politician and economist acknowledges that "Too Big To Fail" is a dysfunctional policy but no one has a viable solution, given that the banking system is "rigged to blow" if threatened.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCRXz5oOQVY&feature=player_embedded Suicide Bankers], Max Keiser</ref> He also refers to the current crisis as a fight to the death not between countries or ethnic groups or political ideologies but between future-oriented, prudent and conservative "Savers" on one side and present-focused, imprudent and overconsuming "Speculators" worldwide on the other.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzzIqi2sbQY&feature=player_embedded US flashing Orange]</ref>

Many non-mainstream financial commentators believe the U.S. and the E.U. will soon experience terminal financial crises, but there is vigorous on-going debate amongst numerous commentators regarding whether this terminal currency crisis will end in hyperinflation and currency destruction (making government bonds worthless) or repeated bouts of deflation and depression (making government bonds more valuable).<ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28148.html How to Keep a Damaged Financial and Economic System Afloat?], Bob Chapman</ref><ref>[http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1305306000.php Winning in the Hyperinflation/Deflation War], Deepcaster LLC</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27733.html Compound Inflation], John Mauldin</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north973.html Rick Ackerman Defects], Gary North</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/04/no-miracle-cures-from-inflation.html Impossible to Inflate Out of this Mess], MISH</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/06/big-inflationist-scare.html The Big Inflationist Scare], MISH</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/09/debating-flat-earth-society-about.html Debating the Flat Earth Society About Hyperinflation], MISH</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/01/peter-schiff-was-wrong.html Peter Schiff Was Wrong], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27726.html Deflation Threat is Still Alive], EWI</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27791.html Can We Give The Hyperinflation Thing a Rest?], Mike Whitney</ref> Most - but not all - Austrian commentators now believe the denouement will inevitably result in hyperinflation and render the U.S. dollar near-worthless in real terms, as U.S. bond and dollar holders compete to offload excess holdings in the face of massive ongoing issuance.<ref>[http://fofoa.blogspot.com/2011/04/deflation-or-hyperinflation.html Deflation or Hyperinflation?], FOFOA</ref><ref>[http://maxkeiser.com/2011/04/25/ding-ding-ding-its-all-over-rick-ackerman-concedes-hes-been-wrong-and-joins-the-hyperinflationist-camp/ It's all over! Rick Ackerman Concedes!], Max Keiser</ref> Mike Shedlock and Antal E. Fekete are amongst a small group of deflationists who believe contracting credit will continue to have a deflationary impact on the economy, causing government bonds to become even more valuable over time.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/05/hyperinflation-nonsense-in-multiple.html Hyperinflation Nonsense], MISH</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/04/no-miracle-cures-from-inflation.html No Miracle Cures from Inflation], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.julianmidwinter.com.au/ The Federal Reserve as an engine of deflation], Antal E. Fekete</ref>

In stark contrast to the predictions of catastrophe from the Austrians, mainstream Keynesians regard the current financial system as benign and most financial analysts still use the normal distribution - or "Bell Curve" - to represent the likely distribution of future returns in financial markets.<ref>[http://seekingalpha.com/article/163271-rethinking-alpha-and-beta Rethinking Alpha and Beta], Paul Amery</ref> This continues despite extensive research demonstrating that the normal distribution does not apply to financial market returns, which display so-called "fat tail" distributions, with much more volatlity at the extremes than the normal distribution would predict.<ref>[http://www.bearcave.com/bookrev/misbehavior_of_markets.html The Misbeahvior of Markets], Ian Kaplan</ref> The Austrian view - that the economy will either slide into depression or hyperinflation under the stresses of the current debt-based monetary monetary system - may be supported by more recent analysis of actual financial market behavior under conditions of high debt and extreme stress.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5352/What-Mises-Can-Teach-the-Quants What Mises Can Teach the Quants], Daniel James Sanchez</ref><ref>[http://lewrockwell.com/north/north990.html The Next Financial Crisis], Gary North</ref><ref>[http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2011/06/11/dude-where%E2%80%99s-my-recovery/ Where's My Recovery?], Steve Keen</ref>

Regardless whether the government chooses hyperinflation or periodic delfationary depression as the way out, throughout history, only two real alternatives occur in the midst of economic or financial crisis: ever greater centralization (often on a "higher level") or disintegration of the core power structures and (eventually) rejuvenation.<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/greeces-ultimatum-bailout-bankers-or-loss-sovereignty Greece's Ultimatum], ZeroHedge</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north966.html Wealth Through Decentralization], Gary North</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Rollback-P10449.aspx ''Rollback''], Thomas Woods</ref><ref>[http://blog.mises.org/9321/crisis-and-leviathan/ Crisis and Leviathan], Robert Higgs</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Money-Bank-Credit-and-Economic-Cycles-P290C0.aspx Money, Bank Credit and Economic Cycles], Jesus Huerta de Soto, Mises Institute ISBN: 978-1-933550-39-8</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Meltdown-P557.aspx ''Meltdown''], Tom Woods, Regnery Press ISBN: 9781596985872</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/media/4014 The Economics of Legal Tender Laws], [[Jorg Guido Hulsmann]] (includes detailed commentary on centralization during crises)</ref> Accordingly, many of the more extreme monetary reformers and [[conspiracy theorists]] anticipate repeated and ever more desperate attempts at ''higher-order centralization'',<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27051.html A New World Currency?], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref> as the exisiting coordinated domestic central bank architecture becomes discredited through repeated economic failure and environmental crises caused by the need for unsustainable exponential debt-driven economic "growth" within the current debt-based financial architecture.<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-economic-abyss The Economic Abyss], Brandon Smith</ref> This centralization is anticipated to include the empowerment of the UN to increasingly intervene in the domestic political affairs of nations,<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/rozeff/rozeff343.html World Government], Mike Rozeff</ref> the IMF and EU to increasingly intervene in the domestic financial affairs of nations,<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/greeces-ultimatum-bailout-bankers-or-loss-sovereignty Greece's Ultimatum], ZeroHedge</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/11/terms-of-enslavement-irish-citizens-say.html Terms of Enslavement], MISH</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/11/imf-ready-to-help-ireland-can-imf-help.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MishsGlobalEconomicTrendAnalysis+%28Mish%27s+Global+Economic+Trend+Analysis%29 Can the IMF help anyone?], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/8150137/Ireland-forced-to-take-EU-and-IMF-bail-out-package.html Ireland forced to take IMF bailout package], Telegraph</ref> and the declaration of [[martial law]] and the imposition of [[fascist]]-style restrictions on [[civil rights]]<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-us-monetary-system-and-descent-fascism-interview-dr-edwin-vieira The U.S. Monetary System and Descent Into Fascism], Dr Edwin Vieir</ref><ref>[http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/04/201142612714539672.html Global capitalism and 21st cenury fascism], William I. Robinson</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/rep2/jesse-ventura-on-tsa-abusers.html Jesse Ventura on the TSA' Sexual Abusers]</ref> and [[freedom of speech]] by the political [[The Establishment|Establishment]] to physically protect it from [[anarchy]] or military [[coup]] when the [[bubble (economics)|bubble]] of debt completely bursts, through a precipitous currency crisis, debt-created [[Depression (economics)|depression]], environmental crisis or oil shortage.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26605.html Population Reduction], Chris Kitze</ref><ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2011/02/24/in-the-news-today-791/ Collapse]</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/lewrockwell-show/2010/12/14/179-the-espionage-act-and-the-death-of-american-freedoms/ Death of American Freedoms], Naomi Wolf, LRC interview, Dec 14, 2010</ref><ref>[http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2007/cr120507h.htm New security legislation threats freedoms]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26325.html Bank Credit Ends in Catastrophe], Richard Daughty, The Mogambo Guru</ref> Ultimately this is anticipated to yield either repressive world government or chaos (or most likely both), with a world central bank stationed in Basel, Switzerland.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMngK0t5WkY Max Keiser]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28533.html The Global Debt Crisis], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27051.html A New World Currency?], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27554.html Libya Ware All About Oil or Gold and Banking?], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref><ref>[http://blog.mises.org/9321/crisis-and-leviathan/ Crisis and Leviathan], Robert Higgs</ref> During this transition period, some analysts and conspiracy theorists anticipate multiple wars to force governments into the BIS financial "net",<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMngK0t5WkY Max Keiser]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28533.html The Global Debt Crisis], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27051.html A New World Currency?], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27554.html Libya Ware All About Oil or Gold and Banking?], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref> impotent and counterproductive price controls,<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/03/food-prices-rise-11-in-china-overall.html Chinese inflation], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/goyette/goyette18.1.html Too Late!], Charles Goyette</ref> repeated sell-offs of monopoly state assets in a desperate attempt to feed private domestic banks with steady, coercively acquired income to keep the value of government bonds collapsing,<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/05/whos-bigger-socialist-president-obama.html Who's the Bigger Socialist?], MISH</ref> and then, once this attempt (to feed unsustainable compounding debt with any remaining basic infrastructure) destroys any remaining parts of the productive economy, there will be in the end coercively-enforced rationing of basic essentials to ensure continued supply of food and oil to senior government officials, bankers and their associates amidst widespread general starvation and chaos,<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26605.html Population Reduction], Chris Kitze</ref> as the coalescence of a corrupt banker-government coalition solidifies<ref>[http://maxkeiser.com/2011/04/28/kr142-keiser-report-blind-cult-of-america/ Blind Cult of America]. Quote: Max Keiser: "Yes, it's beyond religious fervour. That's the point. It's become this echo chamber, cult-like 'America can't fail' which is very endemic when you see suicide cults. Remember Jim Jones. Remember him. The Kool Aid. He made the idea of drinking Kool Aid... he popularized that notion. Everyone committed suicide in Guyana. Or the Hail-Bot Comet Cult. Here you've got 300 million Americans who are worshipping this idea of 'American-style' Free Market Capitalism that doesn't exist. They support market manipulation on Wall Street and they're all gonna ''die'' as a result. Now that's less than 5% of the world's population. It is 25% of the world's garbage so the world will breathe a sigh of relief, but, as far as those living inside they don't really understand that they're being used as cult fodder." Stacy Herbert: "The equivalent of drinking the cyanide-laced Kool Aid would be purchasing a McMansion with a sub-prime mortgage. This is them committing suicide. It's the equivalent of drinking cyanide-laced Kool Aid." Max Keiser: "It's financial suicide. As we've talked about. Financialization of the economy has turned into this hybrid reality that combines political malfeasance with financial larceny and that's the combination between Obama's White House and Wall Street merging together into something even more insidious than fascism. It's a Klepto-F*@kingSh*tism. It's a... it's a Klepto-Sh*tism is the current political-financial school of thought in America today and it's not working. It's unsustainable."</ref> to eliminate potential dissent and ensure the forced elimination - by any means necessary - of any actual or potential competing [[currencies]] that could threaten the viability or legitimacy of the [[monopoly]] currency, which could include war against any country considering using any currency other than US dollars to price essential commodities such as oil <ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/holland/holland44.1.html Anglo-American Deception], Ron Holland</ref> and the compulsory confiscation of all privately-owned [[gold]] (gold being the ultimate reserve currency, still used by central banks as a universally accepted medium of exchange for the settlement of international debts).<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5184/The-Crime-of-Private-Money The "Crime" of Private Money], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-thoughts-liberty-dollar-debacle Liberty Dollar], ZeroHedge.com</ref><ref>[http://blog.mises.org/14795/the-gold-clause-cases-and-constitutional-necessity/ Gold Clause Cases]</ref><ref>[http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1196605589.php America's Trade Debts Lead to a Likely Gold Confiscation]</ref><ref>[http://www.libertydollar.org/ld/legal/raid.htm FBI Raids Liberty Dollar]</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/solution.html The Solution]</ref><ref>[http://prudentinvestor.blogspot.com/2007/09/us-mint-suspends-gold-coin-sales-due-to.html US Mint Suspends Gold Coin Sales]</ref><ref>[http://www.swissamerica.com/article.php?art=06-2004/200406140537f.txt Why a Gold Standard Now?]</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/73468.html Bank of America an arm of US government policy]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26325.html Bank Credit Ends in Catastrophe], Richard Daughty, The Mogambo Guru</ref><ref>[http://www.sovereignman.com/expat/bernanke-terrorist Bernanke is the domestic terrorist], Sovereign Man</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28225.html DSK Was Trying to Torpedo the Dollar], Mike Whitney</ref>

There have been many [[financial crisis|monetary crises]] throughout history,<ref>[http://www.delanion.com/main/dom.htm Fiat Money Inflation in France], Gold Money video featuring Max Keiser, James Turk and Pierre Jovanovic</ref><ref>[http://www.delanion.com/main/dom.htm Dying of Money], Jens O. Parsson</ref><ref>[http://www.delanion.com/main/dom.htm Dying of Money], Jens O. Parsson</ref><ref name="Bonner_Swan">[http://www.lewrockwell.com/bonner/bonner454.html Revolution in Egypt and Black Swans], Bill Bonner, February 15, 2011.</ref><ref>[http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1297199137.php China Inflation and Gold], Darryl Robert Schoon</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Early-Speculative-Bubbles-P578.aspx Early Speculative Bubbles and Increases in the Money Supply], Doug French, Mises Institute ISBN: 978-1-933550-44-2</ref><ref>[http://dailyreckoning.com/a-word-of-advice-to-financial-authorities/ Advice to Financial Authorities], Bill Bonner</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26325.html Bank Credit Ends in Catastrophe], Richard Daughty, The Mogambo Guru</ref> and there are a number of standard warning signs of impending depression or hyperinflation caused by a complete breakdown of trust in any [[monetary system]].<ref>[http://mises.org/store/Product.aspx?ProductId=435 Fiat Money Inflation in France], Andrew Dickson White, Mises Institute</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref><ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-economic-abyss The Economic Abyss], Brandon Smith</ref><ref>[http://lewrockwell.com/orig12/martenson8.1.1.html Argentina: A Case Study], Chris Martenson and FerFAL</ref> Just prior to the complete collapse of the [[pyramid scheme]] of public and private debt, the economic system tends to feed on itself, and in the past, where debt-created [[Depression (economics)|depression]]s or periods of [[hyperinflation]] have occurred in [[Europe]],<ref name="Bonner_Swan" /> the [[U.S.]] and [[China]], there has been a sustained spike in predatory economic behavior, as the heavily indebted central government and producers are forced to find more extreme (previously considered unethical) methods to extract any remaining wealth from increasingly desperate and impoverished [[consumers]], who are either unwilling or unable to go into further debt without forceful coercion.<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-ethics-mortgage-loan-default The Ethics of Mortgage Loan Default], Greg Lemelson</ref><ref name="Bonner_Swan" /><ref name="http">{{cite book |last= Widdig |first= Bernd |title= Culture and Inflation in Weimar Germany |url= http://books.google.com/books/ucpress?id=kvKAATycUzIC |accessdate= 2007-12-16 |year= 2001 |publisher= University of California
Press |isbn= 0520222903 }}</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/3569 John Law and the Invention of Modern Finance], Doug French (Mises.org)</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/1690 The Saga of John Law and Richard Cantillon], Sean Corrigan (Mises.org)</ref> [[Long-term]] investment and sustained [[capital investment]] are almost impossible in this environment because the "measuring stick" of [[return on investment]] (the real value of [[money]]) is so uncertain at times of debt-induced [[credit crunch]], depression or hyperinflation.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref>

As potential new [[borrower]]s and international financiers are scared away from participating in the [[pyramid scheme]] of debt and borrowing further, the [[monetary system]] seizes up, starved of the fresh injections of [[debt money]] it needs for its survival, thereby precipitating economic [[anarchy]],<ref name="Bonner_Swan" /><ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-economic-abyss The Economic Abyss], Brandon Smith</ref> widespread [[lawlessness]]<ref name="Bonner_Swan" /> and [[insolvency]] of the monetary and banking system.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPxYg6mgGpE Inflation is There], Peter Schiff</ref><ref>[http://www.oftwominds.com/blognov07/empire-debt1.html Empire of Debt]</ref><ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref><ref name="Bonner_Swan" /> Some have described the moment when governments cannot borrow any more from banks to keep up the growth in debt money as the "Keynesian Endpoint" or "Keynesian Endgame" or point of "Debt Saturation" - which is the point in time when ''in extremis ''"emergency" measures by the government to kick-start the economy by increasing total gross debt have no lasting positive effect on GDP.<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-economic-death-spiral-has-been-triggered The Economic Death Spiral], Gordon T. Long</ref><ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/charting-ten-year-prelude-keynesian-endgame Keynesian Endgame], ZeroHedge</ref><ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keynesian_endpoint Keynesian Endpoint], Wikipedia definition</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27801.html U.S. Debt Saturation and Money Illusion], Gordon T. Long</ref> Antal E. Fekete identifies this "crisis" point as the point when the marginal increase in total gross debt has no positive marginal effect on GDP.<ref>[http://www.professorfekete.com/articles/AEFGotterdammerung.pdf Gotterdammerung], Antal E. Fekete</ref> According to Professor Fekete, once the marginal productivity of debt turns negative, a disastrous depression is inevitable.<ref>[http://www.professorfekete.com/articles/AEFGotterdammerung.pdf Gotterdammerung], Antal E. Fekete</ref>

This final denouement is triggered when [[borrower]]s cannot be found to buy depreciating heavily indebted assets, and international financiers reduce lending as they experience losses on pre-existing loans either through asset or currency [[depreciation]].<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPxYg6mgGpE Inflation is There], Peter Schiff</ref> Some analysts predict that the [[monetary system]] will seize up due to a [[deflationary]] depression<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-heres-setup-con-decade The Con of the Decade], ZeroHedge</ref> or a sustained period of [[stagflation]]ary hyperinflation resulting in a "final and total catastrophe of our fiat monetary system."<ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPxYg6mgGpE Inflation is There], Peter Schiff</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27402.html Deflationists Blind to Inflationary Storm], Jim Willie</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27466.html Compounding Debt]</ref>

Examples of debt and monetary crises can often be found after failed wars, when international financiers realize the heavily indebted [[government]] they funded will not gain the resources it planned to seize as a result of the waging of aggressive war. When this pay-off does not materialize, the losing government is left with the debt of war without the ability to offset this government debt through the imposition of reparations on the defeated nation and the acquisition of the defeated state's resources, thereby boosting the victorious state's GDP and tax revenues. This sudden monetary collapse occurred to [[Germany]] after the [[First World War]] and [[Japan]] after the [[Second World War]].

Whatever the trigger, the key warning sign of any impending monetary crisis and economic [[anarchy]] is a sudden [[currency crisis]], or a sudden spike in domestic interest rates, or a sudden [[credit crunch]].<ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /> Early warning signs that the [[private banks]] themselves are aware of an impending breakdown in the [[solvency]] of the [[financial system]] would be any combination of some or all the following: a spike in the prices for [[oil]] (which is an internationally accepted, inherently limited, store of value, and therefore can act as a modern form of [[hard currency]], oil sometimes being referred to as "black gold"), [[gold]],<ref>[http://www.minyanville.com/businessmarkets/articles/gold-spot-price-gold-prices-gold/5/10/2011/id/34441?camp=syndication&medium=portals&from=yahoo Permanent Gold Backwardation: Why a "Crack Up Boom" Is Inevitable], Keith Weiner</ref> [[silver]]<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=021yEhjPDa0&feature=player_embedded#at=826 $400 Ounce Silver, $8000 Ounce Gold], James Turk</ref> <ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPxYg6mgGpE Inflation is There], Peter Schiff</ref> and other stable, non-perishable, inherently limited [[natural resources]] essential for non-discretionary industrial production;<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref> a spike in the [[futures contract]]s for vital agricultural [[commodities]]<ref>[http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-dictator-bernanke-needs-to-be-toppled-2011-02-15 Fed dictator Bernanke needs to be toppled], Paul B. Farrell</ref><ref>January 27, 2011 – ''Financial Times'' (Javier Blas and Chris Giles): “Governments across the developing world are stockpiling food staples in an attempt to contain panic buying, inflation and social unrest. But the hoarding is driving agricultural commodity prices even higher. The cost of wheat, the world’s most important staple, reached a fresh two-and-a-half-year high on Thursday, after countries from Algeria to Saudi Arabia announced extraordinary purchases. High food prices have been a contributing factor to the recent wave of social unrest across North Africa and the Middle East. In Algeria earlier this month, young rioters chanted ‘Bring us sugar!’ The cost of the sweetener in the wholesale market is at its highest in 30 years. Earlier this week, Algeria bought 800,000 tonnes of wheat – much more than usual – and Saudi Arabia announced plans to double the size of its wheat stockpile. Bangladesh and Indonesia joined the rush on Thursday, placing extraordinary on rice orders.”</ref> such as [[sugar]],<ref>[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-15/portugal-tries-to-prevent-sugar-hoarding-amid-shortage-ft-says.html 2010 Portugal Sugar Crisis]</ref> [[corn]], [[wheat]], [[soybean]]s and [[rice]], as investors realize the debt-based monetary system has squeezed supplies of [[arable land]];<ref>[http://webofdebt.wordpress.com/2011/02/03/the-egyptian-tinderbox-how-banks-and-investors-are-starving-the-third-world/#more-1052 Banks and investors are starving the Third World], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref><ref>[http://www.preparednesspro.com/blog/food-shortage-series-part-1/ Food Shortage Series],Kellene Bishop</ref><ref>[http://www.smh.com.au/environment/world-hungers-for-more-food-20110402-1csbh.html World hungers for more food], Sydney Morning Herald,</ref> a sudden flight of money ''to'' [[Treasury bills]] and/or a sudden spike in the [[interest rate]] differential between short-term [[Treasury bills]] and asset-backed corporate paper (or a sudden spike in the [[LIBOR]] rate in [[London]])<ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /><ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/12/03/cnrates103.xml&CMP=ILC-mostviewedbox Pleas for rate cut as interbank loans dive]</ref> - and then, in the very late stages of a credit crisis, a sudden and disorderly flight of money ''away from'' government bonds and a "shock" or "panic" collapse in government bond prices, as banks perceive that some governments will ultimately find it ''impossible'' to pay interest on their debt from coercively acquired taxes.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/8190059/Global-bond-rout-deepens-on-US-fiscal-worries.html Global bond rout], Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, UK Telegraph</ref><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/thebearslairview?art_id=10480 When Will The U.S. Become Greece?], Michael Hutchinson</ref>

Shortly thereafter, some [[monetary reform]]ers predict that there would be desperate, but ultimately futile [[central bank]] intervention involving massive, repeated bouts of "quantitative easing",<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/did-fed-its-stealthy-synthetic-bet-keep-yields-low-become-next-aig Doubling Down], ZeroHedge</ref> then a [[currency crisis]],<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/jim-grant-inflation-there-will-be-lot-it-suddenly-because-our-interest-rate-structure-beyond Jim Grant on Inflation], ZeroHedge</ref> then a panic run on a number of marginal, [[insolvent]] [[banks]] and [[hedge funds]] as desperate wealthy investors try to get [[cash]] out before the [[pyramid scheme]]<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPxYg6mgGpE Inflation is There], Peter Schiff</ref> collapses to invest in inherently limited, non-perishable, in-demand commodities such as [[oil]] and [[gold]]<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/golden-tipping-point-university-texas-takes-delivery-1-billion-physical-gold A Golden Tipping Point], ZeroHedge</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPxYg6mgGpE Inflation is There], Peter Schiff</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref> (and undeveloped agricultural and industrial [[land]] in areas of the world with strong [[economic growth]]),<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/04/business/04farms.html?_r=1&hp Price of Farmland] NYTimes</ref> followed by a [[recession]] or [[depression]] in the broader heavily indebted economy as the [[money supply|credit]] contracts but base money continues to rise exponentially.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27172.html Why QE has NOT brought back inflation], EWI</ref><ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref><ref>[http://www.newyorkfed.org/research/staff_reports/sr291.pdf Hedge Funds, Financial Intermediation and Systemic Risk]</ref><ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2011/02/24/in-the-news-today-791/ Collapse]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27596.html US Accelerating Inflation Mega-Trend], Nadeem Walayat</ref>

In 2010 Ireland and Greece experienced simiilar financial crises along the lines described above and many financial commentators and politicians expect more countries to go through the same debt crisis.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/12/video-fire-bombs-stones-fly-in-greek.html Greek protests]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gm9q8uabTs "Who the Hell do you think you people are?"], Nigel Farage, UKIP leader</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref> In 2011, Tunisia experienced a financial and political crisis that was almost identical to those already experienced on the poorer European periphery, except that in this case the pre-existing political establishment quickly fled the country in fear for their safety - with some allegations that the wife of the deposed leader, Leila Trabelsi, ordered the country's central bank to transfer 1.5 tonnes of [[gold]] to Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his family.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25636.html We are all Tunisians], Yvonne Ridley</ref><ref>[http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/tunisia-missing-15-tonnes-of-gold/story-e6frf7jx-1225992107457 Tunisia missing 1.5 tonnes of gold], Herald Sun</ref> The Egyptian uprising resulted in Hosni Mubarek fleeing after desperate attempts were made by him and his associates to preserve his family's wealth and power.<ref>[http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110212/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_egypt_mubarak_s_final_hours Mubarak's final hours], Associated Press</ref> Several newspapers have reported that, once again, appropriating the nation's gold reserves was a major priority for the fallen leader.<ref>[http://www.smh.com.au/world/mubaraks-lastminute-rush-to-hide-his-billions-20110213-1as1c.html Mubarak's Rush to Hide Billions], SMH</ref> Following the overthrow of the ruling elites in Tunisia and Egypt, other North African countries have experienced similar uprisings - all attributable to higher food prices, according to some noted commentators,<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/8492078/How-the-Fed-triggered-the-Arab-Spring-uprisings-in-two-easy-graphs.html How the Fed triggered the Arab Spring uprisings], Andrew Lilico</ref> who have accused Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke of literally having "blood on his hands" due to the encouragement of food price inflation via sustained inflationary loose-monetary policies.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/01/blood-on-bernankes-hands-riots-in-egypt.html Blood on Bernanke's Hands], MISH</ref><ref>[http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/KWN_DailyWeb/Entries/2011/4/6_Marc_Faber_-_Mr._Bernanke_is_a_Murderer_of_the_Middle_Class.html Marc Faber calls Mr Bernanke a Murderer of the Middle Class], King World News</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3NdUU1wWa4&feature=player_embedded#at=89 Max Keiser - Bernanke is a Murderer]</ref><ref>[http://dailyreckoning.com/lessons-from-egypt-for-the-american-people/ Lessons from Egypt], Charles Kadlec</ref><ref>[http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-dictator-bernanke-needs-to-be-toppled-2011-02-15 Fed dictator Bernanke needs to be toppled], Paul B. Farrell</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5050/QE2-Fuels-a-Global-Fury QE2 Fuels a Global Fury], Mark Thornton</ref><ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/bernanke-blame-rising-global-revolutionary-wave?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+zerohedge%2Ffeed+%28zero+hedge+-+on+a+long+enough+timeline%2C+the+survival+rate+for+everyone+drops+to+zero%29 Is Bernanke To Blame?], Tyler Durden, ZeroHedge</ref> The central banker has denied that his inflationary loose-monetary policies have contributed to food inflation.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/8302111/Fed-chief-Ben-Bernanke-denies-US-policy-behind-record-global-food-prices.html Ben Bernanke Denies US Policy Behind Food Price Inflation], UK Telegraph, 3 February 2011</ref> Implicit in Mr Bernanke's argument is the assumption that the central bank can create "good" inflation in some markets and avoid "bad" inflation in others. This alleged central bank power to direct good inflation and abate bad inflation is derided by a number of commentators.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3NdUU1wWa4&feature=player_embedded#at=89 Max Keiser - Bernanke is a Murderer]</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/01/blood-on-bernankes-hands-riots-in-egypt.html Blood on Bernanke's Hands], MISH</ref><ref>[http://dailyreckoning.com/lessons-from-egypt-for-the-american-people/ Lessons from Egypt], Charles Kadlec</ref><ref>[http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-dictator-bernanke-needs-to-be-toppled-2011-02-15 Fed dictator Bernanke needs to be toppled], Paul B. Farrell</ref><ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/bernanke-blame-rising-global-revolutionary-wave?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+zerohedge%2Ffeed+%28zero+hedge+-+on+a+long+enough+timeline%2C+the+survival+rate+for+everyone+drops+to+zero%29 Is Bernanke To Blame?], Tyler Durden, ZeroHedge</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28587.html QE2 Unmitigated Failure], James Quinn</ref>

Noted British ''Telegraph'' commentator Ambrose Evans-Pritchard has called these the first Malthusian "Food Revolutions" of the modern era, as agflation causes political instability on the periphery of major economies worldwide - particularly those countries that have already denuded their agricultural base and have to import grain and other foods to survive.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/8291470/Egypt-and-Tunisia-usher-in-the-new-era-of-global-food-revolutions.html A New Era of Food Revolutions], Ambrose Evans-Pritchard</ref><ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2011/02/24/in-the-news-today-791/ Collapse]</ref>

It is also reported that very complex, delicate negotiations are taking place between debtor and creditor nations to swap government bonds with gold at prices far in excess of the declared "market price" of gold.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25878.html China Buys European Gold], Jim Willie</ref> These so-called "off-market" deals - and possible diversions of government-owned gold to corrupt bankers and political leaders - are signs the Keynesian Endpoint has arrived and the politicians and bankers recognize they have lost control of the economic system and must focus on saving themselves.<ref>[http://lewrockwell.com/wenzel/wenzel113.html Fort Knox Gold], Robert Wenzel</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25878.html China Buys European Gold], Jim Willie</ref>

Finally, it should be noted that, with the destruction of the fascist regimes in Italy, Germany and Japan post-WWII and the collapse of communism in the 1990s, there no longer exists any major economy where the banking system is fully government-owned or has any strictly enforceable social responsibilities beyond pure profit motive. All major world economies have now adopted essentially the same monetary system, with profit-driven private banks (government-licensed institutions legally permitted to engage in unlimited credit creation) able to pocket profits during upswings and socialize losses during downswings by use of central bank asset swaps. If critics are correct that all such systems are doomed to severe boom-bust cycles because of excessive expansion of speculative credit and endemic [[moral hazard]], it is to be expected that all major economies will also experience essentially the same kind of environmental and food crises, and even allegedly "strong" economies such as China will experience severe economic downturns at some stage.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5070/Bust-Looms-As-China-Booms Bust Looms], Markus Bergstrom</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/03/bloodstained-property-map-and-trampled.html Bloodstained Property Map], MISH</ref> However, equally, if critics are correct that fractional reserve banking, excessive credit expansion and artificially low interest rates are at the root of all financial crises, then higher reserve ratios and capital requirements for domestic banks (or the existence of heavily controlled nationalized banks) should reduce the severity of economic crises in those economies with higher reserve requirements for their own banks.<ref>[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-18/china-increases-banks-reserve-ratio-for-second-time-to-curb-property-boom.html China increases bank reserves to curb inflation], Bloomberg</ref><ref>[http://video.ft.com/ Lex's John Authers and Richard Stovin-Bradford discuss how to regulate banks better and how to handle those that are just too big to fai]</ref>

==Proposals for monetary reform==
===Potential solutions===
Many consider it too late to reform the financial system.<ref>[http://news.goldseek.com/LewRockwell/1306767600.php Is Greece the Future of America?], Mike Rozeff</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27739.html Financial Slaughterhouse], Ashvin_Pandurangi</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27764.html The Big QE2 Shakedown], Mike Whitney</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GmBoJ7qHYg&feature=player_embedded Simon Johnson INET]</ref><ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/sep/14/banking-reforms-too-little-too-late Too Little Too Late], UK Guardian, 14 Sept 2010</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27583.html Fed Reckoning Day Realities for Investor Pains and Gains], Deepcaster LLC</ref> Coercive, rule-bound government, by its nature, seeks to have a monopoly of force and is the final arbiter of disputes between any two parties within its jurisdiction.<ref>[http://www.dailypaul.com/140907/hans-hoppe-on-why-he-thinks-limited-government-is-impossible Hans Hoppe on why limited government is impossible]</ref> Good government exists to provide public goods, regulate externalities and protect and enforce property rights.<ref>[http://blog.mises.org/6546/james-wilson-on-the-purpose-of-government-and-the-constitution/ James Wilson on the purpose of government], James Galles</ref> However, if government force is used not for public purposes but to protect and enhance the power of a political and financial elite, parasitic thieving forces can take over monopoly government and destruction of the economy can occur without the ability of the people to revolt or defend themselves against the depredations of government force.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig11/wile13.1.html One World Government], Hans Hermann Hoppe</ref> Parasitic, destructive policies can therefore continue for longer than the survival of the economy itself, especially if people have been lulled into complacency by a long history of relatively benign government whilst parasitic forces slowly take over power from behind the scenes.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig11/wile13.1.html One World Government], Hans Hermann Hoppe</ref> Some consider that modern democracy has been subverted and that the two-party choices being presented today are a charade, with little real difference between political parties, which are just shams to cover the slow but inexorable takeover of the levers of power by the financial "elite", who do not respect nor care about the will of the people, who they consider too stupid or powerless to be treated seriously.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/06/vote-for-whoever-you-want-bailout.html Vote for Whoever You Want], MISH</ref> Since the mid-1990s and even earlier it has been argued by many commentators that the gold default of August 15, 1971 would inevitably lead to economic disaster due to the distorting and parasitic effects unlimited fiat money and credit creation would have on the productive private economy.<ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /> The relentless exponential growth in retirement and welfare benefits will now be enough to bankrupt many Western governments (including the United States).<ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /><ref>[http://www.amazon.com/Boomergeddon-Deficits-Government-Devastate-Retirement/dp/1892538539/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1305008253&sr=8-1 Boomergeddon], James A. Bacon Jr</ref> No one in power today appears willing to tackle either the corrupt banking industry or government largesse.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/06/vote-for-whoever-you-want-bailout.html Vote for Whoever You Want], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/thebearslairview?art_id=10538 Sayonara, Washington], Martin Hutchinson</ref> Too many in power now have a vested interest in the continuation of the system of spiraling inflation and debt to stop it, even if it could be stopped.<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-global-economy-burns-while-its-leaders-fiddle Global Economy Burns, While Its Leaders Fiddle], Nomi Prins, ZeroHedge</ref> Whilst the general economy suffers, many retailers go bankrupt, millions are foreclosed upon and are left homeless whilst at the same time hundreds of thousands of houses lie empty and decaying and real average incomes are decimated, perversely, banking bonuses and lobbyists' incomes have skyrocketed and the powers of the Fed and other central banks have increased because of increased regulatory duties despite their previous failures.<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/jan/10/banks-unlimited-bonuses-ministers Banks given go-ahead to pay unlimited bonuses], Guardian UK</ref><ref>[http://www.creditcrunch.co.uk/forum/topic/9253-banking-cheats-will-always-prosper/ Bank Cheats Will Always Prosper], CreditCrunch.co.uk</ref><ref>[http://dailyreckoning.com/the-expanding-industry-of-us-government/ The Expanding Industry of US Government], Bill Bonner</ref> Despite this obvious incompetence and despite repeated failures of policy at the highest levels, anyone advocating solutions beyond those approved within failed mainstream two-party thought is commonly labelled "insane", "crazy" or an "extremist".<ref>[http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/05/28/crazy Who are the real "crazies"?], Glenn Greenwald, Salon.com</ref><ref>[http://lewrockwell.com/orig11/mullen-t4.1.1.html Extremism is the New Race Card], Tom Mullens</ref> Noted gold investor, Jim Sinclair, has publicly stated that the chaos has one cause - today's bankers are little more than irredeemably shallow "sociopaths", unable to grow a conscience and unable to forsee or care about the broader societal consequences of their actions beyond their own inbred groupings.<ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2009/08/31/china-invokes-a-stop-loss-on-otc-derivatives/ OTC Derivatives], Jim Sinclair</ref> Leading British specialists in the pathology of the psychopath, Professors Robert Hare and Paul Babiak suspect the banking industry does indeed attract psychopaths and probably has a much higher proportion of mentally unstable psychopaths as executives compared to other industry sectors, although their comprehensive test (determining the degree of psychopathology in the workplace) has yet to be applied to the banking sector.<ref>[http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/41fe2882-9cbe-11e0-bf57-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1QH9AQOwG Alfred Hitchcock' 'The Bankers'], James Makintosh, FT.com</ref> Michael Price, co-director of the Centre for Culture and Evolutionary Psychology at Brunel University in London agrees that the characteristics that make for good traders and investment bankers are very similar to those that define psychopaths. Therefore, given their likely sociopathic mind-set and culture, provided they themselves are acquiring a greater share of gross national income, many bankers simply do not care about the consequences and will continue to label others as "crazy" and "insane" for so long as it gives them cover to engage in their own criminal conduct and for so long as it permits the in-bred corruption to continue at the highest levels. If the charade collapses and the elite are threatened, they will simply kill anyone who threatens them, as they have done repeatedly in the past.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/lewrockwell-show/2011/02/15/187-confessions-of-an-economic-hit-man/ Confessions of an Economic Hit-Man], John Perkins</ref>

Jim Sinclair suggests that many senior participants in the international banking and derivatives industry should be jailed<ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2010/10/31/jims-mailbox-573/ Debt Burden Being Transferred], Jim Sinclair</ref> to protect the public from repeatedly being "raped"<ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2010/11/21/in-the-news-today-713/ EU Ministers Said To Plan Meeting Over Ireland], Jim Sinclair</ref> by their scams and has the following conclusion on his website:<ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2010/11/09/in-the-news-today-701/ There is no practical solution], Jim Sinclair</ref>

{{quote|For years I have been telling you that there is NO PRACTICAL SOLUTION to the total of all the mistakes that have been made since Roosevelt, in a depression, started it all.}}

Jim Sinclair considers it too late to save the system and recommends people become self-sufficient and buy gold to await the inevitable collapse of the political and economic system and the associated breakdown in the division of labor.<ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2011/04/07/the-system-has-failed/ The System Has Failed], Jim Sinclair</ref>

Max Keiser has stated that the culture of actual ''physical'' sexual coercion and rape allegedly exhibited by such dominant financial figures as former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn and others is simply symptomatic and an outgrowth of a culture of ''financial'' rape and exploitation.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skwj6e9xvH8&feature=player_embedded#at=102 Savers vs Speculators] Quote: Max Keiser: "Munich Re, a financial terrorist responsible for creating ghettos. Financially disadvantaged folks who are on the short end of the 'ghettoization' of the financial terrorist schemes...are forced to wear ''yellow armbands'' and be ''sex slaves'' for their German hosts." Stacy Herbert: "Yes. And be stamped on their arms afterward to prove that they were used." Max Keiser: "Yes. Let's not forget the little serial code-stamp on the wrist as part of the package." Stacy Herbert: "But Max, the story here is that this goes from the very bottom. These are just agents going door-to-door selling insurance products in the financial services industry. The top of the pyramid of the banking Establishment is Dominique Strauss-Kahn." Max Keiser: "This is a culture. Dominique Stauss-Kahn is part of the banking ''culture''. There's Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Lloyd Blankfein, Jamie Dimon, this guy Pandit over at Citigroup, the CEO just paid himself $42 million for stealing $420 million - they have a culture of predator behavior where once you - like a serial killer - once you steal money from people with mortgage fraud or with banking fees that are illegitimate or with collateralized debt obligations you get a taste for serial financial killing. You graduate to these higher crimes and you become a Dominique Strauss-Kahn or a Lloyd Blankfein or a Jamie Dimon where serial financial murder is part of your day-to-day life. That's the culture you live in."</ref> In order to be part of the system, you must be blind to its consequences. Therefore, no one with a conscience can become powerful enough within the system to fundamentally change trajectory from its current catastrophic path.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqyCjR9JEMA&feature=player_embedded Nothing Stops Banks], Matt Taibbi</ref>

Ironically, many victims of rape and abuse come to blame themselves and never fight back, preferring to adapt to a life of abuse. This is called "learned helplessness" in psychological terms. Doug French finds a direct analogy between the dynamics of ''physical'' rape and ''financial'' abuse, with many indebted individuals ''blaming themselves'' for their predicament and refusing to default on their debts, even though it would be in their clear financial interest to do so.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5409/BatteredHomeowner-Syndrome Battered Homeowner Syndrome], Doug French. Quote: 'Lenore Walker is the pioneer in the field of battered-spouse syndrome, with her book The Battered Woman. She believes that experiencing the repeated cycles of violence can result in a spouse developing "learned helplessness," a psychological state identified by psychologist Martin Seligman. The abused believe they lack control over their situation and are convinced escape is impossible. Their motivation to escape diminishes as they become increasingly passive.

Walker explains that the constant cycles of violence and reconciliation result in the following beliefs:

The abused

believes that the violence was his or her fault,
has an inability to place the responsibility for violence elsewhere,
fears for his/her life and/or the lives of his/her children, and
has an irrational belief that the abuser is omnipresent and omniscient.

These beliefs are strikingly similar to what underwater homeowners feel.

The abused believes that the violence was his or her fault. "It was my own fault for buying a house at the top of the market in the first place and borrowing too much money to do it." "I made my bed, now I must sleep in it, no matter how much financial pain it causes me."

The abused has an inability to place the responsibility for violence elsewhere. "It's nobody's fault but my own," say people with 20/20 hindsight. "Nobody made me sign the mortgage. I'm so stupid. The bank doesn't have to negotiate with me."

The abused fears for his/her life and/or the lives of his/her children. "My credit will be ruined. I won't be able to rent an apartment. My low credit score may keep me from getting a job. I don't want to uproot the kids and have to admit that daddy and mommy made a financial mistake."

The abused has an irrational belief that the abuser is omnipresent and omniscient. The abuser in this case is the lender or owner of the mortgage. The borrower fears that these lenders can take everything they have, leave them with nothing, and make their lives miserable forever.

At the same time, default moralizers reinforce these feelings. They have no sympathy for those making a poor housing and mortgage choice. A person must suffer the consequences of their actions, it's claimed.'</ref>

John Perkins, author of ''Economic Hitman'', has openly stated that the U.S. government is merely a front runner for major corporate interests and has brutally assassinated leaders of countries where reform has been attempted.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmU9R-BaFIQ Max Keiser Interview with John Perkins]</ref> The zealotry and extremism against genuine and honest monetary reformers on the one hand and the payoffs and largesse given to unprincipled and corrupt supporters of the current monetary regime on the other ensure there is no path of reform left for those potential leaders with a conscience.<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/more-political-capture-goldman-hires-top-republican-fed-transparency-foe-spends-more-time-se More Political Capture], ZeroHedge</ref>

Dimitry Orlov, author of ''Reinventing Collapse'', has written extensively about the striking similarities between the collapse of the USSR and the multiple environmental, economic and social crises facing the USA. He also predicts economic, political and social collapse in much of the West and in particular predicts that peak oil will result in some countries being cut off completely from oil supplies resulting in sudden social upheaval and starvation and believes that it is too late for any kind of meaningful reform:<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLdwzcA9ZdM&feature=player_embedded#at=997 Dimitry Orlov Interview with Max Keiser - ''Reinventing Collapse'']</ref>

{{quote|(US military adverturism overseas) is just a very striking example of being unable to stop, even though what you're doing isn't actually working...

By demolishing as much of the social infrastructure as exists in the country... you will end up with an even less literate population that will be unable to oppose the government, unable to stand up for themselves and demand that their rights and needs be met...

People who think they can somehow skirt the financial system are wrong. They will be dominated by the Bernankes of this world and others. There isn't really a way out except to make do without money. And that's kind of what I try to explain to people is: Reduce your needs for any kind of interaction with the official economy and you will do better.}}

Even if worldwide economic catastrophe cannot be averted at this stage of the metastasizing financial crisis, choices will still need to be made by each government in response to the crisis.

On a national level, for unsustainably indebted nations, the simplest and cleanest solution for any debt-fuelled crisis is to [[default]].<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/02/massive-rout-in-irish-elections.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MishsGlobalEconomicTrendAnalysis+%28Mish%27s+Global+Economic+Trend+Analysis%29 Default Best Option for Ireland], MISH</ref> Bankers generally despise this solution because it (a) reduces the value of their asset (debt-based government bonds) (b) reduces or even destroys their income stream (interest on bonds) and therefore may affect their retained earnings in future (and their credit rating and compliance with Basel III rules on Tier 1 capital) (c) can result in a systemic crisis as many banks will be using that government debt to satisfy their liquidity requirements under Basel III (which requires a minimum proportion of "liquid" assets to be held by the banks - and those "assets" mainly consist of government bonds) and (d) signals to other countries that it is possible to escape debt without consequence and so potentially reduces the value of government debt in surrounding countries.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/05/trichet-goes-ballistic-walks-out-of.html Trichet Goes Ballistic], MISH</ref> Self-interested bankers are therefore often desperate to avoid government debt default, and generally much prefer an economy to be strangled by debt rather than be freed of it.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/05/trichet-goes-ballistic-walks-out-of.html Trichet Goes Ballistic], MISH</ref>

As an example of the consequences of the two alternatives, Iceland did not try to save its private bankers but instead permitted them to default on private bond payments. Ireland on the other hand guaranteed private bank debt and in doing so subjected the taxpayers of that country to decades of payments for debts that were not incurred on their behalf or for their benefit. Many commentators have observed that in 2010 [[Iceland]] recovered much faster than other countries such as [[Ireland]].<ref>[http://www.smh.com.au/business/iceland-bounces-back-as-pain-leads-to-gain-20101208-18pvm.html Iceland Bounces Back]</ref><ref>[http://www.vanityfair.com/business/features/2011/03/michael-lewis-ireland-201103?printable=true When Irish Eyes Are Crying], Michael Lewis</ref> In his extensive analysis of the aftermath of the banking panic in Ireland, Michael Lewis wrote of his puzzlement that the Irish government thought it was beyond the bounds of acceptable political discourse to consider default on privately issued Irish bank bonds, when Iceland successfully and easily defaulted and only after this did they nationalize their banking system.<ref>[http://www.vanityfair.com/business/features/2011/03/michael-lewis-ireland-201103?printable=true When Irish Eyes Are Crying], Michael Lewis</ref>

In the absence of outright default, time is the only other remedy for monetary crises (allowing re-inflation of the markets through the gradual injection of new [[debt money]] into the system through new borrowings). It is a rare "[[black swan]]" event for a cluster of private businesses or banks to default at the same time and governments often hope that this will not happen again once it has happened already. However, if the crisis is one of national solvency, waiting passively for recovery may only delay - and exacerbate - the final catastrophe as the debt-based monetary system pushes all businesses slowly towards the next crisis by confusing and misleading market participants with false price signals, particularly as they relate to interest rates. Once the next crisis hits because of even more confused price signals due to government interference in the market for money, time is something panicked financiers and investors are least likely to want to give up when the threat is never getting their [[money]] out of the imploding investment [[bubble]]. In extreme cases [[bank]]s could set up "independent" corporate investment vehicles to buy the assets associated with the [[bad debt]],<ref>[http://www.dealbreaker.com/2007/10/citigroup_looks_to_lend_money.php Citigroup looks to lend money]</ref> thereby allowing [[borrower]]s to liquidate their investments and allow time for the markets to re-inflate. Alternatively, these "sour" loans, that have gone bad through too much debt overwhelming the markets, could be dumped or "hidden" on the central bank's balance sheet, and swapped for more secure government debt (financed through compulsorily acquired taxes, which are immune from the risk of private bankruptcy). However the holding costs involved in these measures would be extremely high and would not guarantee that the losses could be averted if no new gullible investors could be found to offload these distressed assets.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8w6Nx2rfiE A Wikileaks for the Fed?]</ref> More fundamentally, these short-term "parachutes" used after bubbles burst do not save ordinary borrowers from [[foreclosure]] and [[bankruptcy]], nor do they address the pernicious long-term dysfunctional aspects of [[fractional reserve banking]] described above. These problems are temporarily averted, only to be dealt with yet again by the next generation of indebted governments and peoples.<ref>[http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18431.htm The Era of Global Financial Instability, by Mike Whitney]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8w6Nx2rfiE A Wikileaks for the Fed?]</ref>

Given these repeated financial crises arising from the fiat monetary system, many [[monetary reform]]ers predict that there will inevitably be widespread default or hyperinflation or depression - or most likely all three simultaneously in what Ludwig von Mises predicted would be a "final and total catastrophe" of our unsustainable, Ponzi-like, fiat monetary system.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5041/Whats-Behind-the-Currency-War What's Behind the Currency War], Anthony Mueller</ref> After this "catastrophe"<ref name="Landis_Reprieve">[http://www.goldensextant.com/SavingtheSystem.html Fiat's Reprieve: Saving the System, 1979-1987], Robert K. Landis, August 21, 2004.</ref> in which a significant proportion of the population may die through starvation or war<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/20-signs-horrific-global-food-crisis-coming?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+zerohedge%2Ffeed+%28zero+hedge+-+on+a+long+enough+timeline%2C+the+survival+rate+for+everyone+drops+to+zero%29 20 Signs], ZeroHedge</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/adams-m/adams-m15.1.html US Agriculture Collapse]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26605.html Population Reduction], Chris Kitze</ref><ref>[http://www.rickackerman.com/2011/03/getting-the-jump-on-a-possible-food-shortage/ Getting the Jump on Food Shortages], Marilyn Ackerman</ref> a spontaneous market-induced return to the [[gold standard]] is anticipated to be the most likely result.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMngK0t5WkY Mike Maloney interview with Max Keiser], The Keiser Report</ref><ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/02/us-dollar-about-to-lose-reserve.html US Dollar About to Lose Reserve Currency Status: Fact or Fiction?], MISH</ref> Other possible solutions following the catastrophe include a return to legally enforced full reserve banking combined with the issuance government-issued debt-free [[fiat currency]], or [[free banking]] and the issuance of private coinage and private money. If these solutions are not initiated soon, it can be expected that a complete financial "meltdown" will ensue at some stage, as environmental crises and destruction of arable land slow GDP growth in developing nations and fewer young people in developed economies can be found who are willing to go into debt in sufficient magnitude to pay off the debts that have already been accumulated.<ref name="Bonner_Swan" /><ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /> As extreme inequality increases, [[foreclosure]]s mount and financial crises repeatedly erupt, many believe a political crisis will eventually result in calls for revolution and fundamental [[monetary reform]].<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV_gwvSibmM&feature=player_embedded#at=510 Max Keiser on Alex Jones]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMngK0t5WkY Mike Maloney interview with Max Keiser], The Keiser Report</ref><ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /> However, as noted above, some commentators consider that it is already too late to avoid a combined financial, environmental and demographic catastrophe even if reform is now attempted.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/03/oil-prices-are-double-edged-sword-peak.html Peak Everything?], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.population-security.org/28-APP2.html NSSM 200 Directive], Henry A. Kissinger, April 24, 1974</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KInB2rvgaY&feature=fvsr Eco Eco Disaster], Keiser Report</ref>

On-going, worsening, [[debt]]-created crises in the economy and society (and the unsustainable damage to the [[environment]] caused by debt-created [[overconsumption]]) are likely to turn monetary and economic policies either to the extreme left or to the extreme right, as there are a number of competing solutions to the debt-based monetary "problem".<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqjyk2cx5WU&feature=player_embedded#at=696 Taste of Freedom E126], Max Keiser, Keiser Report</ref>

===Libertarians, Austrians and commodity money===

[[Libertarians]] and [[Austrian School]] supporters envision a voluntary society of free markets, [[free banking]], small government<ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/thebearslairview?art_id=10473 Models of Capitalism], Michael Hutchinson</ref> and the abolition of [[legal tender laws]], allowing money backed by a free market [[gold standard]] or [[silver standard]] to come back in circulation.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27532.html Why Monetary Expansion Must Stop], Patrick Barron</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26339.html Silver and Opium], Antal E. Fekete</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25212.html The Faults of FRB], Thorsten Polleit</ref> A necessary pre-condition in establishing a true free-market order would be the complete abolition of all legal tender laws and the abolition of monopolistic central banking, including repeal of the ''Federal Reserve Act'' of 1913.<ref>[http://www.drschoon.com/articles%5CSilverGoldAndTheLastAmericanHeroJFK.pdf Silver, Gold and the Last American Hero JFK], Darryl Robert Schoon. Extracted quote from Ron Paul: "The United States Constitution grants to Congress the authority to coin money and regulate the value of the currency. The Constitution does not give Congress the authority to delegate control over monetary policy to a central bank. Furthermore, the Constitution certainly does not empower the federal government to erode the American standard of living via an inflationary monetary policy." Note: Another argument – that the power to "coin" money precludes issuance of paper money, and that the government must redeem paper money with "precious metal" – was dismissed as frivolous in ''Milam v. United States'', citing the Legal Tender Cases.</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/73833.html End the Fed], Freedom Watch</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4860 Money: Sound and Unsound], Mark Thornton commentary on Joseph Salerno's book</ref><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/thebearslairview?art_id=10471 Gold Standard Renaissance?]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article24632.html The Gold Standard Never Dies], [[Lew Rockwell]]</ref><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/thebearslairview?art_id=10471 Gold Standard], Michael Hutchinson</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Money-Bank-Credit-and-Economic-Cycles-P290C0.aspx Money, Bank Credit and Economic Cycles], Jesus Huerta de Soto, Mises Institute ISBN: 978-1-933550-39-8</ref><ref>[http://radio.goldseek.com/griffin04.10.10.php Goldseek interview] with [[G. Edward Griffin]]</ref><ref>See also these [[Murray Rothbard]] articles: [http://www.mises.org/money.asp What Has Government Done to Our Money?], [http://www.mises.org/story/1829 The Case for the 100% Gold Dollar]; [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/cartelization.pdf The Fed as Cartel], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard191.html Private Coinage], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard190.html Repudiate the National Debt]; [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard181.html Taking Money Back], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard163.html Anatomy of the Bank Run], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard128.html Money and the Individual]</ref> Some Libertarians would also support experimentation with [[full reserve banking]],<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4860 Money: Sound and Unsound], Mark Thornton commentary on Joseph Salerno's book</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Money-Bank-Credit-and-Economic-Cycles-P290C0.aspx Money, Bank Credit and Economic Cycles], Jesus Huerta de Soto, Mises Institute ISBN: 978-1-933550-39-8</ref><ref>[http://www.mises.org/Books/mysteryofbanking.pdf Murray Rothbard, ''The Mystery of Banking'']</ref> recognizing that when fractional-reserve banking is combined with the gold standard a strong cyclical bias (and the systematic transfer of real wealth to the banking system) is normally inevitable.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5174/Life-with-the-Fed-Sunshine-and-Lollipops Life With The Fed], Thomas Woods</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5185/The-Need-for-100-Reserves The Need for 100% Reserves], Frank D. Graham</ref> Those Libertarians who support full reserve banking would strongly support more flexible and forgiving bankruptcy laws in a fractional reserve banking environment, recognizing that no stigma should be attached to bankruptcy given the anti-Libertarian "unjust acquisition" of real wealth implicit in central banking, compulsory legal tender laws, fractional reserve banking and taxation.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4860 Money: Sound and Unsound], Mark Thornton commentary on Joseph Salerno's book</ref><ref name="Repudiating the National Debt">[http://mises.org/article.aspx?Id=1423 Repudiating the National Debt], Murray Rothbard</ref><ref>[http://www.mises.org/Books/mysteryofbanking.pdf Murray Rothbard, ''The Mystery of Banking'']</ref><ref>[http://gonzalolira.blogspot.com/2010/12/want-to-ruin-your-own-country-assume.html Want to Ruin Your Country?]</ref>

In the absence of sound money, over time private corporations become mere extensions of powerful government and banking fiat.<ref name="death"/><ref>[http://mises.org/rothbard/newlibertywhole.asp For A New Liberty], Murray Rothbard</ref> Libertarians such as Murray Rothbard argue that in such a toxic monetary environment resource allocation is perverted by some or all of the following factors: corrupt alliances between so-called private corporations and regulators; increasingly intensive business structures to suit the needs of a concentrated and cartelized banking system; and the constant overriding of small communities and local government planning with central government directives to satisfy the needs of big business.<ref name="death"/> In such a corrupted monetary system, libertarians argue that financial and man-made environmental crises cannot legitimately be blamed on "private" corporations but rather blame must fall squarely on the true source of the problem - centralized government control of credit and money, which in turn creates massive distortions in scarce resource allocation, with environmental crises being the predictable consequence.<ref name="death"/><ref>[http://mises.org/rothbard/newlibertywhole.asp For A New Liberty], Murray Rothbard</ref><ref>[http://maxkeiser.com/2011/06/11/ote114-on-the-edge-with-peter-schiff/ Peter Schiff Interview with Max Keiser]</ref>

Regarding the current accumulation of government bonds and private debt, some Libertarians believe that the creation of the [[Federal Reserve System|Federal Reserve]] under the [[Federal Reserve Act]] of 1913 was unconstitutional and some Libertarians consider that at least some of this accumulated debt should be canceled or forgiven ''prior'' to a return to the gold standard in recognition of its fundamental illegitimacy.<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/antal-feketes-open-letter-ron-paul-impeach-bernanke Antal Fekete's Letter to Ron Paul]</ref><ref name="Repudiating the National Debt"/><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zMv4Offm_8&feature=player_embedded#at=1341 Max Keiser Interview with Alex Jones]</ref> Arguably this would be supported by the "just acquisition" jurisprudence of legal philosopher [[Robert Nozick]] and Libertarian advocate [[Murray Rothbard]].<ref name="Repudiating the National Debt"/> As Murry Rothbard states:<ref>[http://angloaustria.blogspot.com/2010/05/quote-of-day-on-repudiation.html The Ethics of Liberty], Murray Rothbard</ref>

{{quote|Many libertarians fall into confusion on specific relations with the State, even when they concede the general immorality or criminality of State actions or interventions. Thus, there is the question of default, or more widely, repudiation of government debt. Many libertarians assert that the government is morally bound to pay its debts, and that therefore default or repudiation must be avoided. The problem here is that these libertarians are analogizing from the perfectly proper thesis that private persons or institutions should keep their contracts and pay their debts. But government has no money of its own, and payment of its debt means that the taxpayers are further coerced into paying bondholders. Such coercion can never be licit from the libertarian point of view. For not only does increased taxation mean increased coercion and aggression against private property, but the seemingly innocent bondholder appears in a very different light when we consider that the purchase of a government bond is simply making an investment in the future loot from the robbery of taxation.}}

In late 2010, financial commentator Max Keiser started the [[Buy Silver Crash JP Morgan Campaign 2010]] in an attempt to expose the flaws underlying the [[fractional reserve banking]] system.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zMv4Offm_8&feature=player_embedded#at=1341 Max Keiser Interview with Alex Jones]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IKbAmsGey0&feature=player_embedded#at=66 Bob Chapman Silver Predictions]</ref><ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/dec/02/jp-morgan-silver-short-selling-crash Want JP Morgan to crash? Buy silver], Max Keiser</ref>

====Free Banking and Full Reserve Banking====

On the issue of the required level of bank reserves, Austro-libertarians are sharply divided on the optimal solution to eliminate the parasitic and destructive forces inherent in fractional reserve banking.<ref>[http://mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae13_4_2.pdf Fractional Reserve Free Banking: Some Quibbles], Philip Bagus and David Howden</ref><ref name="Cochran_Free">John P. Cochran. [http://mises.org/daily/4898 ''Free Banking''], ''Mises Daily'', review of ''Free Banking: Theory, History, and a Laissez-Faire Model'' by Larry Sechrest</ref>

Some Austrian scholars advocate "free banking", where banks are legally permitted to engage in fractional-reserve banking activities ''provided'' they comply with the standard laws against fraud and are not supported in any way against the possibility of bank runs and are forced into bankruptcy should they not be able to pay their debts as and when they fall due.<ref name="Cochran_Free" />

Advocates of this system of banking include Lawrence White, Steven Horwitz, George Selgin, and Kevin Dowd, amongst others.<ref name="Cochran_Free" /> F.A. Hayek also advocated the de-nationalization of money production and implicitly supported a free banking financial system in some of his works on monetary reform.<ref>[http://www.mises.org/store/Free-Market-Monetary-System-A-P553.aspx?AFID=14 ''Free Market Money System''] by [[F.A. Hayek]]</ref>

Other Austrian scholars advocate "[[full reserve banking]]", considering fractional-reserve banking and the associated issuance of irredeemable paper money to be inherently fraudulent, unethical, unjust, disruptive and dysfunctional, akin to embezzlement and counterfeiting.<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/citizen-sues-atlanta-fed-based-allegation-its-issuing-federal-reserve-notes-it-has-no-intent Citizen Sues Atlanta Fed], ZeroHedge</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae13_4_2.pdf Fractional Reserve Free Banking: Some Quibbles], Philip Bagus and David Howden</ref><ref>See for example these [[Murray Rothbard]] articles: [http://www.mises.org/money.asp What Has Government Done to Our Money?], [http://www.mises.org/story/1829 The Case for the 100% Gold Dollar]; [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/cartelization.pdf The Fed as Cartel], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard191.html Private Coinage], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard190.html Repudiate the National Debt]; [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard181.html Taking Money Back], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard163.html Anatomy of the Bank Run], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard128.html Money and the Individual]</ref> [[Full reserve banking]] would require banks to retain in reserve all deposits that are legally available for immediate withdrawal, and permit lending only from longer-term deposits.

Advocates of this system of banking include [[Murray Rothbard]],<ref name="The Mystery of Banking">[http://www.mises.org/Books/mysteryofbanking.pdf ''The Mystery of Banking''], Murray Rothbard</ref><ref name="The Case for a 100% Gold Dollar">[http://mises.org/story/1829 The Case for a 100% Gold Dollar], Murray Rothbard</ref> [[Jesus Huerta de Soto]],<ref>[http://www.mises.org/books/desoto.pdf ''Money, Bank Credit, and Economic Cycles''], Jesus Huerta de Soto, First English edition (2006), pp. 98-114</ref> [[Jörg Guido Hülsmann]],<ref>[http://mises.org/media/4014 The Economics of Legal Tender Laws], and [[Jorg Guido Hulsmann]] (includes detailed commentary on [[central banking]], [[inflation]] and [[fractional reserve banking|FRB]])</ref><ref name=FBFB>[http://mises.org/journals/rae/pdf/RAE9_1_1.pdf Free Banking and the Free Bankers], Jörg Guido Hülsmann, Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics (Vol. 9, No. 1)</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/lewrockwell-show/2011/01/04/181-hyperinflation-ahead/ Interview with Jörg Guido Hülsmann], The Lew Rockwell Show</ref> amongst others.<ref>[http://mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae13_4_2.pdf Fractional Reserve Free Banking: Some Quibbles], Philip Bagus and David Howden</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4880 The Faults of Fractional-Reserve Banking], Thorsten Polleit</ref>

Most recently, in late 2010, two British MP's, Douglas Carswell and Steven Baker, sought to introduce legislation into the British Parliament that would allow depositors to decide if their money should be lent out and for what period.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/8004540/The-radical-reform-that-would-end-boom-and-bust-in-banking.html ''The Radical Reform in Banking''], Toby Baxendale, ''Daily Telegraph'', 15 Sept 2010</ref> If this legislative reform were to pass, British depositors would have the option to elect to save their money in full reserve bank accounts.

===Debt-free money===

The concept of debt-free money is most notably represented by [[Michael Rowbotham]], [[Stephen Zarlenga]] of the American Monetary Institute and [[Ellen Hodgson Brown]]. They advocate various forms of "pure" fiat money issuance by government, without the need for the government to issue a bond to print or issue the fiat money.

Currently virtually all money issued in modern economies is sourced from debt; in other words, it is "debt money". "Debt money" is money created in parallel with debt or [[Credit (finance)|credit]] via the process of [[fractional reserve banking]].

"Debt-free money" is a "true" or "pure" fiat currency issued by the [[Treasury]] of a [[central government]], where there is no requirement for its eventual return as a condition of its creation (except by way of payment of taxes).<ref name="death"/> It is argued by Rowbotham and others that this would allow for the substantial lowering of tax rates, would allow public works projects to be funded cheaply, and would stimulate economic development, if the fiat money is spent sensibly on inflation-lowering long-term capital projects.<ref name="death"/>

====Properties====
According to its proponents, government-issued debt-free fiat currency (such as debt-free notes and coins) can circulate perpetually in the economy as "stable" money and although not as secure as [[hard currency]], government-issued debt-free notes and coins (such as United States Notes and silver certificates) do not have the same effects of debt-based money.<ref>[http://www.entrewave.com/freebooks/docs/a_pdfs/gnhm.pdf Honest Money]</ref> It should be noted however that fiat currency can be a source of [[hyperinflation]] if its production is not controlled, as the government has the potential to issue unlimited amounts of fiat currency - ''provided'' it is accepted as "money" by the private banking system.<ref>[http://mises.org/books/shorthistorypapermoney.pdf A Short History of Paper Money in the United States], William M. Gouge, Mises Institute</ref> Notes and coins in circulation (being defined as [[Money supply#M0|M0]]) now account for a tiny fraction of the total M3 [[money supply]] in all developed, debt-based [[capitalism|capitalist]] economies (and M0 is also generally less than 10% of the total [[Money supply#M2|M2]] money supply in most developed economies).<ref>[http://www.dollardaze.org/blog/?post_id=00216 Global Money Supply Ratios]</ref>

Instead of [[money]] being created "indirectly" and "furtively" at the point of loan creation by the private banking system, with periodic bailouts to already-rich bankers, it would be created directly and openly by the democratically elected government and issued to its citizenry by way of instruction to the private banking system.

Michael Rowbotham and Ellen Hodgson Brown both argue in their books that this would not raise consumer prices (or at least would not be as inflationary or as dysfunctional as the present system).<ref>[http://www.webofdebt.com/articles/hyperinflation.php Weimar Hyperinflation], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref> This would also reduceoverconsumption and the associated environmental damage associated with debt-based consumerism. It would also give individuals the free time to engage once again in non-marketable religious, artistic and recreational activities if they chose to do so.<ref name="death"/>

It is to be expected that these policies would be violently opposed by the private banking "elite", as it would render impotent their control over the money supply, dissipating this crucial decision-making power away from its current power base. It would also be likely to reduce [[economic growth]], dramatically increase the cost of labor and, potentially, result in an exacerbation of price inflation and malinvestment.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/12/fatally-flawed-end-fed-proposal-from.html Fatally Flawed End the Fed Proposal], MISH</ref> However, Rowbotham argues that this proposal would address the problem of inequality inherent in a debt-based monetary system and reduce the devastating impact of personal [[bankruptcy]] and allow individual citizens to quickly recover from financial hardship.<ref name="death"/> He also argues that this social security measure (and government spending in general) would not have to be paid for by future generations from future streams of [[income tax]].<ref name="death"/>

====Related proposals====
Ex-U.S. Treasury Department analyst Richard C. Cook also supports the issuance of debt-free money and zero-interest credit by the central government and has provided a detailed blueprint of monetary reform recommendations to transition to a debt-free money supply.<ref name="marketoracle.co.uk"/>

[[Stephen Zarlenga]] and [[Ellen Hodgson Brown]] also call for the nationalization of the private banking system once the full losses on the banks' portfolios are recognized.<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ellen-brown/restoring-economic-sovere_b_823697.html Restoring Economic Sovereignty], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref><ref>[http://www.webofdebt.com/articles/new_theory.php Time for a New Theory of Money]</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/01/steve-keen-responds-to-world-economic.html Exponential Growth], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.webofdebt.com/articles/force_nationalization.php Foreclosuregate could force bank nationalization]</ref><ref>[http://webofdebt.wordpress.com/2010/12/22/austerity-fails-in-euroland-time-for-some-%e2%80%9cdeficit-easing%e2%80%9d/ Austerity Fails in Europe], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref>

Brown also supported "[[Quantitative easing|QE2]]" - which she described as a necessary and desirable funding of government spending via money printing rather than by the indirect means of issuing of interest-bearing government bonds, which simply allows private bankers to profit from costless money creation.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article24443.html QE2 and the Looming Threat of a Crippling Debt Service]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article24719.html QE2 and Hyperinflation], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref>

[[Michael Rowbotham]] seeks the cancellation of "unjust" debts (such as [[third world debt]]), but would also support the re-introduction of strongly redistributive tax policies involving higher financial transaction taxes (such as a [[Tobin tax]]), [[land tax]]es and [[inheritance tax]]es, and, crucially and most importantly, a [[social security]] [[safety net]] involving a guaranteed minimum [[social credit|debt-free income]] (sourced from government-issued debt-free money independent of any central bank) for all citizens in the debt-based economy. Under this proposal, every adult citizen would be given a livable debt-free income transferred electronically into their [[bank account]], simply by virtue of their [[citizen]]ship. They could then use this debt-free money to pay off their [[mortgage]]s or to live, debt-free, without being compelled to work as a [[wage slavery|wage slave]] in the market economy if they chose not to. The government would finance these payments simply by ordering the private banks to accept their electronic instructions as legal tender. It would therefore not result in the expansion of [[government debt]].<ref name="death"/>

Many monetary reformers who call on the government to take back the money creation from debt-sourced banks also call for full reserve banking to remove the bank's alleged "embezzlement" and "counterfeiting" abilities.<ref name="marketoracle.co.uk"/><ref>[http://www.monetary.org/ AMI website, calling on full-reserve banking]</ref>

====Criticisms====
In late 2010, [[Ellen Hodgson Brown]] and Austrian School commentator [[Gary North]] engaged in an intense debate over the direction of [[monetary reform]], with gold-standard supporter [[Gary North]] accusing Brown of going down a path that inevitably leads to the economics of fascism and hyperinflation.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north908.html Criticism of Ellen Hodgson Brown]</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north912.html Ellen Betrays], Gary North</ref> Government deficit spending is not a substitute for private consumption due to the inability of coercive goverment to invest rationally long-term, given the [[economic calculation problem]] inherent in socialized economies. North argues that it is not possible to trust a coercive, non-market entity - government - to limit its spending in circumstances where pure fiat money is in the hands of politicians and that [[inflation]], being an invisible tax, is much harder to resist than regular taxes. Greedy, corrupt, short-sighted politicians could buy off special interest groups to get elected and the general public could only watch on the sidelines as the purchasing power of their dollars steadily declines; this decline would be blamed on currency speculators and eventually foreign currencies (including "natural" monies such as gold and silver and copper) would have to be banned and confiscated from the public to ensure continued use of depreciating fiat.<ref name="North_Congress">Gary North. [http://www.garynorth.com/public/7030.cfm "Economic Error #15: Congress Can Safely Be Trusted to Manage the Money System Without Any Price Inflation."]. Referenced 2011-02-24.</ref> The fundamental error of Brown's analysis, according to North, is that Brown expects the source of the problem - corrupt governments bought and paid for by bankers - to be the source of the solution. She calls for a move away from war spending, whilst recoginizing that the current fiat monetary system favors government spending on war.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28831.html More Efficient Ways to Stimulate Economy], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref> To date, she has yet to reconcile these inconsistencies in her writings.

[[Mike Shedlock]] agrees with the abolition of fractional reserve banking, but criticizes the concept on similar grounds as North. Commenting on a bill to end the Fed introduced by Representative [[Dennis Kucinich]], he wrote: "Neither sound money nor the free market comes from printing money into existence. Arguably the only thing worse than the Fed printing money out of thin air is Congress printing money out of thin air for the purpose of full employment and/or any other absurd ideas Congress has."<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25175.html Kucinich's End the Fed campaign fatally flawed], Mike Shedlock.</ref>

===Left-leaning ideas===
Some left-leaning [[social democrats]] would also support ''rising'' wages after a financial crisis (rather than a reduction in real wages which only prolongs the depression), the taxing of the banking system and the enforcement of strongly redistributive income and [[land tax]]es to ensure the financially dispossessed are "replenished" with income. They would also support a [[social security]] [[safety net]] involving the provision of unemployment benefits and government-supplied free medical care, education and other essential services and [[public goods]].<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4yVhxDTom0 Steve Keen interview with Max Keiser]</ref> It is to be expected however that, without the issuance of debt-free [[fiat currency]], this system would result in the persistent, exponential, accumulation of [[government debt]], financed by the [[private banking]] system by the issuance of [[government bonds]]. If not properly managed, this could result in a progressively higher tax burden and may result in higher [[interest rates]] in the long term, as financiers require higher [[interest rates]] to lend to the increasingly indebted central government. Without the issuance of [[debt-free money]] these policies can be self-defeating, with the net result simply being that a larger stream of guaranteed income goes to the [[private bank]]ing system via the issuance of interest-bearing [[government bonds]] (which are purchased by the [[private banks]] "out of nothing" through [[fractional reserve banking]] techniques). This [[government debt]] must then be financed in perpetuity by compulsorily acquired [[tax]]es from future generations.

It could be argued that the early success of extreme so-called "right-wing" (but socialist government-guided) [[fascism]] in [[Nazi Germany]] and [[Italy]] in the period after [[World War I]] was a response to the economic chaos created by the debt-based monetary system in early 20th century [[Europe]]. Some of the economic policies introduced by [[Hitler]] and [[Mussolini]] were in direct response to the economic collapse and social [[anarchy]] caused by soaring government and personal debt levels in both countries in the post-[[Versailles Treaty]] era, and (indirectly) arose from the writings of [[Silvio Gesell]] and others on the nature of the problems associated with a debt-based [[monetary system]]. Although many [[historian]]s justifiably criticize many of the non-economic policies of the [[fascist]] governments of [[Germany]] and [[Italy]] during this period, the [[economics of fascism]] seemed to provide a degree of [[prosperity]] to the populace, and their stated objective of restoring economic and social order during the pre-[[World War II]] era.<ref>[http://www.webofdebt.com/articles/bankrupt-germany.php How a Bankrupt Germany Solved its Economic Problems], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref> These economic policies and their results are the subject of vigorous debate even today.<ref name="North_National_Great">Gary North. [http://www.garynorth.com/public/7009.cfm "Historical Error #27: Hitler's National Socialist Economic Policies Ended the Great Depression in Germany."], ''GaryNorth.Com''. Referenced 2011-02-24.</ref> (See also [[Inflation in Nazi Germany]].)

Similarly it could be argued that [[socialism]] and [[communism]] were movements inspired by the inequalities caused by the intense (and in [[Karl Marx]]'s view unsustainable) concentrations of monetary wealth, power and influence inherent in the practice of [[fractional reserve banking]] in a [[laissez-faire]], [[monopoly]] [[capitalist]] environment (particularly when [[fractional reserve banking]] is combined with a [[gold standard]] or other [[hard currency]] [[monetary system]]).<ref>[http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/02/steve-keen-roving-cavaliers-of-credit.html ''Roving Cavaliers of Credit'', Steve Keen, with commentary from Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism]</ref>

The [[communist]]/[[socialist]] solution to the problem of [[fractional reserve banking]] is simple: re-enfranchising workers through widespread organization and unionism, complete removal (and if necessary, violent non-democratic removal) of the allegedly "parasitic" financial, capitalist and upper classes, wholesale repudiation of [[government debt]] resulting in complete debt [[default]]; forced [[expropriation]] of [[land]] and wealth from the [[upper classes]] to the dispossessed and needy [[working classes]]; [[nationalization]] of the [[private banks]] (which has required armed [[coup]]s by the [[military]] in some past [[revolution]]s); and the return of the banking function from a dominant, speculative to a subordinate, administrative institution, where the banking system is reduced to a subservient arm of the centralized [[Leviathan]]. In this system, government-owned banks are directed by government policy; often provide different kinds of loans to different industry sectors at different interest rates depending on the perceived "needs" of the economy and the community; normally have a significant proportion of [[non-performing loan]]s due to weak or non-existent [[bankruptcy]] laws; and periodically "forgive" failed debts in recognition of the impossibility of some businesses in paying this debt money back. In addition, individuals are prohibited from possessing large property holdings, in excess of their individual needs.

It is to be expected that the [[profitability]] of the government-owned banking system would be more stable - but dramatically lower - than that in a debt-based [[capitalist]] economy. It is also to be expected that a significantly higher misallocation of resources could occur in this system, where lending decisions are "infected" by political considerations and are not made on the basis of expected [[return on investment]]. The risk of [[corruption]] in the banking system is also expected to be higher where there is no separation between the political and monetary systems in an economy. Market-oriented [[monetary reform]]ers and [[neo-classical]] economists therefore do not support [[nationalization]] of the [[private banking]] system.

It should be noted that partial [[nationalization]] of the [[private bank]]ing system would only be temporary, as any remaining [[private banks]] could still engage in unlimited [[fractional reserve banking]] and facilitate the eventual acquisition and control of any strategic assets in a partially socialized economic system. It is to be expected that in the absence of complete [[nationalization]] of the banking system, the [[private bank]]ing system would eventually dominate the financial system in any nominally [[socialist]] society.

===Status under current systems===
Whatever their political leanings, nearly all [[monetary reform]]ers agree that the current financial and economic system imposed on the populace by governments worldwide, involving the perpetuation of government-protected private banks (organizations legally permitted to engage in unlimited and inherently speculative fractional-reserve banking activities during boom times, with recourse to monopoly central banks - and in some cases corrupt governments<ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/thebearslairview?art_id=10513 The Evils of Crony Capitalism], Martin Hutchinson</ref><ref>[http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/ambroseevans-pritchard/100008812/irelands-debt-servitude/ Ireland's Debt Servitude], Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, UK Telegraph</ref> - to provide bail outs of fiat money during downturns), "deregulated" labor markets (which have the effect of increasing the marketization and commodification of human activity), strictly enforced bankruptcy laws (which permit the periodic transfer of assets from failed [[bankrupt]] investors caught at the end of "Ponzi-scheme" cycles to the private banks and their associates) and [[personal income tax]] (which, combined with periodic economic collapses, dispossesses the majority of the populace from their accumulated income and wealth and transfers this wealth to the owners of illicit government bonds) amounts to an inherently unstable, unjust and dysfunctional financial system resulting in environmentally damaging over-consumption, the systematic and irredeemable destruction of fertile [[arable land]] and the government-sponsored (and ultimately unsustainable) oppression of the indebted, impoverished and economically enslaved majority.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4893 ''The Ethics of Money Production''], Jorg Guido Hulsmann</ref>

==See also==
* [[Austrian Business Cycle Theory]]
* [[Central bank]]
* [[Monetary reform]]
* [[Murray Rothbard]]
* [[Ron Paul]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Links==
*[http://econpapers.repec.org/paper/wpawuwpma/0203005.htm Fractional Reserve Banking as Economic Parasitism]
*[http://www.prosperityuk.com/prosperity/links/links.html Monetary Reform websites]
*[http://www.relfe.com/plus_5_.html I want the Earth Plus 5%]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVkFb26u9g8 Money As Debt (videoplay animation)]
*[http://www.financialarmageddon.com/ Financial Armageddon]
*[http://jsmineset.com/ Jim Sinclair's MineSet]
*[http://www.lewrockwell.com/ LewRockwell.com]
*[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/ Market Oracle]
*[http://maxkeiser.com/ Max Keiser]
*[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/ MISH]
*[http://www.prudentbear.com/ PrudentBear.com]
*[http://www.rgemonitor.com/index.php RGE Monitor]
*[http://www.webofdebt.com/ Web of Debt]
*[http://www.zerohedge.com/ Zero Hedge]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Criticism Of Fractional-Reserve Banking}}
[[Category:Argumentation]]
[[Category:Money]]

Criticism of fractional reserve banking

2011-06-10T05:31:17Z

203.209.200.99: /* Terminology */

{{main|Fractional-reserve banking}}
{{wikipedia text}}
'''Criticisms of [[fractional reserve banking]]''' and [[central bank|central banking]] have been put forward from a variety of perspectives, although the most vigorous and sustained criticism now comes from libertarians and anarcho-capitalists such as economists [[Jesús Huerta de Soto]] and [[Jörg Guido Hülsmann]], American politician [[Ron Paul]], and commentators such as historian Thomas Woods, Jim Grant of ''Grant's Interest Rate Observer'' and former US Budget Director David Stockman.<ref>[http://blog.mises.org/16521/fantastic-speech-by-de-soto/ Jesús Huerta de Soto Speech]</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5174/Life-with-the-Fed-Sunshine-and-Lollipops Life with the Fed], Thomas Woods</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5146/Over-to-You-H-Parker-Willis Over to you H Parker Willis], Jim Grant</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VcN_Z6L0jM&feature=player_embedded#at=609 James Grant Interview with James Turk]</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5113/The-End-of-Sound-Money-and-the-Triumph-of-Crony-Capitalism The End of Sound Money and the Triumph of Crony Capitalism], David Stockman, Henry Hazlitt Memorial Lecture, Austrian Scholar's Conference</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig11/stockman6.1.1.html Crony Capitalism Strikes Again], David Stockman</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/imperative-sound-money.html The Social Imperative of Sound Money], Lew Rocwell</ref> Most in the mainstream (both on the left and right) remain silent on the issue of fractional reserve banking and central banking,<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/lewrockwell-show/2008/10/31/58-americas-slow-motion-fascist-coup/ Naomi Wolf Interview with Lew Rockwell], Lew Rockwell: "I've frankly never understood why people on the Left are ''not'' upset about the Federal Reserve. If you look back to the history..." Wolf: "We probably don't understand it!" Lew Rockwell:"...but you know the founding of the Fed before the law was, you know, with bipartisan support signed in 1913, the Federal Reserve Act was drafted at J.P. Morgan's private club - it's sounds like a conspiracy story, but I guess it sort of is - on Jekyll Island Georgia...Big bankers wrote the Federal Reserve Act for their benefit!"</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/imperative-sound-money.html The Social Imperative of Sound Money], Lew Rockwell: "I find it sickening that there are so few voices outside the Austrian School that will stand up to this policy [of fiat money, fractional reserve banking and central banking]."</ref> although past critics have included mainstream economists such as Irving Fisher,<ref>''100% Money'', Irving Fisher</ref> and [[Milton Friedman]].<ref>Friedman, M., A Program for Monetary Stability, New York, Fordham University Press, 1960, pp. 65</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/3108 The Social Imperative of Sound Money], Lew Rockwell: "I find it sickening that there are so few voices outside the [[Austrian School]] that will stand up to this policy (of [[fiat money]]/[[fractional reserve banking]]/[[central bank]]ing)".</ref> Within the economics profession, most criticisms are from the [[Austrian School]].<ref>[http://mises.org/media/4014 The Economics of Legal Tender Laws], [[Jorg Guido Hulsmann]] (includes detailed commentary on [[fractional reserve banking|FRB]])</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Money-Bank-Credit-and-Economic-Cycles-P290C0.aspx Money, Bank Credit and Economic Cycles], Jesus Huerta de Soto, Mises Institute ISBN: 978-1-933550-39-8</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Meltdown-P557.aspx ''Meltdown''], Tom Woods, Regnery Press ISBN: 9781596985872</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25212.html The Faults of FRB], Thorsten Polleit</ref> There are also critics from outside the economics profession who advocate [[monetary reform]].<ref>[http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2010/12/matt-stoller-end-this-fed.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29 End This Fed], Matt Stoller</ref><ref>For an example of the writings of these groups, see [http://www.bilderberg.org/monref.htm this] contribution from Bilderberg.org</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMngK0t5WkY Max Keiser]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28533.html The Global Debt Crisis], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref>

==Terminology==

Critics of fractional reserve banking and the related fiat paper monetary system may refer to it by the term '''debt-based monetary system''',<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4631 Is Our Money Based On Debt?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref name="speech">For an example of the public use of the term, see the [http://www.prosperityuk.com/prosperity/articles/earl.html speech] of the Earl of Caithness in the House of Lords on 5 March 1997</ref> or '''credit-based monetary system'''.<ref>For example of the public use of the term, see this speech given by [[Zhou Xiaochuan]], [http://www.bis.org/review/r090402c.pdf Reform the monetary system], 23 March 2009 (BIS), and this article, [http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/02/steve-keen-roving-cavaliers-of-credit.html ''Roving Cavaliers of Credit''] by Steve Keen (with commentary by Yves Smith)</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/09/myths-about-whats-economically.html Myths], MISH</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/07/are-we-trending-towards-deflation-or-in.html Deflation], MISH</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2008/04/deflation-in-fiat-regime.html Deflation In A Fiat Regime?], MISH</ref> They may also refer to money created in parallel with debt as '''debt money''' or '''endongenous money''', reflecting the fact that virtually all new money is currently created by people or businesses or governments further indebting themselves to banks.<ref name="death"/><ref>[http://www.debunkingeconomics.com/Papers/Money/KeenModellingEndogenousMoneyICAPE.pdf Endogenous Money], Steve Keen</ref> This monetary system is called "endogenous" because the money supply is flexible, expanding in parallel with the demand for debt and stalling or contracting when demand for debt declines.<ref>[http://www.debunkingeconomics.com/Papers/Money/KeenModellingEndogenousMoneyICAPE.pdf Endogenous Money], Steve Keen</ref> Some consider this a perverse and dysfunctional way of introducing new money into the economy.<ref name="death"/>

The term, "debt-based monetary system," and related terms such as "debt money" are not used by conventional economists or academic mainstream economists. Mainstream economists often refer to "debt money" by its antonym "credit" and distinguish between types of money only ''after'' the money is created. The very definition of "money" and the distinction between "debt" and "money" (and their respective economic effects) are still sources of vigorous ongoing debate.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5052/Deflation-Confusion-Money-Is-Not-Credit Money Is Not Credit], Robert Blumen</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/02/fiat-world-mathematical-model.html Fiat World], MISH</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/09/myths-about-whats-economically.html What's Economically Important], MISH</ref> Mainstream economists rarely if ever discuss the origins of modern money and generally do not actively discuss or comment on the fact that virtually all money is now created through individuals, or businesses, or governments going into debt to government-sponsored commercial banks.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/3108 The Social Imperative of Sound Money], Lew Rockwell</ref><ref>For an example of the mainstream use of the term "credit" instead of "debt-money" see [http://www.ft.com/cms/s/bdfa429e-17a2-11dd-b98a-0000779fd2ac,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2Fbdfa429e-17a2-11dd-b98a-0000779fd2ac.html&_i_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fhome%2Fasia this] example from the Financial Times, 1 May 2008</ref> Discussion around the nature of "debt-based" money and the arguments over its effects on the economy are notably absent from most established mainstream academic economic publications<ref>Paul Krugman, writing at [http://www.slate.com/id/9593 Slate.com], stated that the Austrian theory of business cycles was "about as worthy of serious study as the phlogiston theory of fire".</ref> and most mainstream economists instead argue that the origin of different kinds of money (and the volume of their issuance) does not really matter, at least in the long run.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/wenzel/wenzel87.1.html Senior Fed Economist Calls Ron Paul a Pinhead]</ref> This mainstream idea is referred to as the theory of "money neutrality".<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/wenzel/wenzel87.1.html Senior Fed Economist Calls Ron Paul a Pinhead]</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5172/Is-Inflation-Harmless-or-Even-Good Is Inflation Harmless or Even Good?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://libertarianpapers.org/articles/2011/lp-3-14.pdf Free Banking and the Structure of Production], Dan Mahoney</ref> Some commentators have speculated that the unusual "silence" around the topics of fractional reserve banking and central banking (and the staunch refusal to consider alternative theories of money) is due to the simple fact that many economists are on the payroll of the major commerical or central banks of the world and are unprincipled or, at worst, corrupt.<ref>[http://www.safehaven.com/article/15068/economists-opposing-fed-audit-are-on-fed-payroll Economists on Fed Payroll], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/07/priceless-how-the-federal_n_278805.html Priceless], Ryan Grim, Huffington Post</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26581.html Ten Reasons The Banksters Got Away With It], Danny Schechter</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxtCn2GyqKc&feature=related Corruption in Academic Economics], Charles Ferguson</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27805.html Currency Dead End Paradox], Jim Willie CB</ref>

== Typical criticisms ==

Norm Franz states in his ''Money and Wealth in the New Millennium'':<ref>[http://www.amazon.com/Money-Wealth-Millennium-Norm-Franz/dp/0971086303 ''Money and Wealth in the New Millennium''], Norm Franz</ref>

{{quote|Gold is the money of kings, silver is the money of gentlemen, barter is the money of peasants – but debt is the money of slaves.}}

12th century Chinese scholar Hu Zhiyu stated:<ref>Ralph T. Foster, ''Fiat Paper Money, The History and Evolution of Our Currency'', page 19</ref>

{{quote|Paper money, the child, is dependent on precious metals, the mother. [Inconvertible paper notes are therefore] orphans who lost their mother in childbirth.}}

Robert H. Hemphill, credit manager of the Federal Reserve in Atlanta, stated in 1939:<ref>Preface to ''100% Money'', Irving Fisher</ref>

{{quote|If all the bank loans were paid, no one would have a bank deposit and there would not be a dollar of coin or currency in circulation. This is a staggering thought. Someone has to borrow every dollar we have in circulation, cash or credit. If the banks create ample synthetic money we are prosperous; if not, we starve. When one gets a complete grasp of the picture the tragic absurdity of our hopeless position is almost incredible, but there it is. It (the banking problem) is the most important subject intelligent persons can investigate and reflect upon. It is so important that our present civilization may collapse unless it becomes widely understood and the defects remedied very soon.}}

British monetary reformer Michael Rowbotham states the following in his book, ''The Grip of Death'' (the title being derived from the literal origin of the word "mortgage"):<ref name="death">{{cite book |last= Rowbotham |first= Michael |title= The Grip of Death: A Study of Modern Money, Debt Slavery and Destructive Economics | year= 1998 |publisher= Jon Carpenter Publishing |isbn= 9781897766408 }}</ref>

{{quote|It is actually not in the least surprising that nations are chronically in debt, governments have inadequate resources, public services are under-funded and people are beset by mortgages and overdrafts. The reason for all this monetary scarcity and insolvency is that the financial system used by all national economies worldwide is actually founded upon debt. To be direct and precise, modern money is created in parallel with debt. The reason for the failure of economists to question patently invalid monetary data becomes clear - there is a total acceptance by them of the most extraordinary method for supplying money to the modern economy.

The creation and supply of money is now left almost entirely to banks and other lending institutions. Most people imagine that if they borrow from a bank, they are borrowing other people's money. In fact, when banks and building societies make any loan, they create new money. Money loaned by a bank is not a loan of pre-existent money; money loaned by a bank is additional money created. The stream of money generated by people, businesses and governments constantly borrowing from banks and other lending institutions is relied upon to supply the economy as a whole. Thus the supply of money depends upon people going into debt, and the level of debt within an economy is no more than a measure of the amount of money that has been created...

All around us, the gross failure of modern economics screams out to be addressed. The towering indifference of those shining offices scraping the sky above the menacing ghettos of Brooklyn; the speculative channelling of billions of pounds of volatile international finance, which can leave a country prosperous one week and plunged into decline the next; the ludicrous production of cheap goods of poor durability, so that jobs are 'protected', and we can recycle the materials and make the goods all over again; the ridiculous export drives by which every country simultaneously attacks the economies of every other nation, under the pretence that such global free trade improves the general wellbeing; the staggering waste of a throwaway, quick-growth, all-new spiral of constant economic change; the outrageous financial debt which Third World countries have actually paid many times over, but which, due to interest, is now larger than ever before - a debt which forces those impoverished nations to compete to supply goods already in surplus; the cynical manipulation of human emotions into buying fashion-obsessed trivia; the burgeoning transport demands of escalating economic growth and centralisation, with identical goods crisscrossing the globe, regardless of environmental cost; the fact that despite the incredible productive capacity of the modern economy, people are obliged to work harder, with ever greater efficiency, forever forced to adapt and retrain or face a life of indignity and misery as one of the unemployed.

Both those in work and out must watch, as the world they know and understand changes almost in front of their eyes like some nightmarish Kafka-esque novel. This is the era of accelerating economic change. The benefits are highly dubious, and no-one even pretends that the economy is responding to what people actually want. The only justification offered for the changes is that this is 'the age of progress', and 'you can't stop progress', even if you are human and the progress you are discussing is supposed to be about people and the lives they might lead in the future. The world of economics has got mankind by the throat and everyone knows it, and no-one has a clue where we are going or why we are going there.

But is this surprising? If a monetary system is invalid or flawed, then the entire economy is based on the mathematics of error, and must be riddled with the effects. If the financial system upon which our economies are built is defective, and yet monetary considerations dominate our economic decisions, should we be surprised if the results are less than satisfactory?

The major role played by bank credit, which forms over 95% of the money stock in most developed nations, suggests that it cannot but be implicated in these trends. This is further suggested by the way that banking has literally become the focal point of modern economic management, through manipulating interest rates. The stargazers of Whitehall and the Federal Reserve hold their councils, trying to tread the non-existent tightrope between growth and recession by debating quarter percentage-points of interest rates. Alan Greenspan, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, engagingly describes his task in controlling the American economy through adjusting interest rates as a matter of 'taking the champagne away once the party has started'. Businessmen around the world hold their breath, measuring his every word, wondering what he will decide. There could be no greater indictment of contemporary financial economics than this; that a fluctuating financial digit on a single computer system in a single street in a single country should have the ability to dominate the economies of an entire planet...

The past thirty years are almost unique by comparison with the previous three centuries in the lack of attention that has been directed at debt and the financial system. Throughout the eighteenth century, there were repeated calls for reform. During the nineteenth century, excessive banking was held by many to be directly responsible for the waves of appalling poverty that swept Europe and America during a period of increasing industrialisation and agricultural development. In this century, during the depression of the 1930s, the financial system effectively seized up and brought virtual collapse to the economies of the world in an age which was, perhaps for the first time, obviously wealthy, and in which technology offered people real freedom as well as material prosperity. One observer judged that over 2,000 schemes for monetary reform were put forward at that time - all with a common theme in their outright rejection of the debt-based financial system as it then operated. The same system continues to this day, modified in small details, but unchanged in principle; and the recent financial crisis in Asia shows the potential for collapse still exists.

However the issue of economic volatility through booms, slumps, crises, and collapses has never been the sole point of criticism. It is the long-term trends that a debt-based financial system fosters which are most destructive. The most obvious of these is declining personal solvency. Mortgages support over 60% (£420 billion) of the money stock in the UK and over 70% ($4.2 trillion) in the US. Housing-debt statistics for the UK and the US show that there has been a dramatic decline in true home ownership as mortgages become higher and ever more widespread. There can be little question that relying upon housing debt to supply money to an economy lacks economic and political justification. However, taken in conjunction with the marked rise in commercial debt, mortgages have a knock-on effect. In an economy where the price of goods is elevated by commercial debt and consumer incomes are deeply eroded by mortgage debt, there is a persistent and subtle advantage given to low-quality, mass-produced goods, and growth is fostered in this direction. The persistent decline in product durability and the growth-culture of a rapacious consumer society can be directly traced to the debt-based financial system.

The financial system has also generated a serious distortion of agriculture. Excessive farming debt has driven out the most efficient producers - small/medium sized farms. Meanwhile, the relentless pursuit of farming and processing methods oriented towards a low-price market now involves the production of foodstuffs of poor nutritional value, inferior to that which the land can provide and inferior to that which consumers actually desire.

The nature of growth within a debt economy affects not only the quality of output, but distribution and marketing. Intense competition for sales within a debt-based economy results in the use of transport as a competitive strategy by businesses. This has led to a progressive breakdown of local and regional supply networks, and marketing over ever-greater distances, leading to escalating commercial traffic demands.

At the international level, trade is deeply affected by the debt-based financial system. The aggressive pursuit of maximum export revenues, rather than seeking a simple balance of trade, is entirely due to the fact that even the wealthiest nations operate from a position of gross insolvency. International trade has degenerated into a competition between nations to alleviate their indebtedness, rather than a process involving a mutually beneficial exchange of goods and services.

Endemic Third World debt is also directly attributable to the reliance upon debt and banking to supply money. The theoretical model of borrowing from the World Bank/IMF, investing in development and repaying loans from export revenues, is one of the great failures of contemporary economics. The persistent inability on the part of debtor nations to repay these loans suggests strongly that the nature of the indebtedness suffered by the Third World has absolutely no actual legitimacy or validity...

The more one explores the broad impact of debt, the more apparent it becomes that bank-credit constitutes a dysfunctional form of money. An economy based almost entirely upon bank-credit and debt experiences an intense drive for growth, regardless of need or demand. Bank credit engenders financial dependence, injects instability and fosters growth-distortions, both within an economy and throughout the international arena.

Reform of the debt-based financial system is clearly not a minor issue. It is not a matter of fiddling around with taxes, incomes and allowances to make things apparently more equal, more efficient, or perhaps more straightforward. Changing the debt-based financial system involves gradually altering the very foundations upon which national and international economics is based. Monetary reform is concerned with attempting to determine a new principle for the supply of money to an economy - the purpose being to create a supportive financial environment in which more constructive economic trends are allowed to emerge, and in which more benign systems of overall economic management become possible. In view of the rapacious onslaught on the environment, the waste of natural resources and the social and political friction caused by de-regulated commerce and capital flows, this is at once a promising, but a sobering prospect.}}

Ron Paul states in his book ''End the Fed'':<ref name="Paul_End">Ron Paul. [http://mises.org/daily/3687 ''End the Fed''], ''Mises Institute'', September 03, 2009. Chapter 2 of the book ''End the Fed''. Referenced 2011-03-16.</ref>

{{quote|American presidents actually worked to implement and defend the gold standard, which put a brake on the ability of the largest banks to expand credit without limit. The gold standard worked like a regulator in this way. Ultimately, banks had to function like every other business. They could expand and make risky loans up to a point, but when faced with bankruptcy, they had nowhere they could turn. They would have to contract loans and deal with extreme financial pressures. Risk bearing is a wonderful mechanism for regulating human decision making. This created a culture of lending discipline.

In the jargon of the day, the system lacked "elasticity." That's another way of saying that banks couldn't expand money and credit as much as they wanted. They couldn't inflate without limit and count on a centralized institution to bail them out...

The banking industry has always had trouble with the idea of a free market that provides opportunities for both profits and losses. The first part, the industry likes. The second part is another issue. That is the reason for the constant drive in American history towards the centralization of money and banking, a trend that not only benefits the largest banks with the most to lose from a sound money system, but also the government, which is able to use an elastic system as an alternative form of revenue support. The coalition of government and big bankers provides the essential backbone of support for the centralization of money and credit...

Consider the Soviet case: to my knowledge, no business ever went under with the Soviet system but society in general grew ever poorer. Think of that Soviet system applied to the banking industry and you have the Fed.}}

In the foreward to ''Fiat Money Inflation in France'', Mr John McKay wrote the following:<ref>[http://mises.org/books/inflationinfrance.pdf ''Fiat Money Inflation in France''], Andrew Dickson White, 1912</ref>

{{quote|The story of "Fiat Money Inflation in France" is one of great interest to legislators, to economic students, and to all business and thinking men. It records the most gigantic attempt ever made in the history of the world by a government to create an inconvertible paper currency, and to maintain its circulation at various levels of value. It also records what is perhaps the greatest of all governmental efforts—with the possible exception of Diocletian's—to enact and enforce a legal limit of commodity prices. Every fetter that could hinder the will or thwart the wisdom of democracy had been shattered, and in consequence every device and expedient that untrammelled power and unrepressed optimism could conceive were brought to bear.

But the attempts failed. They left behind them a legacy of moral and material desolation and woe, from which one of the most intellectual and spirited races of Europe has suffered for a century and a quarter, and will continue to suffer until the end of time. There are limitations to the powers of governments and of peoples that inhere in the constitution of things, and that neither despotisms nor democracies can overcome.

Legislatures are as powerless to abrogate moral and economic laws as they are to abrogate physical laws. They cannot convert wrong into right nor divorce effect from cause, either by parliamentary majorities, or by unity of supporting public opinion. The penalties of such legislative folly will always be exacted by inexorable time. While these propositions may be regarded as mere commonplaces, and while they are acknowledged in a general way, they are in effect denied by many of the legislative experiments and the
tendencies of public opinion of the present day. The story, therefore, of the colossal folly of France in the closing part of the eighteenth century and its terrible fruits, is full of instruction for all men who think upon the problems of our own time.}}

C.J. Maloney wrote of the desperation of Henry VIII of England to counterfeit gold by engaging charlatan-alchemists:<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/maloney/maloney28.1.html The Desperation of King Henry VIII], C.J. Maloney</ref>

{{quote|Despite his formidable education and great historic reputation, the disastrous interventions into the economy, the lifelong dishonesty with the currency in his care and, most of all, his laughable attempts to bring a sorcerer into his court to conjure gold, mark the great King Henry VIII as a fool. Yet there is no reason, be warned, for anyone to feel superior to the King; one only needs to pick up a newspaper to see that though alchemy may be a dead science, it has merely taken up new forms.

This has always been and always will be, for its immortality is powered by economic man’s most dangerous, fondest wish, the one that will drive us to endless imbecilities and repeated destruction – the ardent desire to believe that you can get something for nothing. His adherence to that belief made King Henry VIII a man of his times – and ours.}}

In his treatise, ''The Ethics of Money Production'', which was published by the Mises Institute in October 2008, Jörg Guido Hülsmann presents (at pages 238-239) the following description of the perverse rise of fiat money and fractional reserve banking:

{{quote|There is no tenable economic, legal, moral, or spiritual rationale that could be adduced in justification of paper money and fractional-reserve banking. The prevailing ways of money production, relying as they do on a panoply of legal privileges, are alien elements in the capitalist [i.e., true free market] economy. They provide illicit incomes, encourage irresponsibility and dependence, stimulate the artificial centralization of political and economic decision-making, and constantly create fundamental disequilibria that threaten the life and welfare of millions of people. In short, paper money and fractional-reserve banking go a long way toward accounting for the excesses for which the capitalist economy is widely chided.

We have argued that these monetary institutions have not come into existence out of any economic necessity. They have been created because they allow an alliance of politicians and bankers to enrich themselves at the expense of all other strata of society. This alliance emerged rather spontaneously in the seventeenth century; it developed in multifarious ways up to the present day, and in the course of its development it created the current monetary institutions.

…The driving force that propelled the development of central banks and paper money was the reckless determination of governments, both aristocratic and democratic, to increase their revenue, if necessary in violation of good faith and of all established rules of commerce.}}

Many [[monetary reform]]ers claim that a fiat money/fractional-reserve based banking system is inherently destructive and inevitably generates [[inflation|debasement of the currency]], extreme inequality, the destruction of the middle class<ref name="Paul_End" /> and [[Austrian Business Cycle Theory|wrenching business crises]].<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25212.html The Faults of FRB], Thorsten Polleit</ref><ref name="Paul_End" /><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Money-Bank-Credit-and-Economic-Cycles-P290C0.aspx Money, Bank Credit and Economic Cycles], Jesus Huerta de Soto, Mises Institute ISBN: 978-1-933550-39-8</ref><ref>[http://www.mises.org/Books/mysteryofbanking.pdf Murray Rothbard, ''The Mystery of Banking'']</ref><ref name="books.google.com">{{cite book |last= Brown |first= Ellen H. |title= Web of Debt |url= http://books.google.com/books?id=ILMGrEC524UC |accessdate= 2007-12-15 |year= 2007 |publisher= Engdahl Publishing|isbn= 0979560802 }}</ref><ref name="death"/><ref name="monetary.org">[http://www.monetary.org/lostscienceofmoney.html Stephen A. Zarlenga, ''The Lost Science of Money'' AMI (2002)]</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/story/3108 Sound Money], Lew Rockwell</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/story/1971 Our Money Madness], Lew Rockwell</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/rothbard/genuine.asp The Case for a Gold Dollar], Murray Rothbard</ref><ref name="twilight"/> Vladimir Z. Nuri has analyzed fractional reserve banking and considers it a form of economic parasitism.<ref>[http://econpapers.repec.org/paper/wpawuwpma/0203005.htm Fractional Reserve Banking as Economic Parasitism]</ref>

These views are not accepted by mainstream government-supported economists. For example David Andolfatto, Vice President in the Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, has openly called Dr. Ron Paul a "pinhead" for holding such views.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/wenzel/wenzel87.1.html Senior Fed Economist Calls Ron Paul a Pinhead], LRC</ref> He later tried unsuccessfully to delete or retract his statements and expressed his regret over making the comments.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/wenzel/wenzel92.1.html Fed Economist in Retreat], Robert Wenzel</ref>

Critics of fractional reserve banking frequently argue that since money creation requires ''loans'' from the banking system, people are required to go further into debt in order for any new money to be created. They theorize that this eventually causes [[Austrian Business Cycle Theory|credit cycle]]s (or [[Austrian Business Cycle Theory|business cycles]]) and necessarily debases the [[means of exchange]].<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25212.html The Faults of FRB], Thorsten Polleit</ref>

Many critics find it problematic that banks "create money out of nothing" and consider this fundamentally immoral, akin to [[counterfeiting]] and/or [[embezzlement]].<ref>[http://www.dailypaul.com/node/119914 Ron Paul video - fractional reserve banking is fraudulent]</ref><ref name="Paul_End" /><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25212.html The Faults of FRB], Thorsten Polleit</ref>

Some also link the alleged negative effects of fractional reserve banking with central banking<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-qe-end-america-we-know-it QE Is The End Of American], ZeroHedge</ref> and a government-enforced "paper" or [[fiat currency]],<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27768.html The Federal Reserve Note Is Dead], Jeff Berwick</ref> which they claim allows the practice of fractional reserve banking to continue without a "natural" limitation on the growth of the [[money supply]], thereby causing inherently unsustainable "[[bubble (economics)|bubbles]]" in asset and capital markets, which are vulnerable to Ponzi-like speculation by highly leveraged [[hedge funds]] and other bank agents.<ref name="Paul_End" /><ref>[http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2009/12/23/mish-on-the-fictional-reserve-system/ MISH on the Fictional Reserve System], Steve Keen</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Money-Bank-Credit-and-Economic-Cycles-P290C0.aspx Money, Bank Credit and Economic Cycles], Jesus Huerta de Soto, Mises Institute ISBN: 978-1-933550-39-8</ref><ref name="books.google.com">{{cite book |last= Brown |first= Ellen H. |title= Web of Debt |url= http://books.google.com/books?id=ILMGrEC524UC |accessdate= 2007-12-15 |year= 2007 |publisher= Third Millennium Press |location= Baton Rouge, Louisiana |isbn= 0979560802 }}</ref><ref name="death"/><ref name="monetary.org">[http://www.monetary.org/lostscienceofmoney.html Stephen A. Zarlenga, ''The Lost Science of Money'' AMI (2002)]</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/story/3108 Sound Money], Lew Rockwell</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/story/1971 Our Money Madness], Lew Rockwell</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/rothbard/genuine.asp The Case for a Gold Dollar], Murray Rothbard</ref><ref name="twilight"/><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25212.html The Faults of FRB], Thorsten Polleit</ref>

Reformist economists such as [[Murray Rothbard]] support a "full reserve" banking system and criticize [[fractional reserve banking]] as inherently fraudulent.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5185/The-Need-for-100-Reserves The Need for 100% Reserves], Frank D. Graham</ref> [[Murray Rothbard]] held this view very strongly throughout his life.<ref name="Paul_End" /><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25212.html The Faults of FRB], Thorsten Polleit</ref> Other reformist economists are more tolerant of fractional-reserve banking and support [[free banking]] instead of full reserve banking.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=DFv6OzeBWpQC&pg=PP3&dq=steven+horwitz++banking&sig=VZasp_8pGVvpQsFKMI3W9yp4AlM#PPA231,M1 Microfoundations and Macroeconomics: An Austrian Perspective], Steven Horwitz, pp. 223-232.</ref>

==Basic debate==

The economic, environmental and social effects arising from money creation through fractional-reserve banking have been subject to much heated political debate for well over two centuries.<ref name="The Forgotten War"/><ref name="books.google.com"/><ref name="death"/><ref name="twilight"/><ref>[http://www.silverbearcafe.com/private/fracbank.html Antal E. Fekete, Fractional Reserve Banking Revisited]</ref><ref>[http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1297199137.php China Inflation and Gold], Darryl Robert Schoon</ref><ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-good-bad-and-ugly-part-3 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly], James Quinn</ref>

Many Austrian economists and monetary reformers focus on the combined use of [[fiat currency]], [[fractional-reserve banking]] and [[central banking]] as a negative feature of modern monetary systems.<ref>[http://mises.org/media/4014 The Economics of Legal Tender Laws], [[Jorg Guido Hulsmann]]</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Meltdown-P557.aspx ''Meltdown''], Tom Woods, Regnery Press ISBN: 9781596985872</ref> These commentators use the term "debt-based monetary system" to refer to an economic system where [[money]] is created primarily through fractional-reserve banking techniques, using the banking system.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4569 What Does Debt-Based Money Imply for Interest Payments?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4631 Is Our Money Based On Debt?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref name="speech"/> This form of money is called "debt-based" because as a ''condition of its creation'' someone must go into debt in order for the money to be created and it must be paid back plus interest at some time in the future.

To some commentators, this implies that as the [[money supply]] and the economy grows, the general populace becomes increasingly indebted at the same time due to the fact that debt grows in parallel with money supply growth, and increasing interest payments (from either taxpayers or indebted consumers) are needed to pay bondholders as the money supply grows.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28533.html The Global Debt Crisis], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref>
<ref name="death"/><ref name="twilight">[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article4489.html Antal E. Fekete, The Twilight of Irredeemable Debt]</ref><ref name="The Forgotten War">[http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1192819378.php America's Forgotten War Against the Central Banks], Mike Hewitt</ref>

One argument posits that since debt and the interest on the debt can only be paid in the same form of money, the total debt (principal plus interest) can never be paid in a debt-based monetary system unless more money is created through the same process.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28533.html The Global Debt Crisis], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref> For example: if 100 credits are created and loaned into the economy at 10% per year, at the end of the year 110 credits will be needed to pay the loan and extinguish the debt. However, since the additional 10 credits does not yet exist, it too must be borrowed. To some, this implies that debt must grow exponentially in order for the monetary system to remain solvent.<ref name="death"/><ref name="twilight"/><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/01/steve-keen-responds-to-world-economic.html Exponential Credit], MISH,</ref>

Others argue that there is in fact no mathematical necessity for the stock of money in a debt-based system to grow, as the "turnover" or "flow" or "velocity" of money can increase to allow for compounding interest payments.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4569 What Does Debt-Based Money Imply for Interest Payments?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2010/10/08/ami-talks-in-flv-format/ AMI Conference 2010], Steve Keen</ref><ref>[http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2010/11/05/solving-the-paradox-of-monetary-profits-2/ Solving the Paradox of Monetary Profits], Steve Keen</ref> However this does imply that some consumers would increasingly have to consume and transact to expand the GDP sufficiently to allow the fixed stock of money to turnover sufficiently to pay for the interest compounding on top of the debt.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/01/steve-keen-credit-impulse.html The Credit Impulse], Steve Keen with commentary from MISH</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4569 What Does Debt-Based Money Imply for Interest Payments?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2010/10/08/ami-talks-in-flv-format/ AMI Conference 2010], Steve Keen</ref><ref>[http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2010/11/05/solving-the-paradox-of-monetary-profits-2/ Solving the Paradox of Monetary Profits], Steve Keen</ref> This may mean that Ponzi-like dynamics bubble up in "pockets" of the economy with interest payments being allowed in a fixed money economy, but these debt-fuelled bubbles of higher spending or speculation would pop and die out relatively quickly.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4569 What Does Debt-Based Money Imply for Interest Payments?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/01/steve-keen-credit-impulse.html The Credit Impulse], Steve Keen with commentary from MISH</ref>

Gold, silver and other [[precious metals]] have in the past been used as money. Because of the difficulty in increasing the supply of precious metals quickly, some [[monetary reform]]ers believe a return to the [[gold standard]], or a similar system of "hard" or "real" asset-backed currency, is the only way to stabilize the growth of the money supply. These monetary reformers often refer to the gold standard and [[silver standard]] as "sound money" or "honest money".<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4860 Money: Sound and Unsound], Mark Thornton commentary on Joseph Salerno's book</ref>

==Main criticisms==

In a 2003 statement to the U.S. House of Representatives, Ron Paul stated "if unchecked, the economic and political chaos that comes from currency destruction inevitably leads to tyranny".<ref name="house.gov">[http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2003/cr090503.htm Paper Ron Paul, Paper Money and Tyranny, Speech in U.S. House of Representative, September 5, 2003]</ref>

Some economic thinkers (primarily members of the [[Austrian School]]) and political commentators believe that a debt-based monetary system amounts to a subtle form of monetary "[[fraud]]" in that it creates money "costlessly" through the use of [[fractional-reserve banking]] techniques.<ref>[http://www.mises.org/rothbard/moneyback.asp Taking Money Back, by Murray Rothbard]</ref>

Michael Rowbotham is an active proponent of [[monetary reform]], and argues that this system of [[money supply]] is perverse and inherently monopolistic and "anti-democratic", as it creates an inflationary exponential growth imperative in the economy which leads to over-centralization and environmentally damaging and unstable over-consumption. Critics such as Rowbotham argue that the indebted are forced to induce new consumers to spend their way into debt so existing loans can be repaid with new debt-created money. Failure to achieve this goal results in [[foreclosure]] for those businesses and [[insolvency]] in the banking system that leads to economic collapse due to the sudden contraction of the money supply.<ref name="death"/><ref name="Ponzi Nation">[http://www.iimagazine.com/article.aspx?articleID=1234345 Ponzi Nation]</ref>

Mark Anielski as well as some political thinkers such as Rowbotham and some economists (such as Hyman Minsky, Steve Keen and Mike Shedlock) argue that this system of money supply has characteristics similar to a [[pyramid scheme]], where the newly indebted are compelled to induce others into debt to pay off their own debts.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/01/steve-keen-credit-impulse.html The Credit Impulse], Steve Keen with commentary from MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.lin.ca/resource/html/arpa02/PC1-FertileObfuscation.pdf ''Fertile Obfuscation: Making Money Whilst Eroding Living Capital''], 34th Annual Conference of the Canadian Economics Association, Mark Anielski</ref> It is therefore argued by a number of monetary reformers that fractional-reserve banking and the associated exponential growth of money in the economy "forces" the economy towards indebted consumerism.<ref name="books.google.com"/>

Rowbotham argues that a major negative side-effect of the debt-based monetary system is its effect on agriculture, claiming that residential development produces by far the greatest continuous injection of debt money into Anglo-sphere economies. Therefore, significant super-normal profits can be generated by re-zoning agricultural land and replacing it with low-density [[House|housing]].<ref name="death"/>
If this is correct, this trend will lead to the destruction of fertile arable land, as farmers cannot compete to retain fertile arable land from property developers at the periphery of major population centers, and as this land is then progressively re-zoned for speculative new residential development. Rowbotham predicts that the global supply of fertile arable land will systematically and catastrophically decline as perverse incentives favor short-term speculative land development over long-term food security, leading to a broad decline in the quality and nutritional value of agricultural produce and, eventually, a dramatic increase in the prices of many "soft" commodities - which could then lead to actual food shortages for poorer segments of the world population.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27874.html Horrific Global Food Crisis is Looming], Michael Snyder</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/85588.html Inflation and Bacteria], Michael Rozeff</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/76920.html The Corporate State and the Tapeworm Economy], Catherine Austin Fitts</ref><ref name="death"/><ref>[http://www.wsws.org/articles/2007/dec2007/food-d22.shtml Naomi Spencer, World Socialist Website, "Severe food shortages, price spikes threaten world population", 22 December 2007]</ref><ref>[http://www.preparednesspro.com/blog/food-shortage-series-part-1/ Food Shortage Series],Kellene Bishop</ref> This has been referred to as the problem of "Peak Everything".<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/03/oil-prices-are-double-edged-sword-peak.html Peak Everything?], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28218.html "Peak Everything"], Jeremy Grantham</ref>

If for any reason the monetary system broke down, urban populations (nominally "rich" but poor in terms of direct access to food supply) could find basic foodstuffs either rationed or unavailable at any price, ultimately resulting in food security becoming a major public policy issue - particularly if combined with oil supply shortages or an oil price spike,<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27874.html Horrific Global Food Crisis is Looming], Michael Snyder</ref><ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2011/02/24/in-the-news-today-791/ Collapse]</ref> as major population centers worldwide are almost entirely reliant on mass transportation of food from distant (or even foreign) locations to survive day-to-day.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27874.html Horrific Global Food Crisis is Looming], Michael Snyder</ref><ref name="death"/><ref>[http://www.preparednesspro.com/blog/food-shortage-series-part-1/ Food Shortage Series],Kellene Bishop</ref><ref>[http://www.wsws.org/articles/2007/dec2007/food-d22.shtml Severe food shortages, price spikes threaten world population]</ref><ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/18/business/global/18yuan.html?hpw Inflation in China]</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/76920.html The Corporate State and the Tapeworm Economy], Catherine Austin Fitts</ref><ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2011/02/24/in-the-news-today-791/ Collapse]</ref><ref>[http://www.rickackerman.com/2011/04/bee-die-off-threatens-global-food-calamity/ Bee Die Off]</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/03/oil-prices-are-double-edged-sword-peak.html Peak Everything?], MISH</ref>

Others consider that the core problem is not food security, nor overpopulation, nor environmental destruction, nor excessive carbon emissions due to non-pricing of energy producing externalities, nor excessive "specialization" of labor in the midst of monetary dysfunction, but excessive government regulation, causing capital destruction.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5277/When-Capital-Is-Nowhere-in-View When Capital Is Nowhere In View], Jeffrey Tucker</ref><ref>[http://www.garynorth.com/public/8071.cfm Population Growth as Propaganda], Gary North</ref>

The fundamental problem with the current monetary system that all Austrian economists agree on is that in the midst of constant credit creation and monetary dysfunction is it ''impossible'' to know what unsustainable [[malinvestment]]s are taking place in the economy, except to acknowledge that they ''must'' be taking place somewhere in the midst of unsustainable credit growth.<ref>[http://www.goldensextant.com/SavingtheSystem.html Saving the System], Robert K. Landis</ref>

===Effects on economic health: Ponzi Scheme Dynamics===

According to Michael Rowbotham the expansion of money through debt is unsustainable and necessarily fuels and creates [[Austrian Business Cycle Theory|economic bubbles]]. This concentrates wealth in the hands of private banks as the populace is forced into [[debt]] simply to own a home and educate their children, hoping that the loans can be repaid by others going into debt in ''greater amounts'' later to purchase the assets they themselves have purchased through incurring large amounts of personal debt.<ref name="death"/> However, debt expansion leads to price appreciation of assets through speculation as the financial market becomes riskier and this process is unsustainable in the long run, with the last cycle of indebted being wiped out when they cannot find anyone to buy the assets they themselves have purchased by going into massive debt. Doug Noland, Steve Keen, Edward Chancellor, Bill Bonner and many others have compared this type of market to an enormous State-sponsored global monetary [[Ponzi scheme]].<ref>[http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2008/12/13/the-worlds-biggest-ponzi-scheme/ The World's Biggest Ponzi Scheme], Steve Keen</ref><ref>[http://www.iimagazine.com/article.aspx?articleID=1234345 Ponzi Nation,"Who is Hyman Minsky?", para 6]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26678.html One Gargantuan Ponzi Scheme], Paul Hallyer</ref><ref>[http://prudentbear.com/dmdocuments/HowCouldIrvingFisherHaveBeenSoWrong.pdf How Could Irving Fisher Have Been So Wrong?], Doug Noland</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/08/former-fed-governor-mishkin-paid-124000.html Mishkin], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/bonner/bonner467.html Warning], Bill Bonner</ref>

The bust phase of this Ponzi-like [[business cycle]] where "debt-based" money growth cannot continue because the debt levels are at saturation levels, meaning growth in debt money slows or contracts, catching newly indebted businesses and consumers who are left out of the growth cycle, triggering a combined liquidity and solvency crisis when markets seize up due to a collapse in the artificially-supported prices in financial markets.<ref name="death"/><ref name="Ponzi Nation"/>

===Effects on the environment===
There are also critics in the left-wing and environmentalist camps who contend fractional reserve banking (by creating a necessity for indefinite [[economic growth]]) leads to environmental destruction and a sudden, catastrophic depletion of the earth's natural resources as the unsustainable, exponential consumption of the world's scarce natural resources reaches its inevitable limits.<ref>David Korten, ''Agenda For A New Economy'', Berret-Koehler, 2009</ref><ref>[http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2004/10/06/no-longer-obeying-orders/ George Monbiot], about five sixths of the way down</ref>

===Inherent problems with the system===

Some monetary reformers predict that there will be an increased incidence of financial crises in the developed world, as economic and population growth inevitably slow and as the success of financial sector lobbying results in increased tax loopholes and a reduction in effective redistributive [[tax]]es which, combined with the debt-legacy of the [[welfare state]], allows an intense and unsustainable concentration of wealth and political power in the financial services sector.<ref name="death">{{cite book |last= Rowbotham |first= Michael |title= The Grip of Death: A Study of Modern Money, Debt Slavery and Destructive Economics | year= 1998 |publisher= Jon Carpenter Publishing |isbn= 9781897766408 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdVc40Mc9cQ&feature=related Andrew Sheng, INET presentation]</ref>

Some monetary reformers argue that perverse incentives in the financial services industry lead to a collusive relationships between governments and bankers which are economically and socially destablizing in the long run.<ref>[http://mises.org/media/4014 The Economics of Legal Tender Laws], Jorg Guido Hulsmann</ref>

Given that the financial system requires ever higher levels of indebtness from the general populace for its solvency, it is vital that the indebted "victims" who must sink deeper into debt for the system to survive do so voluntarily and willingly and are not made aware of the consequences of purchasing consumables with debt money.<ref name="death">{{cite book |last= Rowbotham |first= Michael |title= The Grip of Death: A Study of Modern Money, Debt Slavery and Destructive Economics | year= 1998 |publisher= Jon Carpenter Publishing |isbn= 9781897766408 }}</ref> Some isolated politicians have previously highlighted the fact that mainstream media organizations appear to downplay or minimize the seriousness of deficit spending by government and debt-sourced spending of all kinds.<ref>[http://www.senate.gov/~budget/democratic/statements/2005/fs_reconciliationfloorstmt102005.pdf Speech by Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) on October 20, 2005 regarding the "misleading" reporting of deficit spending by the mainstream media]</ref> Euphemisms for debt and personal and national bankruptcy associated with debt have been developed to delay a mass panic away from government bonds or debt. For example, the associated growth of debt-based derivatives during the upward phase of the debt money cycle was referred to as "[[innovation]]" in financial markets.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/03/opinion/03krugman.html?em&ex=1196917200&en=ac60abcdbd977d07&ei=5087%0A Innovating Our Way to Financial Crisis, by Paul Krugman]</ref>

[[Bankruptcy]] laws differ to a small degree in different jurisdictions but in all developed economies unpaid debt results in legal penalties, property confiscation on behalf of the creditor and income [[sequestration]]. Although in Christian, Jewish and Muslim religious practice there have been traditions of debt relief or laws against [[usury]], in no modern Western jurisdiction are any debts periodically forgiven or cancelled in recognition of the inherent impossibility of repaying debts in circumstances where the debt-based monetary cycle has inevitably resulted in too little new [[debt money]] being injected into the [[money supply]] to pay for the currently outstanding debts.<ref>[http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2007/11/new-bankruptcy-law-backfires-by.html Bankruptcy law backfires]</ref>

On a national level, if the issuance of [[government bonds]] becomes unsustainable, sovereign [[bankruptcy]] can occur - and has occurred many times in history.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4869 Can the Fed Become Insolvent?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://elainemeinelsupkis.typepad.com/money_matters/2007/10/greenspaniel-an.html Greenspaniel and U.S. bankruptcy]</ref><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/thebearslairview?art_id=10493 Dee-Fault!], Martin Hutchinson, Prudent Bear</ref> [[Sovereign debt]] crises due to the inability of nations to pay interest on [[government bonds]] have occurred frequently and regularly in the third wor and less frequently (every 30 years or so) in the first world as a result of high levels of unsustainable public debt - often because private debts are assumed by a corrupt government through large private bank bailouts.<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1331076/Ireland-bailout-Lets-frank-7bn-bunch-liars-crooks-bunglers.html Ireland Bailout], Alex Brummer</ref><ref name="Willie_Misdiagnosis">[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article24543.html QE2 and the Great Economic Misdiagnosis], Jim Willie, November 24, 2010.</ref> The [[Latin American debt crisis]] is an example of sovereign debt levels becoming unsustainable, resulting in a [[currency crisis]] and economic collapse, as [[interest rates]] rise precipitously due to the inability of the national government to attract financiers to purchase new [[government bonds]] to inject new debt money into the ailing economy.<ref name="Willie_Misdiagnosis" />

At such times, it is the responsibility of the [[IMF]] to come in as a kind of supranational [[central bank]] to mediate between the national government and international financiers.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/05/imf-chief-pulled-from-plane-in-new-york.html Time to Dissolve the IMF], MISH</ref> The role of the [[IMF]] as [[central bank]] to the world has similar responsibilities and risks inherent in [[central bank]]ing which are described below in relation to the role of the [[Federal Reserve]]. If the [[IMF]] repeatedly intervenes to save financiers from loss when sovereign bankruptcy occurs, this has a tendency to induce [[moral hazard]] and can encourage the financing of reckless government spending and borrowing.<ref>[http://www.rgemonitor.com/41 IMF Reform and International Lender of Last Resort, RGE Monitor]</ref><ref>[http://info.interactivist.net/article.pl?sid=02/11/07/199213&mode=thread&tid=8 Banking Bunkum, by Henry C.K. Liu]</ref><ref name="Willie_Misdiagnosis" />

A [[single currency]] regime such as the [[Euro]] can mask national liquidity or solvency crises, by ensuring that a national currency is not quickly exchangeable for another, thereby restricting the ability of national governments to depreciate their currencies and cutting off the possibility that the real value of [[government bond]] interest repayments could decline relative to other currencies.<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1316442/Anglo-Irish-Bank-bail-Will-Irish-economic-meltdown-hit-UKs-fragile-recovery.html Irish Meltdown], UK Mail On-line,</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article24459.html Ireland Bailout Consequences for Britain, Portugal Next?], Nadeem Walayat</ref><ref name="Willie_Misdiagnosis" /><ref>[http://news.goldseek.com/RichardDaughty/1192374060.php The Mogambo Theory of Currency Relativity]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvJEJEGzeU8&feature=player_embedded#! Putin ditches dollar], RTTV</ref> This may however increase the risk of bond default where indebted national governments cannot pay back the interest payments in the denominated common currency.<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1316442/Anglo-Irish-Bank-bail-Will-Irish-economic-meltdown-hit-UKs-fragile-recovery.html Irish Meltdown], UK Mail On-line,</ref><ref>[http://blog.mises.org/15129/bagus-explains-the-ecb-and-the-euro/ The Tragedy of the Euro], Philipp Bagus</ref>

===Types of downturns===
{{main|Austrian Business Cycle Theory}}
[[Austrian Business Cycle Theory]] states that artificially low interest rates set by any coercive price-fixing entity will inevitably stimulate malinvestment in the wrong capital projects which will inevitably lead to an unsustainable boom followed by a bust.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5164/The-Cure-Low-Interest-Rates-Is-the-Disease The Cure (Low Interest Rates) Is The Disease], Thorsten Polleit</ref> However, the precise nature of the downturn and the way in which losses are allocated within the economy are both dependent on the actions government and bankers take to forgive debt or control credit and there are two main kinds of debt money contraction that can cause a collapse in the value of inflated assets.

A "credit squeeze" occurs where new debt money is difficult to access without a high [[credit rating]]. At such times marginal borrowers, or those who have borrowed at the end of any debt-induced asset bubble, get "squeezed" out of further borrowing and a contraction in the growth of new debt money occurs, triggering a slow down in the growth of inflated assets. Those assets can then be "harvested" by the [[private bank]]s through widespread [[foreclosure]] or [[bankruptcy]] and re-sold to those with the money to buy the distressed assets.<ref name="marketoracle.co.uk">[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article2882.html Market Fundamentalism, by Richard C. Cook]</ref>

A "credit crunch" occurs where new debt money is not available at any [[interest rate]] - even for those with previously acceptable credit ratings - due to widespread insolvency in the banking system. At such times, it is the banking system itself that is [[insolvent]] and other financial institutions (including overseas financiers) become reluctant to lend to the domestic banking system, resulting in the domestic banking system being unable to issue loans even to credit worthy borrowers.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_crunch Credit crunch], Wikipedia definition</ref>

At any stage during the downward spiral of a "credit crunch", the [[central bank]] in a modern economy can try to save the system from complete economic meltdown by purchasing (either indefinitely or temporarily) the failed debts of the private banks.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTUY16CkS-k&feature=player_embedded#! Quantitative Easing Explained]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article24489.html Does the Fed Create Money?] Michael Pento</ref><ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=A1YourView&xml=/money/2007/12/19/ccom119.xml ECB's mind-numbing cash injection]</ref> This involves swapping depreciating "failed" assets with hard cash, thereby allowing the banks to maintain their net asset position and continue to give the impression of solvency to their auditors and depositors. However, doing so results in cash being transferred to the private banks in exchange for [[bad debt]], thereby violating the general economic precept to avoid [[moral hazard]] and effectively makes liquid the failed lending decisions of the [[private bank]]s.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/06/prudently-managed-banks-victimized-by.html Prudent Banks Victimized], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.rgemonitor.com/blog/roubini/228924/ Privitizing Profits and Socializing Losses, by Nouriel Roubini]</ref> In the U.S. banking system this is called "opening the Fed discount window", where the [[Federal Reserve]] temporarily purchases the failed investment portfolios of distressed private banks in exchange for cash. However, this rescue measure may only delay, rather than avoid, the realization of losses in the banking system, as the central bank cannot "force" new borrowing into the system to inject new debt money into the money supply. Somebody has to be a [[counterparty]] to borrow the debt money that is being offered. If all market participants realize a "[[bubble (economics)|bubble]]" has formed in assets markets, there will be few (or no) buyers for new debt money, as no one wants to borrow to buy inflated assets no one else will buy. Money markets can therefore remain illiquid even with intense [[central bank]] support.<ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/creditbubblebulletinview?art_id=10511 Favorable or Unfavorable], Doug Noland, Prudent Bear</ref>

Furthermore, banks can go bust even with intense central bank support, if the issue is not one of liquidity, but one of solvency.<ref>[http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/233ae764-abef-11dc-82f0-0000779fd2ac.html Central Banks have No Plan]</ref><ref>[http://www.rgemonitor.com/blog/roubini/233120 Central Banks get desperate]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMngK0t5WkY $20 Trillion in Bad Debt], Max Keiser</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27686.html Bernanke's QEx Money Printing Box], Gordon T. Long</ref>

===Pushing on a string===
Some monetary economists describe the opening of the Fed discount window after the bursting of an asset bubble and swapping of "junk" with new money as "pushing on a piece of string", as this measure does not solve the key problem – creating new credit (or debt money) to keep up the growth in the money supply and maintain the required level of liquidity in credit markets.<ref>[http://www.mises.org/story/2695 Don't Discount the Fed Discount Window]</ref><ref>[http://www.federalreserve.gov/Pubs/FEDS/2004/200401/200401pap.pdf Monetary Policy in Deflation: The Liquidity Trap in History and Practice]</ref> This is because unlimited central bank money and low interest rates ''allow'' credit creation, but cannot not ''force'' it into the system. In order for any new debt money to be created, somone has to borrow the excess reserves in order for the money to be injected into the system. With an endogenous money system, money is only created if someone wants to borrow money from a bank. If corporations and individuals are already heavily indebted (or insolvent after the bursting of another debt-induced bubble) there are no credit-worthy borrowers to lend to. This means there are no buyers at the margin to keep asset prices at high levels. If there are no marginal buyers, "liquidity" - or debt growth - dries up and volumes and prices drop suddenly, forcing liquidation and creating a sudden cascading effect in highly leveraged markets very similar to the end of an unsustainable Ponzi scheme.

To encourage fresh borrowing, central banks generally combine these rescue measures with an interest rate cut to encourage more new borrowing to allow the existing (failed) debts to be [[liquidate]]d at or close to their original value. When [[Alan Greenspan]] repeatedly resorted to this tactic to revive illiquid [[money market]]s this became known in the market as the "[[Greenspan put]]", as the effect of these repeated reductions in interest rates was similar to a [[put option]] in the [[stockmarket]], insuring [[bank]]s' lending mistakes would be covered up by the Federal Reserve.<ref>[http://www.iie.com/publications/wp/02-1.pdf Moral Hazard and the "Greenspan Put"]</ref>

When interest rates cannot go any lower (the so-called "zero bound" monetary problem) and people still will not - or cannot - load themselves up with more debt, then the Keynesian solution is to run large public deficits and indebt future generations (who, they hypothesize, are more likely to be able to pay through increased future growth).<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/business/26view.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=shiller&st=cse Stimulus Without More Debt], Robert Shiller</ref> Fabian socialists, and Keynesian economists such as Paul Krugman and Robert Shiller, argue that governments must take charge of the responsibility of spending more (and taking on more debt) on behalf of the public (who are too fearful to take on more debt themselves) in order to compensate for the immediate and urgent ''present'' insufficiency in total private consumption.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/business/26view.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=shiller&st=cse Stimulus Without More Debt], Robert Shiller</ref> Paul Krugman is a prominent advocate of the policy of spending trillions of government money to help stimulate the economy, if spending billions does not work.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/21/opinion/21krugman.html?dbk Budget Deficits], Paul Krugman</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/10/krugman-and-inevitable-i-told-you-so.html Krugman], MISH</ref><ref>[http://krugman-in-wonderland.blogspot.com/2010/11/inflation-prisoner.html The Inflation Prisoner], William Anderson</ref> For economists such as Paul Krugman, if the "more and more government spending" solution does not work initially, it is a sign that not enough government money has been spent.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/sowell/sowell44.1.html Fed Up With the Fed?], Thomas Sowell</ref><ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/20/opinion/20krugman.html?hp When Zombies Win], Paul Krugman, NY Times</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/10/krugman-and-inevitable-i-told-you-so.html Krugman], MISH</ref> It is his view that the "deflationary" Japanese recession from 1991/2 could have been cured by the Japanese government going into even more debt than the current net debt to GDP ratio of 110%.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/21/opinion/21krugman.html?dbk Budget Deficits], Paul Krugman</ref><ref>[http://www.economist.com/node/15867844 Japan's debt-ridden economy], The Economist</ref> Although some commentators have puzzled over exactly which group Krugman blames for the crisis, Krugman repeatedly calls for the government "to do more" as the way out of the crisis, regardless of the true culprits or cause of the crisis.<ref>[http://www.thedailybell.com/2271/Shock-Krugman-Turns-on-Elites.html Shock Krugman Turns on Elites], The Daily Bell</ref><ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/11/opinion/11krugman.html?_r=2&hp Obama Is Missing], Paul Krugman</ref>

Although there is active debate as to whether this policy (indebting future generations by the government spending debt-sourced money on projects the private sector would not touch) can actually help the economy long term,<ref>[http://dailyreckoning.com/the-pain-of-restoring-investor-confidence/ The Pain of Restoring Investor Confidence], Bill Bonner</ref><ref>[http://dailyreckoning.com/government-spending-and-the-path-to-money-printing/ Government Spending and the path to Money Printing], Bill Bonner</ref><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/featuredcommentaryview?art_id=10485 Krugman Is Eating America Alive], Neeraj Chaudhary, Prudent Bear</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25163.html Keynesian models], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://krugman-in-wonderland.blogspot.com/2010/11/inflation-prisoner.html The Inflation Prisoner], William Anderson</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north925.html Yes, Virginia, There Really Is a Free Lunch], Gary North</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5257/They-Want-Us-to-Love-the-Fed They Want Us to Love the Fed], William L. Anderson</ref> there is no argument that this would undoubtedly help the present group of private bankers, as increased income from the interest payments on new government bond issuance offsets the decline in private sector debt and allows banks to survive when otherwise they may face collapse due to the fatal impairment of their balance sheets through private debt write-offs after an unsustainable debt-fuelled bubble bursts.<ref>[http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/2010/08/quantitative-easing-wont-help-economy.html QE won't help the economy]</ref><ref>[http://moneymorning.com/2010/11/19/federal-reserves-quantitative-easing-strategy-save-the-us-economy/ QE won't save the economy]</ref>

As government debt is effectively an asset on the books of the banks, increasing Treasury bond issuance necessarily increases the profitability and net asset position of the debt-issuing banks - at least until government insolvency or mass tax evasion renders the value of those bonds worthless.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/featuredcommentaryview?art_id=10485 Krugman Is Eating America Alive], Neeraj Chaudhary, Prudent Bear</ref>

===Inequities in system===
Many inequities arise because of the damage an overly leveraged financial system can have on the real economy.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26581.html Ten Reasons The Banksters Got Away With It], Danny Schechter</ref> The standard government strategy to help the banks out of the "tailspin" of an insolvency crisis follows a standard chronology:

The government first tries to stimulate the economy and spend money into the markets directly without individuals needing to borrow and spend, thereby "inflating" its way out of economic crisis by causing asset prices to rise and bank balance sheets to appear solvent. It does this by colluding with the central bank to print money and then spending this new money on random (or pre-planned) projects that the private sector is not already engaged in.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25964.html QE is Nothing New], Mike Hewitt</ref>

Unfortunately, there is no easy solution to an economy-wide insolvency crisis caused by credit expansion.<ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/creditbubblebulletinview?art_id=10511 Favorable or Unfavorable], Doug Noland, Prudent Bear</ref> Although superficially and politically appealing, government spending only further distorts the economy through widespread malinvestment and makes things worse over the medium term.<ref>[http://mises.org/store/Rollback-P10449.aspx ''Rollback''], Thomas Woods</ref> Later, after the immediate crisis, when bond yields rise, governments are often forced to reduce basic social services or welfare to the poor to pay for the increased bond payments to bankers and other wealthy investors, making those least responsible and least able to pay for the crisis suffer wrenching economic hardship.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26581.html Ten Reasons The Banksters Got Away With It], Danny Schechter</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Rollback-P10449.aspx ''Rollback''], Thomas Woods</ref>

Antal E. Fekete compares quantitative easing to the repeated supply of opium by an immoral drug dealer to a dependent drug addict:<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26339.html Silver and Opium], Antal E. Fekete</ref>

{{quote|The explanation for this self-destructing behavior is the addictive, debilitating and mind-corrosive nature of paper money, in direct analogy with that of opium. The high caused by administering the opium pipe to the patient (read: administering QE) had to be repeated when the effect faded by a fresh administration of more opium (read: more QE2).}}

Aside from the [[moral hazard]] issue, the key risk with [[quantitative easing]] is that the [[central bank]] exposes the financial system to disruptive inflation, as the growth in the [[money supply]] spirals out of control due to the need to save the [[bank]]s from themselves.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north961.html Tiger], Gary North</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27530.html The Fed Obliterates the Savings Ethic], Douglas French</ref> This eventually tends to precipitate a currency and/or government bond crisis, as the debt-based currency becomes completely dysfunctional when either the currency becomes worthless or when debtors - including government debtors - cannot even pay interest on the debt money.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25964.html QE is Nothing New], Mike Hewitt</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref><ref>[http://www.swlearning.com/economics/hall/hall-lieb2e-upd/ppt_lecture/exchange_rate_macro_policy.ppt Exchange Rates and Macroeconomic Policy]</ref><ref>[http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VGT-41WBFRG-1&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=4e89075114dcdb58b503172ff1801bd2 Central Bank Intervention]</ref><ref>[http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/mishkin20071026a.htm Financial Instability and the Federal Reserve as a Liquidity Provider, by Frederic S. Mishkin]</ref>

For these reasons, a collapse in confidence in the [[solvency]] of the domestic banking system (and the central government) is one of the most complex and difficult policy issues any central government can face.<ref>[http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/ambroseevans-pritchard/100008812/irelands-debt-servitude/ Ireland's Debt Servitude], Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, UK Telegraph</ref> If central bank continues to try to save the current players in the banking sector by continually printing money and inflating its way out of the crisis, at some point hyperinflation suddenly appears, and has appeared many times in history.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4869 Can the Fed Become Insolvent?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://blog.mises.org/14626/quantitative-easing-explained/ Quantitative Easing Explained], YouTube video</ref>

Some comentators have observed that the media and the Fed have to constantly come up with new terms (such as "quantitative easing") to hide the fact that they are simply repeating the same failed policy of monetary inflation that corrupt sovereigns have deployed at the end of failed regimes many times over the millenia.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25679.html Many Euphemismis for Money Creation], Thorsten Polleit</ref> This is also now referred to by some [[monetary reform]]ers and [[economist]]s as "socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor", as many indebted [[consumers]] will still lose their [[house]]s and be declared [[bankrupt]] regardless whether or not the central bank intervenes to save marginal lenders who have been made [[insolvent]] through their mis-timing of the [[credit cycle]].<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny6YI2JCP9Q&feature=player_embedded#at=147 Blood Starts Flowing on the Streets], Max Keiser interview with Gerald Celente</ref><ref>[http://www.rgemonitor.com/blog/roubini/228924/ Privatizing Profits and Socializing Losses, by Nouriel Roubini]</ref><ref>[http://www.beearly.com/pdfFiles/Satyajit%20Das.pdf Regulatory Debauchery by Satyajit Das]</ref> Future generations of innocent taxpayers may ultimately finance any [[bail out]] of reckless lenders, as the money used to fund any [[bail out]] will be funds diverted from the general revenue of the central government.<ref>[http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f4cf8426-654d-11dc-bf89-0000779fd2ac.html A run on the bank]</ref>

In times of crisis, some bankers still refer to [[Walter Bagehot]]'s 1873 commentary on monetary crises, ''Lombard Street'', in an attempt to gain insights into the way in which central bankers should revive illiquid banking systems.<ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/thebearslairview?art_id=10513 The Evils of Crony Capitalism], Martin Hutchinson</ref><ref>[http://blogs.ft.com/economistsforum/2010/04/a-history-lesson-from-lombard-street-for-wall-street-in-2010/ History Lesson from Lombard Street], Roger Farmer, Ft.com</ref> However this old text may be outdated in circumstances where the community's debt limits have been reached and where the banking crisis arises from insolvency or environmental depletion rather than illiquidity.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KInB2rvgaY Eco Eco Disaster], Keiser Report</ref><ref name="Willie_Misdiagnosis" /><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/creditbubblebulletinview?art_id=10511 Favorable or Unfavorable], Doug Noland, Prudent Bear</ref> A prime example where aging demographics combined with reckless bank lending in a purely fiat debt-based monetary system resulted in economic problems which no amount of money printing or government spending could fix can be found in the case of the [[Japanese asset price bubble]].<ref>[http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10286992 The Japanese and American Bubbles: Been There, Done Some of That]</ref> Some believe the West will repeat the mistakes of the Japanese and the result will be worldwide monetary disorder.<ref>[http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10286992 The Japanese and American Bubbles: Been There, Done Some of That]</ref><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/creditbubblebulletinview?art_id=10508 Monetary Disorder], Doug Noland</ref>

===The Keynesian Endpoint===

Keynesians often refer to Keynes' dictum "In the long run we are all dead" to justify artificially low interest rates and short-term stimulus spending by government to "kick start" a stalled economy where pre-existing private debt levels have caused spending to collapse. Tyler Cowen has responded to this Keynesian rejoinder with the following response:<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/06/business/06view.html The Fiscal Illusion], Tyler Cowan</ref>

{{quote|The famous Keynesian rejoinder, “In the long run we are all dead,” is less comforting when that long run comes into sight. Short-run planning is a hard carousel to stop, especially when there are frequent election cycles, but the federal government must act soon...

The technocratic Keynesian recommendation was to run deficits in bad times and surpluses in good times. But except for one stretch during the Clinton administration, this notion has been broken since the early 1980s. In the United States, at least, Keynesian economics has failed to find the necessary political institutions to enact and sustain a wise version of the theory.

Now that fiscal constraints are starting to bite, many politicians are afraid to reform or even to discuss changes in the largest problem areas...

Fiscal austerity may sometimes sound like a dogmatic religion, but fixed principles often help us do the right thing, especially when temptation beckons. Professor Buchanan argued that the real choice was between a religion of budget balance and a rule of illusion.

...the rigor of the numbers will soon sweep away the fiscal illusion. The only question is whether we will end the charade on our own terms or continue to play the fool.}}

No current commentator predicts bankers, politicians or government employee unions will spontaneously reform themselves.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/lewrockwell-show/2011/03/27/193-gold-guns-and-getaway-plans/ Gerald Celente interview with Lew Rockwell]: Lew Rockwell: "When do you see social unrest coming to this country?" Gerald Celente: "I see more crime happening in this country, and social unrest at a much lower level. The people in this country don't have what it takes... This is a country of soccer mommies boys. We're prescription drug-addicted and we're junk food fat... Look at the way they dress, look at the way they talk, look how the Nation's become so Snooki-stupid."</ref> Noted commentator Bill Bonner has described politicians, welfare recipients, bankers and other tax beneficiaries as economic "zombies" unable to adapt or adjust to new economic realities and has predicted that the "zombies" will continue to coercively suck as much wealth from the economic system as possible until it completely collapses.<ref>[http://dailyreckoning.com/the-coincidental-rise-of-oil-and-the-monetary-base/ The Coincidental Rise of Oil and the Monetary Base], Bill Bonner</ref> The difficulty with any attempt at reform measures is that the "Ponzi" elements of finance are inextricably tied to pension funds and "real" elements in the economy, making it impossible to eliminate the "cancer" without damaging the wealth-creating structures as well.<ref>The term "cancer" is specifically mentioned in [http://www.pytheas.net/docs/Laissez-faire-and-policymakers.pdf Laissez-faire, investment banks and policy makers], Pytheas Market Focus, August 2009</ref><ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/jeffrandall/8436123/We-must-call-the-bluff-of-the-big-bad-banks.html We must call the bluff of the big banks], Jeff Randall</ref><ref name="Repudiating the National Debt"/><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zMv4Offm_8&feature=player_embedded#at=1341 Max Keiser Interview with Alex Jones]</ref><ref>[http://www.buildfreedom.com/tl/rape3.shtml Economic Rape of America]</ref> Commentator Max Keiser has coined the term "Suicide Banking" to describe the paradoxical situation where virtually every politician and economist acknowledges that "Too Big To Fail" is a dysfunctional policy but no one has a viable solution, given that the banking system is "rigged to blow" if threatened.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCRXz5oOQVY&feature=player_embedded Suicide Bankers], Max Keiser</ref> He also refers to the current crisis as a fight to the death not between countries or ethnic groups or political ideologies but between future-oriented, prudent and conservative "Savers" on one side and present-focused, imprudent and overconsuming "Speculators" worldwide on the other.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzzIqi2sbQY&feature=player_embedded US flashing Orange]</ref>

Many non-mainstream financial commentators believe the U.S. and the E.U. will soon experience terminal financial crises, but there is vigorous on-going debate amongst numerous commentators regarding whether this terminal currency crisis will end in hyperinflation and currency destruction (making government bonds worthless) or repeated bouts of deflation and depression (making government bonds more valuable).<ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28148.html How to Keep a Damaged Financial and Economic System Afloat?], Bob Chapman</ref><ref>[http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1305306000.php Winning in the Hyperinflation/Deflation War], Deepcaster LLC</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27733.html Compound Inflation], John Mauldin</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north973.html Rick Ackerman Defects], Gary North</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/04/no-miracle-cures-from-inflation.html Impossible to Inflate Out of this Mess], MISH</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/06/big-inflationist-scare.html The Big Inflationist Scare], MISH</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/09/debating-flat-earth-society-about.html Debating the Flat Earth Society About Hyperinflation], MISH</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/01/peter-schiff-was-wrong.html Peter Schiff Was Wrong], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27726.html Deflation Threat is Still Alive], EWI</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27791.html Can We Give The Hyperinflation Thing a Rest?], Mike Whitney</ref> Most - but not all - commentators now believe the denouement will inevitably result in hyperinflation and render the U.S. dollar near-worthless in real terms, as U.S. bond and dollar holders compete to offload excess holdings in the face of massive ongoing issuance.<ref>[http://fofoa.blogspot.com/2011/04/deflation-or-hyperinflation.html Deflation or Hyperinflation?], FOFOA</ref><ref>[http://maxkeiser.com/2011/04/25/ding-ding-ding-its-all-over-rick-ackerman-concedes-hes-been-wrong-and-joins-the-hyperinflationist-camp/ It's all over! Rick Ackerman Concedes!], Max Keiser</ref> Mike Shedlock and Antal E. Fekete are amongst a small group of deflationists who believe contracting credit will continue to have a deflationary impact on the economy, causing government bonds to become even more valuable over time.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/05/hyperinflation-nonsense-in-multiple.html Hyperinflation Nonsense], MISH</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/04/no-miracle-cures-from-inflation.html No Miracle Cures from Inflation], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.julianmidwinter.com.au/ The Federal Reserve as an engine of deflation], Antal E. Fekete</ref>

Regardless whether the government chooses hyperinflation or periodic delfationary depression as the way out, throughout history, only two real alternatives occur in the midst of economic or financial crisis: ever greater centralization (often on a "higher level") or disintegration of the core power structures and (eventually) rejuvenation.<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/greeces-ultimatum-bailout-bankers-or-loss-sovereignty Greece's Ultimatum], ZeroHedge</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north966.html Wealth Through Decentralization], Gary North</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Rollback-P10449.aspx ''Rollback''], Thomas Woods</ref><ref>[http://blog.mises.org/9321/crisis-and-leviathan/ Crisis and Leviathan], Robert Higgs</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Money-Bank-Credit-and-Economic-Cycles-P290C0.aspx Money, Bank Credit and Economic Cycles], Jesus Huerta de Soto, Mises Institute ISBN: 978-1-933550-39-8</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Meltdown-P557.aspx ''Meltdown''], Tom Woods, Regnery Press ISBN: 9781596985872</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/media/4014 The Economics of Legal Tender Laws], [[Jorg Guido Hulsmann]] (includes detailed commentary on centralization during crises)</ref> Accordingly, many of the more extreme monetary reformers and [[conspiracy theorists]] anticipate repeated and ever more desperate attempts at ''higher-order centralization'',<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27051.html A New World Currency?], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref> as the exisiting coordinated domestic central bank architecture becomes discredited through repeated economic failure and environmental crises caused by the need for unsustainable exponential debt-driven economic "growth" within the current debt-based financial architecture.<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-economic-abyss The Economic Abyss], Brandon Smith</ref> This centralization is anticipated to include the empowerment of the UN to increasingly intervene in the domestic political affairs of nations,<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/rozeff/rozeff343.html World Government], Mike Rozeff</ref> the IMF and EU to increasingly intervene in the domestic financial affairs of nations,<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/greeces-ultimatum-bailout-bankers-or-loss-sovereignty Greece's Ultimatum], ZeroHedge</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/11/terms-of-enslavement-irish-citizens-say.html Terms of Enslavement], MISH</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/11/imf-ready-to-help-ireland-can-imf-help.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MishsGlobalEconomicTrendAnalysis+%28Mish%27s+Global+Economic+Trend+Analysis%29 Can the IMF help anyone?], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/8150137/Ireland-forced-to-take-EU-and-IMF-bail-out-package.html Ireland forced to take IMF bailout package], Telegraph</ref> and the declaration of [[martial law]] and the imposition of [[fascist]]-style restrictions on [[civil rights]]<ref>[http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/04/201142612714539672.html Global capitalism and 21st cenury fascism], William I. Robinson</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/rep2/jesse-ventura-on-tsa-abusers.html Jesse Ventura on the TSA' Sexual Abusers]</ref> and [[freedom of speech]] by the political [[The Establishment|Establishment]] to physically protect it from [[anarchy]] or military [[coup]] when the [[bubble (economics)|bubble]] of debt completely bursts, through a precipitous currency crisis, debt-created [[Depression (economics)|depression]], environmental crisis or oil shortage.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26605.html Population Reduction], Chris Kitze</ref><ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2011/02/24/in-the-news-today-791/ Collapse]</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/lewrockwell-show/2010/12/14/179-the-espionage-act-and-the-death-of-american-freedoms/ Death of American Freedoms], Naomi Wolf, LRC interview, Dec 14, 2010</ref><ref>[http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2007/cr120507h.htm New security legislation threats freedoms]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26325.html Bank Credit Ends in Catastrophe], Richard Daughty, The Mogambo Guru</ref> Ultimately this is anticipated to yield either repressive world government or chaos (or most likely both), with a world central bank stationed in Basel, Switzerland.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMngK0t5WkY Max Keiser]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28533.html The Global Debt Crisis], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27051.html A New World Currency?], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27554.html Libya Ware All About Oil or Gold and Banking?], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref><ref>[http://blog.mises.org/9321/crisis-and-leviathan/ Crisis and Leviathan], Robert Higgs</ref> During this transition period, some analysts and conspiracy theorists anticipate multiple wars to force governments into the BIS financial "net",<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMngK0t5WkY Max Keiser]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28533.html The Global Debt Crisis], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27051.html A New World Currency?], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27554.html Libya Ware All About Oil or Gold and Banking?], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref> impotent and counterproductive price controls,<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/03/food-prices-rise-11-in-china-overall.html Chinese inflation], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/goyette/goyette18.1.html Too Late!], Charles Goyette</ref> repeated sell-offs of monopoly state assets in a desperate attempt to feed private domestic banks with steady, coercively acquired income to keep the value of government bonds collapsing,<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/05/whos-bigger-socialist-president-obama.html Who's the Bigger Socialist?], MISH</ref> and then, once this attempt (to feed unsustainable compounding debt with any remaining basic infrastructure) destroys any remaining parts of the productive economy, there will be in the end coercively-enforced rationing of basic essentials to ensure continued supply of food and oil to senior government officials, bankers and their associates amidst widespread general starvation and chaos,<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26605.html Population Reduction], Chris Kitze</ref> as the coalescence of a corrupt banker-government coalition solidifies<ref>[http://maxkeiser.com/2011/04/28/kr142-keiser-report-blind-cult-of-america/ Blind Cult of America]. Quote: Max Keiser: "Yes, it's beyond religious fervour. That's the point. It's become this echo chamber, cult-like 'America can't fail' which is very endemic when you see suicide cults. Remember Jim Jones. Remember him. The Kool Aid. He made the idea of drinking Kool Aid... he popularized that notion. Everyone committed suicide in Guyana. Or the Hail-Bot Comet Cult. Here you've got 300 million Americans who are worshipping this idea of 'American-style' Free Market Capitalism that doesn't exist. They support market manipulation on Wall Street and they're all gonna ''die'' as a result. Now that's less than 5% of the world's population. It is 25% of the world's garbage so the world will breathe a sigh of relief, but, as far as those living inside they don't really understand that they're being used as cult fodder."
Stacy Herbert: "The equivalent of drinking the cyanide-laced Kool Aid would be purchasing a McMansion with a sub-prime mortgage. This is them committing suicide. It's the equivalent of drinking cyanide-laced Kool Aid." Max Keiser: "It's financial suicide. As we've talked about. Financialization of the economy has turned into this hybrid reality that combines political malfeasance with financial larceny and that's the combination between Obama's White House and Wall Street merging together into something even more insidious than fascism. It's a Klepto-F*@kingSh*tism. It's a... it's a Klepto-Sh*tism is the current political-financial school of thought in America today and it's not working. It's unsustainable."</ref> to eliminate potential dissent and ensure the forced elimination - by any means necessary - of any actual or potential competing [[currencies]] that could threaten the viability or legitimacy of the [[monopoly]] currency, which could include war against any country considering using any currency other than US dollars to price essential commodities such as oil <ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/holland/holland44.1.html Anglo-American Deception], Ron Holland</ref> and the compulsory confiscation of all privately-owned [[gold]] (gold being the ultimate reserve currency, still used by central banks as a universally accepted medium of exchange for the settlement of international debts).<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5184/The-Crime-of-Private-Money The "Crime" of Private Money], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-thoughts-liberty-dollar-debacle Liberty Dollar], ZeroHedge.com</ref><ref>[http://blog.mises.org/14795/the-gold-clause-cases-and-constitutional-necessity/ Gold Clause Cases]</ref><ref>[http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1196605589.php America's Trade Debts Lead to a Likely Gold Confiscation]</ref><ref>[http://www.libertydollar.org/ld/legal/raid.htm FBI Raids Liberty Dollar]</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/solution.html The Solution]</ref><ref>[http://prudentinvestor.blogspot.com/2007/09/us-mint-suspends-gold-coin-sales-due-to.html US Mint Suspends Gold Coin Sales]</ref><ref>[http://www.swissamerica.com/article.php?art=06-2004/200406140537f.txt Why a Gold Standard Now?]</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/73468.html Bank of America an arm of US government policy]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26325.html Bank Credit Ends in Catastrophe], Richard Daughty, The Mogambo Guru</ref><ref>[http://www.sovereignman.com/expat/bernanke-terrorist Bernanke is the domestic terrorist], Sovereign Man</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28225.html DSK Was Trying to Torpedo the Dollar], Mike Whitney</ref>

There have been many [[financial crisis|monetary crises]] throughout history<ref>[http://www.delanion.com/main/dom.htm Dying of Money], Jens O. Parsson</ref><ref name="Bonner_Swan">[http://www.lewrockwell.com/bonner/bonner454.html Revolution in Egypt and Black Swans], Bill Bonner, February 15, 2011.</ref><ref>[http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1297199137.php China Inflation and Gold], Darryl Robert Schoon</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Early-Speculative-Bubbles-P578.aspx Early Speculative Bubbles and Increases in the Money Supply], Doug French, Mises Institute ISBN: 978-1-933550-44-2</ref><ref>[http://dailyreckoning.com/a-word-of-advice-to-financial-authorities/ Advice to Financial Authorities], Bill Bonner</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26325.html Bank Credit Ends in Catastrophe], Richard Daughty, The Mogambo Guru</ref> and there are a number of standard warning signs of impending depression or hyperinflation caused by a complete breakdown of trust in any [[monetary system]].<ref>[http://mises.org/store/Product.aspx?ProductId=435 Fiat Money Inflation in France], Andrew Dickson White, Mises Institute</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref><ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-economic-abyss The Economic Abyss], Brandon Smith</ref> Just prior to the complete collapse of the [[pyramid scheme]] of public and private debt, the economic system tends to feed on itself, and in the past, where debt-created [[Depression (economics)|depression]]s or periods of [[hyperinflation]] have occurred in [[Europe]],<ref name="Bonner_Swan" /> the [[U.S.]] and [[China]], there has been a sustained spike in predatory economic behavior, as the heavily indebted central government and producers are forced to find more extreme (previously considered unethical) methods to extract any remaining wealth from increasingly desperate and impoverished [[consumers]], who are either unwilling or unable to go into further debt without forceful coercion.<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-ethics-mortgage-loan-default The Ethics of Mortgage Loan Default], Greg Lemelson</ref><ref name="Bonner_Swan" /><ref name="http">{{cite book |last= Widdig |first= Bernd |title= Culture and Inflation in Weimar Germany |url= http://books.google.com/books/ucpress?id=kvKAATycUzIC |accessdate= 2007-12-16 |year= 2001 |publisher= University of California
Press |isbn= 0520222903 }}</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/3569 John Law and the Invention of Modern Finance], Doug French (Mises.org)</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/1690 The Saga of John Law and Richard Cantillon], Sean Corrigan (Mises.org)</ref> [[Long-term]] investment and sustained [[capital investment]] are almost impossible in this environment because the "measuring stick" of [[return on investment]] (the real value of [[money]]) is so uncertain at times of debt-induced [[credit crunch]], depression or hyperinflation.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref>

As potential new [[borrower]]s and international financiers are scared away from participating in the [[pyramid scheme]] of debt and borrowing further, the [[monetary system]] seizes up, starved of the fresh injections of [[debt money]] it needs for its survival, thereby precipitating economic [[anarchy]],<ref name="Bonner_Swan" /><ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-economic-abyss The Economic Abyss], Brandon Smith</ref> widespread [[lawlessness]]<ref name="Bonner_Swan" /> and [[insolvency]] of the monetary and banking system.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPxYg6mgGpE Inflation is There], Peter Schiff</ref><ref>[http://www.oftwominds.com/blognov07/empire-debt1.html Empire of Debt]</ref><ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref><ref name="Bonner_Swan" /> Some have described the moment when governments cannot borrow any more from banks to keep up the growth in debt money as the "Keynesian Endpoint" or "Keynesian Endgame" or point of "Debt Saturation" - which is the point in time when ''in extremis ''"emergency" measures by the government to kick-start the economy by increasing total gross debt have no lasting positive effect on GDP.<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-economic-death-spiral-has-been-triggered The Economic Death Spiral], Gordon T. Long</ref><ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/charting-ten-year-prelude-keynesian-endgame Keynesian Endgame], ZeroHedge</ref><ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keynesian_endpoint Keynesian Endpoint], Wikipedia definition</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27801.html U.S. Debt Saturation and Money Illusion], Gordon T. Long</ref> Antal E. Fekete identifies this "crisis" point as the point when the marginal increase in total gross debt has no positive marginal effect on GDP.<ref>[http://www.professorfekete.com/articles/AEFGotterdammerung.pdf Gotterdammerung], Antal E. Fekete</ref> According to Professor Fekete, once the marginal productivity of debt turns negative, a disastrous depression is inevitable.<ref>[http://www.professorfekete.com/articles/AEFGotterdammerung.pdf Gotterdammerung], Antal E. Fekete</ref>

This final denouement is triggered when [[borrower]]s cannot be found to buy depreciating heavily indebted assets, and international financiers reduce lending as they experience losses on pre-existing loans either through asset or currency [[depreciation]].<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPxYg6mgGpE Inflation is There], Peter Schiff</ref> Some analysts predict that the [[monetary system]] will seize up due to a [[deflationary]] depression<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-heres-setup-con-decade The Con of the Decade], ZeroHedge</ref> or a sustained period of [[stagflation]]ary hyperinflation resulting in a "final and total catastrophe of our fiat monetary system."<ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPxYg6mgGpE Inflation is There], Peter Schiff</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27402.html Deflationists Blind to Inflationary Storm], Jim Willie</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27466.html Compounding Debt]</ref>

Examples of debt and monetary crises can often be found after failed wars, when international financiers realize the heavily indebted [[government]] they funded will not gain the resources it planned to seize as a result of the waging of aggressive war. When this pay-off does not materialize, the losing government is left with the debt of war without the ability to offset this government debt through the imposition of reparations on the defeated nation and the acquisition of the defeated state's resources, thereby boosting the victorious state's GDP and tax revenues. This sudden monetary collapse occurred to [[Germany]] after the [[First World War]] and [[Japan]] after the [[Second World War]].

Whatever the trigger, the key warning sign of any impending monetary crisis and economic [[anarchy]] is a sudden [[currency crisis]], or a sudden spike in domestic interest rates, or a sudden [[credit crunch]].<ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /> Early warning signs that the [[private banks]] themselves are aware of an impending breakdown in the [[solvency]] of the [[financial system]] would be any combination of some or all the following: a spike in the prices for [[oil]] (which is an internationally accepted, inherently limited, store of value, and therefore can act as a modern form of [[hard currency]], oil sometimes being referred to as "black gold"), [[gold]],<ref>[http://www.minyanville.com/businessmarkets/articles/gold-spot-price-gold-prices-gold/5/10/2011/id/34441?camp=syndication&medium=portals&from=yahoo Permanent Gold Backwardation: Why a "Crack Up Boom" Is Inevitable], Keith Weiner</ref> [[silver]]<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=021yEhjPDa0&feature=player_embedded#at=826 $400 Ounce Silver, $8000 Ounce Gold], James Turk</ref> <ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPxYg6mgGpE Inflation is There], Peter Schiff</ref> and other stable, non-perishable, inherently limited [[natural resources]] essential for non-discretionary industrial production;<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref> a spike in the [[futures contract]]s for vital agricultural [[commodities]]<ref>[http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-dictator-bernanke-needs-to-be-toppled-2011-02-15 Fed dictator Bernanke needs to be toppled], Paul B. Farrell</ref><ref>January 27, 2011 – ''Financial Times'' (Javier Blas and Chris Giles): “Governments across the developing world are stockpiling food staples in an attempt to contain panic buying, inflation and social unrest. But the hoarding is driving agricultural commodity prices even higher. The cost of wheat, the world’s most important staple, reached a fresh two-and-a-half-year high on Thursday, after countries from Algeria to Saudi Arabia announced extraordinary purchases. High food prices have been a contributing factor to the recent wave of social unrest across North Africa and the Middle East. In Algeria earlier this month, young rioters chanted ‘Bring us sugar!’ The cost of the sweetener in the wholesale market is at its highest in 30 years. Earlier this week, Algeria bought 800,000 tonnes of wheat – much more than usual – and Saudi Arabia announced plans to double the size of its wheat stockpile. Bangladesh and Indonesia joined the rush on Thursday, placing extraordinary on rice orders.”</ref> such as [[sugar]],<ref>[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-15/portugal-tries-to-prevent-sugar-hoarding-amid-shortage-ft-says.html 2010 Portugal Sugar Crisis]</ref> [[corn]], [[wheat]], [[soybean]]s and [[rice]], as investors realize the debt-based monetary system has squeezed supplies of [[arable land]];<ref>[http://webofdebt.wordpress.com/2011/02/03/the-egyptian-tinderbox-how-banks-and-investors-are-starving-the-third-world/#more-1052 Banks and investors are starving the Third World], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref><ref>[http://www.preparednesspro.com/blog/food-shortage-series-part-1/ Food Shortage Series],Kellene Bishop</ref><ref>[http://www.smh.com.au/environment/world-hungers-for-more-food-20110402-1csbh.html World hungers for more food], Sydney Morning Herald,</ref> a sudden flight of money ''to'' [[Treasury bills]] and/or a sudden spike in the [[interest rate]] differential between short-term [[Treasury bills]] and asset-backed corporate paper (or a sudden spike in the [[LIBOR]] rate in [[London]])<ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /><ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/12/03/cnrates103.xml&CMP=ILC-mostviewedbox Pleas for rate cut as interbank loans dive]</ref> - and then, in the very late stages of a credit crisis, a sudden and disorderly flight of money ''away from'' government bonds and a "shock" or "panic" collapse in government bond prices, as banks perceive that some governments will ultimately find it ''impossible'' to pay interest on their debt from coercively acquired taxes.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/8190059/Global-bond-rout-deepens-on-US-fiscal-worries.html Global bond rout], Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, UK Telegraph</ref><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/thebearslairview?art_id=10480 When Will The U.S. Become Greece?], Michael Hutchinson</ref>

Shortly thereafter, some [[monetary reform]]ers predict that there would be desperate, but ultimately futile [[central bank]] intervention involving massive, repeated bouts of "quantitative easing",<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/did-fed-its-stealthy-synthetic-bet-keep-yields-low-become-next-aig Doubling Down], ZeroHedge</ref> then a [[currency crisis]],<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/jim-grant-inflation-there-will-be-lot-it-suddenly-because-our-interest-rate-structure-beyond Jim Grant on Inflation], ZeroHedge</ref> then a panic run on a number of marginal, [[insolvent]] [[banks]] and [[hedge funds]] as desperate wealthy investors try to get [[cash]] out before the [[pyramid scheme]]<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPxYg6mgGpE Inflation is There], Peter Schiff</ref> collapses to invest in inherently limited, non-perishable, in-demand commodities such as [[oil]] and [[gold]]<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/golden-tipping-point-university-texas-takes-delivery-1-billion-physical-gold A Golden Tipping Point], ZeroHedge</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPxYg6mgGpE Inflation is There], Peter Schiff</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref> (and undeveloped agricultural and industrial [[land]] in areas of the world with strong [[economic growth]]),<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/04/business/04farms.html?_r=1&hp Price of Farmland] NYTimes</ref> followed by a [[recession]] or [[depression]] in the broader heavily indebted economy as the [[money supply|credit]] contracts but base money continues to rise exponentially.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27172.html Why QE has NOT brought back inflation], EWI</ref><ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref><ref>[http://www.newyorkfed.org/research/staff_reports/sr291.pdf Hedge Funds, Financial Intermediation and Systemic Risk]</ref><ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2011/02/24/in-the-news-today-791/ Collapse]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27596.html US Accelerating Inflation Mega-Trend], Nadeem Walayat</ref>

In 2010 Ireland and Greece experienced simiilar financial crises along the lines described above and many financial commentators and politicians expect more countries to go through the same debt crisis.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/12/video-fire-bombs-stones-fly-in-greek.html Greek protests]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gm9q8uabTs "Who the Hell do you think you people are?"], Nigel Farage, UKIP leader</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref> In 2011, Tunisia experienced a financial and political crisis that was almost identical to those already experienced on the poorer European periphery, except that in this case the pre-existing political establishment quickly fled the country in fear for their safety - with some allegations that the wife of the deposed leader, Leila Trabelsi, ordered the country's central bank to transfer 1.5 tonnes of [[gold]] to Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his family.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25636.html We are all Tunisians], Yvonne Ridley</ref><ref>[http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/tunisia-missing-15-tonnes-of-gold/story-e6frf7jx-1225992107457 Tunisia missing 1.5 tonnes of gold], Herald Sun</ref> The Egyptian uprising resulted in Hosni Mubarek fleeing after desperate attempts were made by him and his associates to preserve his family's wealth and power.<ref>[http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110212/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_egypt_mubarak_s_final_hours Mubarak's final hours], Associated Press</ref> Several newspapers have reported that, once again, appropriating the nation's gold reserves was a major priority for the fallen leader.<ref>[http://www.smh.com.au/world/mubaraks-lastminute-rush-to-hide-his-billions-20110213-1as1c.html Mubarak's Rush to Hide Billions], SMH</ref> Following the overthrow of the ruling elites in Tunisia and Egypt, other North African countries have experienced similar uprisings - all attributable to higher food prices, according to some noted commentators,<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/8492078/How-the-Fed-triggered-the-Arab-Spring-uprisings-in-two-easy-graphs.html How the Fed triggered the Arab Spring uprisings], Andrew Lilico</ref> who have accused Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke of literally having "blood on his hands" due to the encouragement of food price inflation via sustained inflationary loose-monetary policies.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/01/blood-on-bernankes-hands-riots-in-egypt.html Blood on Bernanke's Hands], MISH</ref><ref>[http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/KWN_DailyWeb/Entries/2011/4/6_Marc_Faber_-_Mr._Bernanke_is_a_Murderer_of_the_Middle_Class.html Marc Faber calls Mr Bernanke a Murderer of the Middle Class], King World News</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3NdUU1wWa4&feature=player_embedded#at=89 Max Keiser - Bernanke is a Murderer]</ref><ref>[http://dailyreckoning.com/lessons-from-egypt-for-the-american-people/ Lessons from Egypt], Charles Kadlec</ref><ref>[http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-dictator-bernanke-needs-to-be-toppled-2011-02-15 Fed dictator Bernanke needs to be toppled], Paul B. Farrell</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5050/QE2-Fuels-a-Global-Fury QE2 Fuels a Global Fury], Mark Thornton</ref><ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/bernanke-blame-rising-global-revolutionary-wave?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+zerohedge%2Ffeed+%28zero+hedge+-+on+a+long+enough+timeline%2C+the+survival+rate+for+everyone+drops+to+zero%29 Is Bernanke To Blame?], Tyler Durden, ZeroHedge</ref> The central banker has denied that his inflationary loose-monetary policies have contributed to food inflation.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/8302111/Fed-chief-Ben-Bernanke-denies-US-policy-behind-record-global-food-prices.html Ben Bernanke Denies US Policy Behind Food Price Inflation], UK Telegraph, 3 February 2011</ref> Implicit in Mr Bernanke's argument is the assumption that the central bank can create "good" inflation in some markets and avoid "bad" inflation in others. This alleged central bank power to direct good inflation and abate bad inflation is derided by a number of commentators.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3NdUU1wWa4&feature=player_embedded#at=89 Max Keiser - Bernanke is a Murderer]</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/01/blood-on-bernankes-hands-riots-in-egypt.html Blood on Bernanke's Hands], MISH</ref><ref>[http://dailyreckoning.com/lessons-from-egypt-for-the-american-people/ Lessons from Egypt], Charles Kadlec</ref><ref>[http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-dictator-bernanke-needs-to-be-toppled-2011-02-15 Fed dictator Bernanke needs to be toppled], Paul B. Farrell</ref><ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/bernanke-blame-rising-global-revolutionary-wave?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+zerohedge%2Ffeed+%28zero+hedge+-+on+a+long+enough+timeline%2C+the+survival+rate+for+everyone+drops+to+zero%29 Is Bernanke To Blame?], Tyler Durden, ZeroHedge</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article28587.html QE2 Unmitigated Failure], James Quinn</ref>

Noted British ''Telegraph'' commentator Ambrose Evans-Pritchard has called these the first Malthusian "Food Revolutions" of the modern era, as agflation causes political instability on the periphery of major economies worldwide - particularly those countries that have already denuded their agricultural base and have to import grain and other foods to survive.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/8291470/Egypt-and-Tunisia-usher-in-the-new-era-of-global-food-revolutions.html A New Era of Food Revolutions], Ambrose Evans-Pritchard</ref><ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2011/02/24/in-the-news-today-791/ Collapse]</ref>

It is also reported that very complex, delicate negotiations are taking place between debtor and creditor nations to swap government bonds with gold at prices far in excess of the declared "market price" of gold.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25878.html China Buys European Gold], Jim Willie</ref> These so-called "off-market" deals are a sign the Keynesian Endpoint has arrived.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25878.html China Buys European Gold], Jim Willie</ref>

Finally, it should be noted that, with the destruction of the fascist regimes in Italy, Germany and Japan post-WWII and the collapse of communism in the 1990s, there no longer exists any major economy where the banking system is fully government-owned or has any strictly enforceable social responsibilities beyond pure profit motive. All major world economies have now adopted essentially the same monetary system, with profit-driven private banks (government-licensed institutions legally permitted to engage in unlimited credit creation) able to pocket profits during upswings and socialize losses during downswings by use of central bank asset swaps. If critics are correct that all such systems are doomed to severe boom-bust cycles because of excessive expansion of speculative credit and endemic [[moral hazard]], it is to be expected that all major economies will also experience essentially the same kind of environmental and food crises, and even allegedly "strong" economies such as China will experience severe economic downturns at some stage.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5070/Bust-Looms-As-China-Booms Bust Looms], Markus Bergstrom</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/03/bloodstained-property-map-and-trampled.html Bloodstained Property Map], MISH</ref> However, equally, if critics are correct that fractional reserve banking, excessive credit expansion and artificially low interest rates are at the root of all financial crises, then higher reserve ratios and capital requirements for domestic banks (or the existence of heavily controlled nationalized banks) should reduce the severity of economic crises in those economies with higher reserve requirements for their own banks.<ref>[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-18/china-increases-banks-reserve-ratio-for-second-time-to-curb-property-boom.html China increases bank reserves to curb inflation], Bloomberg</ref><ref>[http://video.ft.com/ Lex's John Authers and Richard Stovin-Bradford discuss how to regulate banks better and how to handle those that are just too big to fai]</ref>

==Proposals for monetary reform==
===Potential solutions===
Many consider it too late to reform the financial system.<ref>[http://news.goldseek.com/LewRockwell/1306767600.php Is Greece the Future of America?], Mike Rozeff</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27739.html Financial Slaughterhouse], Ashvin_Pandurangi</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27764.html The Big QE2 Shakedown], Mike Whitney</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GmBoJ7qHYg&feature=player_embedded Simon Johnson INET]</ref><ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/sep/14/banking-reforms-too-little-too-late Too Little Too Late], UK Guardian, 14 Sept 2010</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27583.html Fed Reckoning Day Realities for Investor Pains and Gains], Deepcaster LLC</ref> All governments, by their nature, seek to have a monopoly of force and are the final arbiter of disputes between any two parties within their jurisdiction.<ref>[http://www.dailypaul.com/140907/hans-hoppe-on-why-he-thinks-limited-government-is-impossible Hans Hoppe on why limited government is impossible]</ref> If parasitic forces take over monopoly government, destruction of the economy can occur without the ability of the people to revolt or defend themselves against the depredations of government force.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig11/wile13.1.html One World Government], Hans Hermann Hoppe</ref> Bad policies can therefore continue for longer than the survival of the economy itself.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig11/wile13.1.html One World Government], Hans Hermann Hoppe</ref> The relentless exponential growth in retirement and welfare benefits alone will be enough to bankrupt many Western governments (including the United States).<ref>[http://www.amazon.com/Boomergeddon-Deficits-Government-Devastate-Retirement/dp/1892538539/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1305008253&sr=8-1 Boomergeddon], James A. Bacon Jr</ref> No one in power today appears willing to tackle either the corrupt banking industry or government largesse.<ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/thebearslairview?art_id=10538 Sayonara, Washington], Martin Hutchinson</ref> Too many in power now have a vested interest in the continuation of the system of spiraling inflation and debt to stop it, even if it could be stopped.<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-global-economy-burns-while-its-leaders-fiddle Global Economy Burns, While Its Leaders Fiddle], Nomi Prins, ZeroHedge</ref> Whilst the general economy suffers, many retailers go bankrupt, millions are foreclosed and real incomes are decimated, perversely, banking bonuses and lobbyists' incomes have skyrocketed.<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/jan/10/banks-unlimited-bonuses-ministers Banks given go-ahead to pay unlimited bonuses], Guardian UK</ref><ref>[http://www.creditcrunch.co.uk/forum/topic/9253-banking-cheats-will-always-prosper/ Bank Cheats Will Always Prosper], CreditCrunch.co.uk</ref><ref>[http://dailyreckoning.com/the-expanding-industry-of-us-government/ The Expanding Industry of US Government], Bill Bonner</ref> Noted gold investor, Jim Sinclair, has publicly stated that today's bankers are little more than irredeemably shallow "sociopaths", unable to grow a conscience and unable to forsee or care about the broader societal consequences of their actions beyond their own inbred groupings.<ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2009/08/31/china-invokes-a-stop-loss-on-otc-derivatives/ OTC Derivatives], Jim Sinclair</ref> He suggests that many senior participants in the international banking and derivatives industry should be jailed<ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2010/10/31/jims-mailbox-573/ Debt Burden Being Transferred], Jim Sinclair</ref> to protect the public from repeatedly being "raped"<ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2010/11/21/in-the-news-today-713/ EU Ministers Said To Plan Meeting Over Ireland], Jim Sinclair</ref> by their scams and has the following conclusion on his website:<ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2010/11/09/in-the-news-today-701/ There is no practical solution], Jim Sinclair</ref>

{{quote|For years I have been telling you that there is NO PRACTICAL SOLUTION to the total of all the mistakes that have been made since Roosevelt, in a depression, started it all.}}

Jim Sinclair considers it too late to save the system and recommends people become self-sufficient and buy gold to await the inevitable collapse of the political and economic system and the associated breakdown in the division of labor.<ref>[http://jsmineset.com/2011/04/07/the-system-has-failed/ The System Has Failed], Jim Sinclair</ref>

Max Keiser has stated that the culture of actual physical sexual coercion and rape allegedly exhibited by such dominant financial figures as former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn and others is simply symptomatic and an outgrowth of a culture of financial rape and exploitation.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skwj6e9xvH8&feature=player_embedded#at=102 Savers vs Speculators] Quote: Max Keiser: "Munich Re, a financial terrorist responsible for creating ghettos. Financially disadvantaged folks who are on the short end of the 'ghettoization' of the financial terrorist schemes...are forced to wear ''yellow armbands'' and be ''sex slaves'' for their German hosts." Stacy Herbert: "Yes. And be stamped on their arms afterward to prove that they were used." Max Keiser: "Yes. Let's not forget the little serial code-stamp on the wrist as part of the package." Stacy Herbert: "But Max, the story here is that this goes from the very bottom. These are just agents going door-to-door selling insurance products in the financial services industry. The top of the pyramid of the banking Establishment is Dominique Strauss-Kahn." Max Keiser: "This is a culture. Dominique Stauss-Kahn is part of the banking ''culture''. There's Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Lloyd Blankfein, Jamie Dimon, this guy Pandit over at Citigroup, the CEO just paid himself $42 million for stealing $420 million - they have a culture of predator behavior where once you - like a serial killer - once you steal money from people with mortgage fraud or with banking fees that are illegitimate or with collateralized debt obligations you get a taste for serial financial killing. You graduate to these higher crimes and you become a Dominique Strauss-Kahn or a Lloyd Blankfein or a Jamie Dimon where serial financial murder is part of your day-to-day life. That's the culture you live in."</ref> In order to be part of the system, you must be blind to its consequences. Therefore, no one with a conscience can become powerful enough within the system to fundamentally change trajectory from its current catastrophic path.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqyCjR9JEMA&feature=player_embedded Nothing Stops Banks], Matt Taibbi</ref>

John Perkins, author of ''Economic Hitman'', has openly stated that the U.S. government is merely a front runner for major corporate interests and has assassinated leaders of countries where reform has been attempted.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmU9R-BaFIQ Max Keiser Interview with John Perkins]</ref> The zealotry and extremism against genuine and honest monetary reformers on the one hand and the payoffs and largesse given to unprincipled and corrupt supporters of the current monetary regime on the other ensure there is no path of reform left for those potential leaders with a conscience.<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/more-political-capture-goldman-hires-top-republican-fed-transparency-foe-spends-more-time-se More Political Capture], ZeroHedge</ref>

Dimitry Orlov, author of ''Reinventing Collapse'', has written extensively about the striking similarities between the collapse of the USSR and the multiple environmental, economic and social crises facing the USA. He also predicts economic, political and social collapse in much of the West and in particular predicts that peak oil will result in some countries being cut off completely from oil supplies resulting in sudden social upheaval and starvation and believes that it is too late for any kind of meaningful reform:<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLdwzcA9ZdM&feature=player_embedded#at=997 Dimitry Orlov Interview with Max Keiser - ''Reinventing Collapse'']</ref>

{{quote|(US military adverturism overseas) is just a very striking example of being unable to stop, even though what you're doing isn't actually working...

By demolishing as much of the social infrastructure as exists in the country... you will end up with an even less literate population that will be unable to oppose the government, unable to stand up for themselves and demand that their rights and needs be met...

People who think they can somehow skirt the financial system are wrong. They will be dominated by the Bernankes of this world and others. There isn't really a way out except to make do without money. And that's kind of what I try to explain to people is: Reduce your needs for any kind of interaction with the official economy and you will do better.}}

On a national level, for unsustainably indebted nations, the simplest and cleanest solution for any debt-fuelled crisis is to [[default]].<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/02/massive-rout-in-irish-elections.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MishsGlobalEconomicTrendAnalysis+%28Mish%27s+Global+Economic+Trend+Analysis%29 Default Best Option for Ireland], MISH</ref> Bankers generally despise this solution because it (a) reduces the value of their asset (debt-based government bonds) (b) reduces or even destroys their income stream (interest on bonds) and therefore may affect their retained earnings in future (and their credit rating and compliance with Basel III rules on Tier 1 capital) (c) can result in a systemic crisis as many banks will be using that government debt to satisfy their liquidity requirements under Basel III (which requires a minimum proportion of "liquid" assets to be held by the banks - and those "assets" mainly consist of government bonds) and (d) signals to other countries that it is possible to escape debt without consequence and so potentially reduces the value of government debt in surrounding countries.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/05/trichet-goes-ballistic-walks-out-of.html Trichet Goes Ballistic], MISH</ref> Self-interested bankers are therefore often desperate to avoid government debt default, and generally much prefer an economy to be strangled by debt rather than be freed of it.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/05/trichet-goes-ballistic-walks-out-of.html Trichet Goes Ballistic], MISH</ref>

As an example of the consequences of the two alternatives, Iceland did not try to save its private bankers but instead permitted them to default on private bond payments. Ireland on the other hand guaranteed private bank debt and in doing so subjected the taxpayers of that country to decades of payments for debts that were not incurred on their behalf or for their benefit. Many commentators have observed that in 2010 [[Iceland]] recovered much faster than other countries such as [[Ireland]].<ref>[http://www.smh.com.au/business/iceland-bounces-back-as-pain-leads-to-gain-20101208-18pvm.html Iceland Bounces Back]</ref><ref>[http://www.vanityfair.com/business/features/2011/03/michael-lewis-ireland-201103?printable=true When Irish Eyes Are Crying], Michael Lewis</ref> In his extensive analysis of the aftermath of the banking panic in Ireland, Michael Lewis wrote of his puzzlement that the Irish government thought it was beyond the bounds of acceptable political discourse to consider default on privately issued Irish bank bonds, when Iceland successfully and easily defaulted and only after this did they nationalize their banking system.<ref>[http://www.vanityfair.com/business/features/2011/03/michael-lewis-ireland-201103?printable=true When Irish Eyes Are Crying], Michael Lewis</ref>

In the absence of outright default, time is the only other remedy for monetary crises (allowing re-inflation of the markets through the gradual injection of new [[debt money]] into the system through new borrowings). It is a rare "[[black swan]]" event for a cluster of private businesses or banks to default at the same time and governments often hope that this will not happen again once it has happened already. However, if the crisis is one of national solvency, waiting passively for recovery may only delay - and exacerbate - the final catastrophe as the debt-based monetary system pushes all businesses slowly towards the next crisis by confusing and misleading market participants with false price signals, particularly as they relate to interest rates. Once the next crisis hits because of even more confused price signals due to government interference in the market for money, time is something panicked financiers and investors are least likely to want to give up when the threat is never getting their [[money]] out of the imploding investment [[bubble]]. In extreme cases [[bank]]s could set up "independent" corporate investment vehicles to buy the assets associated with the [[bad debt]],<ref>[http://www.dealbreaker.com/2007/10/citigroup_looks_to_lend_money.php Citigroup looks to lend money]</ref> thereby allowing [[borrower]]s to liquidate their investments and allow time for the markets to re-inflate. Alternatively, these "sour" loans, that have gone bad through too much debt overwhelming the markets, could be dumped or "hidden" on the central bank's balance sheet, and swapped for more secure government debt (financed through compulsorily acquired taxes, which are immune from the risk of private bankruptcy). However the holding costs involved in these measures would be extremely high and would not guarantee that the losses could be averted if no new gullible investors could be found to offload these distressed assets.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8w6Nx2rfiE A Wikileaks for the Fed?]</ref> More fundamentally, these short-term "parachutes" used after bubbles burst do not save ordinary borrowers from [[foreclosure]] and [[bankruptcy]], nor do they address the pernicious long-term dysfunctional aspects of [[fractional reserve banking]] described above. These problems are temporarily averted, only to be dealt with yet again by the next generation of indebted governments and peoples.<ref>[http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18431.htm The Era of Global Financial Instability, by Mike Whitney]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8w6Nx2rfiE A Wikileaks for the Fed?]</ref>

Given these repeated financial crises arising from the fiat monetary system, many [[monetary reform]]ers predict that there will inevitably be widespread default or hyperinflation or depression - or most likely all three simultaneously in what Ludwig von Mises predicted would be a "final and total catastrophe" of our unsustainable, Ponzi-like, fiat monetary system.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5041/Whats-Behind-the-Currency-War What's Behind the Currency War], Anthony Mueller</ref> After this "catastrophe"<ref name="Landis_Reprieve">[http://www.goldensextant.com/SavingtheSystem.html Fiat's Reprieve: Saving the System, 1979-1987], Robert K. Landis, August 21, 2004.</ref> in which a significant proportion of the population may die through starvation or war<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/20-signs-horrific-global-food-crisis-coming?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+zerohedge%2Ffeed+%28zero+hedge+-+on+a+long+enough+timeline%2C+the+survival+rate+for+everyone+drops+to+zero%29 20 Signs], ZeroHedge</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/adams-m/adams-m15.1.html US Agriculture Collapse]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26605.html Population Reduction], Chris Kitze</ref><ref>[http://www.rickackerman.com/2011/03/getting-the-jump-on-a-possible-food-shortage/ Getting the Jump on Food Shortages], Marilyn Ackerman</ref> a spontaneous market-induced return to the [[gold standard]] is anticipated to be the most likely result.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMngK0t5WkY Mike Maloney interview with Max Keiser], The Keiser Report</ref><ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/02/us-dollar-about-to-lose-reserve.html US Dollar About to Lose Reserve Currency Status: Fact or Fiction?], MISH</ref> Other possible solutions following the catastrophe include a return to legally enforced full reserve banking combined with the issuance government-issued debt-free [[fiat currency]], or [[free banking]] and the issuance of private coinage and private money. If these solutions are not initiated soon, it can be expected that a complete financial "meltdown" will ensue at some stage, as environmental crises and destruction of arable land slow GDP growth in developing nations and fewer young people in developed economies can be found who are willing to go into debt in sufficient magnitude to pay off the debts that have already been accumulated.<ref name="Bonner_Swan" /><ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /> As extreme inequality increases, [[foreclosure]]s mount and financial crises repeatedly erupt, many believe a political crisis will eventually result in calls for revolution and fundamental [[monetary reform]].<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV_gwvSibmM&feature=player_embedded#at=510 Max Keiser on Alex Jones]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMngK0t5WkY Mike Maloney interview with Max Keiser], The Keiser Report</ref><ref name="Landis_Reprieve" /> However, as noted above, some commentators consider that it is already too late to avoid a combined financial, environmental and demographic catastrophe even if reform is now attempted.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/03/oil-prices-are-double-edged-sword-peak.html Peak Everything?], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.population-security.org/28-APP2.html NSSM 200 Directive], Henry A. Kissinger, April 24, 1974</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KInB2rvgaY&feature=fvsr Eco Eco Disaster], Keiser Report</ref>

On-going, worsening, [[debt]]-created crises in the economy and society (and the unsustainable damage to the [[environment]] caused by debt-created [[overconsumption]]) are likely to turn monetary and economic policies either to the extreme left or to the extreme right, as there are a number of competing solutions to the debt-based monetary "problem".<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqjyk2cx5WU&feature=player_embedded#at=696 Taste of Freedom E126], Max Keiser, Keiser Report</ref>

===Libertarians, Austrians and commodity money===

[[Libertarians]] and [[Austrian School]] supporters envision a voluntary society of free markets, [[free banking]], small government<ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/thebearslairview?art_id=10473 Models of Capitalism], Michael Hutchinson</ref> and the abolition of [[legal tender laws]], allowing money backed by a free market [[gold standard]] or [[silver standard]] to come back in circulation.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27532.html Why Monetary Expansion Must Stop], Patrick Barron</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article26339.html Silver and Opium], Antal E. Fekete</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25212.html The Faults of FRB], Thorsten Polleit</ref> A necessary pre-condition in establishing a true free-market order would be the complete abolition of all legal tender laws and the abolition of monopolistic central banking, including repeal of the ''Federal Reserve Act'' of 1913.<ref>[http://www.drschoon.com/articles%5CSilverGoldAndTheLastAmericanHeroJFK.pdf Silver, Gold and the Last American Hero JFK], Darryl Robert Schoon. Extracted quote from Ron Paul: "The United States Constitution grants to Congress the authority to coin money and regulate the value of the currency. The Constitution does not give Congress the authority to delegate control over monetary policy to a central bank. Furthermore, the Constitution certainly does not empower the federal government to erode the American standard of living via an inflationary monetary policy." Note: Another argument – that the power to "coin" money precludes issuance of paper money, and that the government must redeem paper money with "precious metal" – was dismissed as frivolous in ''Milam v. United States'', citing the Legal Tender Cases.</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/73833.html End the Fed], Freedom Watch</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4860 Money: Sound and Unsound], Mark Thornton commentary on Joseph Salerno's book</ref><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/thebearslairview?art_id=10471 Gold Standard Renaissance?]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article24632.html The Gold Standard Never Dies], [[Lew Rockwell]]</ref><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/thebearslairview?art_id=10471 Gold Standard], Michael Hutchinson</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Money-Bank-Credit-and-Economic-Cycles-P290C0.aspx Money, Bank Credit and Economic Cycles], Jesus Huerta de Soto, Mises Institute ISBN: 978-1-933550-39-8</ref><ref>[http://radio.goldseek.com/griffin04.10.10.php Goldseek interview] with [[G. Edward Griffin]]</ref><ref>See also these [[Murray Rothbard]] articles: [http://www.mises.org/money.asp What Has Government Done to Our Money?], [http://www.mises.org/story/1829 The Case for the 100% Gold Dollar]; [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/cartelization.pdf The Fed as Cartel], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard191.html Private Coinage], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard190.html Repudiate the National Debt]; [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard181.html Taking Money Back], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard163.html Anatomy of the Bank Run], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard128.html Money and the Individual]</ref> Some Libertarians would also support experimentation with [[full reserve banking]],<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4860 Money: Sound and Unsound], Mark Thornton commentary on Joseph Salerno's book</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Money-Bank-Credit-and-Economic-Cycles-P290C0.aspx Money, Bank Credit and Economic Cycles], Jesus Huerta de Soto, Mises Institute ISBN: 978-1-933550-39-8</ref><ref>[http://www.mises.org/Books/mysteryofbanking.pdf Murray Rothbard, ''The Mystery of Banking'']</ref> recognizing that when fractional-reserve banking is combined with the gold standard a strong cyclical bias (and the systematic transfer of real wealth to the banking system) is normally inevitable.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5174/Life-with-the-Fed-Sunshine-and-Lollipops Life With The Fed], Thomas Woods</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/5185/The-Need-for-100-Reserves The Need for 100% Reserves], Frank D. Graham</ref> Those Libertarians who support full reserve banking would strongly support more flexible and forgiving bankruptcy laws in a fractional reserve banking environment, recognizing that no stigma should be attached to bankruptcy given the anti-Libertarian "unjust acquisition" of real wealth implicit in central banking, compulsory legal tender laws, fractional reserve banking and taxation.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4860 Money: Sound and Unsound], Mark Thornton commentary on Joseph Salerno's book</ref><ref name="Repudiating the National Debt">[http://mises.org/article.aspx?Id=1423 Repudiating the National Debt], Murray Rothbard</ref><ref>[http://www.mises.org/Books/mysteryofbanking.pdf Murray Rothbard, ''The Mystery of Banking'']</ref><ref>[http://gonzalolira.blogspot.com/2010/12/want-to-ruin-your-own-country-assume.html Want to Ruin Your Country?]</ref>

Regarding the current accumulation of government bonds and private debt, some Libertarians believe that the creation of the [[Federal Reserve System|Federal Reserve]] under the [[Federal Reserve Act]] of 1913 was unconstitutional and some Libertarians consider that at least some of this accumulated debt should be canceled or forgiven prior to a return to the gold standard in recognition of its fundamental illegitimacy.<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/antal-feketes-open-letter-ron-paul-impeach-bernanke Antal Fekete's Letter to Ron Paul]</ref><ref name="Repudiating the National Debt"/><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zMv4Offm_8&feature=player_embedded#at=1341 Max Keiser Interview with Alex Jones]</ref> Arguably this would be supported by the "just acquisition" jurisprudence of legal philosopher [[Robert Nozick]] and Libertarian advocate [[Murray Rothbard]].<ref name="Repudiating the National Debt"/>

In late 2010, financial commentator Max Keiser started the [[Buy Silver Crash JP Morgan Campaign 2010]] in an attempt to expose the flaws underlying the [[fractional reserve banking]] system.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zMv4Offm_8&feature=player_embedded#at=1341 Max Keiser Interview with Alex Jones]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IKbAmsGey0&feature=player_embedded#at=66 Bob Chapman Silver Predictions]</ref><ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/dec/02/jp-morgan-silver-short-selling-crash Want JP Morgan to crash? Buy silver], Max Keiser</ref>

====Free Banking and Full Reserve Banking====

On the issue of the required level of bank reserves, Austro-libertarians are sharply divided on the optimal solution to eliminate the parasitic and destructive forces inherent in fractional reserve banking.<ref>[http://mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae13_4_2.pdf Fractional Reserve Free Banking: Some Quibbles], Philip Bagus and David Howden</ref><ref name="Cochran_Free">John P. Cochran. [http://mises.org/daily/4898 ''Free Banking''], ''Mises Daily'', review of ''Free Banking: Theory, History, and a Laissez-Faire Model'' by Larry Sechrest</ref>

Some Austrian scholars advocate "free banking", where banks are legally permitted to engage in fractional-reserve banking activities ''provided'' they comply with the standard laws against fraud and are not supported in any way against the possibility of bank runs and are forced into bankruptcy should they not be able to pay their debts as and when they fall due.<ref name="Cochran_Free" />

Advocates of this system of banking include Lawrence White, Steven Horwitz, George Selgin, and Kevin Dowd, amongst others.<ref name="Cochran_Free" /> F.A. Hayek also advocated the de-nationalization of money production and implicitly supported a free banking financial system in some of his works on monetary reform.<ref>[http://www.mises.org/store/Free-Market-Monetary-System-A-P553.aspx?AFID=14 ''Free Market Money System''] by [[F.A. Hayek]]</ref>

Other Austrian scholars advocate "[[full reserve banking]]", considering fractional-reserve banking and the associated issuance of irredeemable paper money to be inherently fraudulent, unethical, unjust, disruptive and dysfunctional, akin to embezzlement and counterfeiting.<ref>[http://www.zerohedge.com/article/citizen-sues-atlanta-fed-based-allegation-its-issuing-federal-reserve-notes-it-has-no-intent Citizen Sues Atlanta Fed], ZeroHedge</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae13_4_2.pdf Fractional Reserve Free Banking: Some Quibbles], Philip Bagus and David Howden</ref><ref>See for example these [[Murray Rothbard]] articles: [http://www.mises.org/money.asp What Has Government Done to Our Money?], [http://www.mises.org/story/1829 The Case for the 100% Gold Dollar]; [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/cartelization.pdf The Fed as Cartel], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard191.html Private Coinage], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard190.html Repudiate the National Debt]; [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard181.html Taking Money Back], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard163.html Anatomy of the Bank Run], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard128.html Money and the Individual]</ref> [[Full reserve banking]] would require banks to retain in reserve all deposits that are legally available for immediate withdrawal, and permit lending only from longer-term deposits.

Advocates of this system of banking include [[Murray Rothbard]],<ref name="The Mystery of Banking">[http://www.mises.org/Books/mysteryofbanking.pdf ''The Mystery of Banking''], Murray Rothbard</ref><ref name="The Case for a 100% Gold Dollar">[http://mises.org/story/1829 The Case for a 100% Gold Dollar], Murray Rothbard</ref> [[Jesus Huerta de Soto]],<ref>[http://www.mises.org/books/desoto.pdf ''Money, Bank Credit, and Economic Cycles''], Jesus Huerta de Soto, First English edition (2006), pp. 98-114</ref> [[Jörg Guido Hülsmann]],<ref>[http://mises.org/media/4014 The Economics of Legal Tender Laws], and [[Jorg Guido Hulsmann]] (includes detailed commentary on [[central banking]], [[inflation]] and [[fractional reserve banking|FRB]])</ref><ref name=FBFB>[http://mises.org/journals/rae/pdf/RAE9_1_1.pdf Free Banking and the Free Bankers], Jörg Guido Hülsmann, Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics (Vol. 9, No. 1)</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/lewrockwell-show/2011/01/04/181-hyperinflation-ahead/ Interview with Jörg Guido Hülsmann], The Lew Rockwell Show</ref> amongst others.<ref>[http://mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae13_4_2.pdf Fractional Reserve Free Banking: Some Quibbles], Philip Bagus and David Howden</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4880 The Faults of Fractional-Reserve Banking], Thorsten Polleit</ref>

Most recently, in late 2010, two British MP's, Douglas Carswell and Steven Baker, sought to introduce legislation into the British Parliament that would allow depositors to decide if their money should be lent out and for what period.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/8004540/The-radical-reform-that-would-end-boom-and-bust-in-banking.html ''The Radical Reform in Banking''], Toby Baxendale, ''Daily Telegraph'', 15 Sept 2010</ref> If this legislative reform were to pass, British depositors would have the option to elect to save their money in full reserve bank accounts.

===Debt-free money===

The concept of debt-free money is most notably represented by [[Michael Rowbotham]], [[Stephen Zarlenga]] of the American Monetary Institute and [[Ellen Hodgson Brown]]. They advocate various forms of "pure" fiat money issuance by government, without the need for the government to issue a bond to print or issue the fiat money.

Currently virtually all money issued in modern economies is sourced from debt; in other words, it is "debt money". "Debt money" is money created in parallel with debt or [[Credit (finance)|credit]] via the process of [[fractional reserve banking]].

"Debt-free money" is a "true" or "pure" fiat currency issued by the [[Treasury]] of a [[central government]], where there is no requirement for its eventual return as a condition of its creation (except by way of payment of taxes).<ref name="death"/> It is argued by Rowbotham and others that this would allow for the substantial lowering of tax rates, would allow public works projects to be funded cheaply, and would stimulate economic development, if the fiat money is spent sensibly on inflation-lowering long-term capital projects.<ref name="death"/>

====Properties====
According to its proponents, government-issued debt-free fiat currency (such as debt-free notes and coins) can circulate perpetually in the economy as "stable" money and although not as secure as [[hard currency]], government-issued debt-free notes and coins (such as [[United States Note]]s and [[silver certificate]]s) do not have the same effects of debt-based money.<ref>[http://www.entrewave.com/freebooks/docs/a_pdfs/gnhm.pdf Honest Money]</ref> It should be noted however that fiat currency can be a source of [[hyperinflation]] if its production is not controlled, as the government has the potential to issue unlimited amounts of fiat currency - ''provided'' it is accepted as "money" by the [[private bank]]ing system.<ref>[http://mises.org/books/shorthistorypapermoney.pdf A Short History of Paper Money in the United States], William M. Gouge, Mises Institute</ref> Notes and coins in circulation (being defined as [[Money supply#M0|M0]]) now account for a tiny fraction of the total M3 [[money supply]] in all developed, debt-based [[capitalism|capitalist]] economies (and M0 is also generally less than 10% of the total [[Money supply#M2|M2]] money supply in most developed economies).<ref>[http://www.dollardaze.org/blog/?post_id=00216 Global Money Supply Ratios]</ref>

Instead of [[money]] being created "indirectly" and "furtively" at the point of [[loan]] creation by the private banking system, with periodic [[bailouts]] to [[socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor|already-rich bankers]], it would be created directly and openly by the democratically elected government and issued to its [[citizen]]ry by way of instruction to the private banking system.

Michael Rowbotham and Ellen Hodgson Brown both argue in their books that this would not raise consumer prices (or at least would not be as inflationary or as dysfunctional as the present system).<ref>[http://www.webofdebt.com/articles/hyperinflation.php Weimar Hyperinflation], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref> This would also reduce [[overconsumption]] and the associated [[Natural environment|environment]]al damage associated with debt-based [[consumerism]]. It would also give individuals the free time to engage once again in non-marketable [[religious]], [[artistic]] and [[recreation]]al activities if they chose to do so.<ref name="death"/>

It is to be expected that these policies would be violently opposed by the [[private bank]]ing "[[elite]]", as it would render impotent their control over the [[money supply]], dissipating this crucial decision-making power away from its current power base. It would also be likely to reduce [[economic growth]], dramatically increase the cost of [[labor]] and, potentially, result in an exacerbation of price inflation and malinvestment.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/12/fatally-flawed-end-fed-proposal-from.html Fatally Flawed End the Fed Proposal], MISH</ref> However, Rowbotham argues that this proposal would address the problem of [[inequality]] inherent in a debt-based monetary system and reduce the devastating impact of personal [[bankruptcy]] and allow individual citizens to quickly recover from financial hardship.<ref name="death"/> He also argues that this [[social security]] measure (and government spending in general) would not have to be paid for by future generations from future streams of [[income tax]].<ref name="death"/>

====Related proposals====
Ex-U.S. Treasury Department analyst Richard C. Cook also supports the issuance of debt-free money and zero-interest credit by the central government and has provided a detailed blueprint of monetary reform recommendations to transition to a debt-free money supply.<ref name="marketoracle.co.uk"/>

[[Stephen Zarlenga]] and [[Ellen Hodgson Brown]] also call for the nationalization of the private banking system once the full losses on the banks' portfolios are recognized.<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ellen-brown/restoring-economic-sovere_b_823697.html Restoring Economic Sovereignty], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref><ref>[http://www.webofdebt.com/articles/new_theory.php Time for a New Theory of Money]</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/01/steve-keen-responds-to-world-economic.html Exponential Growth], MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.webofdebt.com/articles/force_nationalization.php Foreclosuregate could force bank nationalization]</ref><ref>[http://webofdebt.wordpress.com/2010/12/22/austerity-fails-in-euroland-time-for-some-%e2%80%9cdeficit-easing%e2%80%9d/ Austerity Fails in Europe], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref>

Brown also supported "[[Quantitative easing|QE2]]" - which she described as a necessary and desirable funding of government spending via money printing rather than by the indirect means of issuing of interest-bearing government bonds, which simply allows private bankers to profit from costless money creation.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article24443.html QE2 and the Looming Threat of a Crippling Debt Service]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article24719.html QE2 and Hyperinflation], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref>

[[Michael Rowbotham]] seeks the cancellation of "unjust" debts (such as [[third world debt]]), but would also support the re-introduction of strongly redistributive tax policies involving higher financial transaction taxes (such as a [[Tobin tax]]), [[land tax]]es and [[inheritance tax]]es, and, crucially and most importantly, a [[social security]] [[safety net]] involving a guaranteed minimum [[social credit|debt-free income]] (sourced from government-issued debt-free money independent of any central bank) for all citizens in the debt-based economy. Under this proposal, every adult citizen would be given a livable debt-free income transferred electronically into their [[bank account]], simply by virtue of their [[citizen]]ship. They could then use this debt-free money to pay off their [[mortgage]]s or to live, debt-free, without being compelled to work as a [[wage slavery|wage slave]] in the market economy if they chose not to. The government would finance these payments simply by ordering the private banks to accept their electronic instructions as legal tender. It would therefore not result in the expansion of [[government debt]].<ref name="death"/>

Many monetary reformers who call on the government to take back the money creation from debt-sourced banks also call for full reserve banking to remove the bank's alleged "embezzlement" and "counterfeiting" abilities.<ref name="marketoracle.co.uk"/><ref>[http://www.monetary.org/ AMI website, calling on full-reserve banking]</ref>

====Criticisms====
In late 2010, [[Ellen Hodgson Brown]] and Austrian School commentator [[Gary North]] engaged in an intense debate over the direction of [[monetary reform]], with gold-standard supporter [[Gary North]] accusing Brown of going down a path that inevitably leads to the economics of fascism and hyperinflation.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north908.html Criticism of Ellen Hodgson Brown]</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north912.html Ellen Betrays], Gary North</ref> Government deficit spending is not a substitute for private consumption due to the inability of coercive goverment to invest rationally long-term, given the [[economic calculation problem]] inherent in socialized economies. North argues that it is not possible to trust a coercive, non-market entity - government - to limit its spending in circumstances where pure fiat money is in the hands of politicians and that [[inflation]], being an invisible tax, is much harder to resist than regular taxes. Greedy, corrupt, short-sighted politicians could buy off special interest groups to get elected and the general public could only watch on the sidelines as the purchasing power of their dollars steadily declines; this decline would be blamed on currency speculators and eventually foreign currencies (including "natural" monies such as gold and silver and copper) would have to be banned and confiscated from the public to ensure continued use of depreciating fiat.<ref name="North_Congress">Gary North. [http://www.garynorth.com/public/7030.cfm "Economic Error #15: Congress Can Safely Be Trusted to Manage the Money System Without Any Price Inflation."]. Referenced 2011-02-24.</ref> The fundamental error of Brown's analysis, according to North, is that Brown expects the source of the problem - corrupt governments bought and paid for by bankers - to be the source of the solution.

[[Mike Shedlock]] agrees with the abolition of fractional reserve banking, but criticizes the concept on similar grounds as North. Commenting on a bill to end the Fed introduced by Representative [[Dennis Kucinich]], he wrote: "Neither sound money nor the free market comes from printing money into existence. Arguably the only thing worse than the Fed printing money out of thin air is Congress printing money out of thin air for the purpose of full employment and/or any other absurd ideas Congress has."<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25175.html Kucinich's End the Fed campaign fatally flawed], Mike Shedlock.</ref>

===Left-leaning ideas===
Many left-leaning [[social democrats]] would also support the taxing of the banking system and the enforcement of strongly redistributive income and [[land tax]]es to ensure the financially dispossessed are "replenished" with income. They would also support a [[social security]] [[safety net]] involving the provision of unemployment benefits and government-supplied free medical care, education and other essential services and [[public goods]]. It is to be expected however that, without the issuance of debt-free [[fiat currency]], this system would result in the persistent, exponential, accumulation of [[government debt]], financed by the [[private banking]] system by the issuance of [[government bonds]]. If not properly managed, this could result in a progressively higher tax burden and may result in higher [[interest rates]] in the long term, as financiers require higher [[interest rates]] to lend to the increasingly indebted central government. Without the issuance of [[debt-free money]] these policies can be self-defeating, with the net result simply being that a larger stream of guaranteed income goes to the [[private bank]]ing system via the issuance of interest-bearing [[government bonds]] (which are purchased by the [[private banks]] "out of nothing" through [[fractional reserve banking]] techniques). This [[government debt]] must then be financed in perpetuity by compulsorily acquired [[tax]]es from future generations.

It could be argued that the early success of extreme so-called "right-wing" (but socialist government-guided) [[fascism]] in [[Nazi Germany]] and [[Italy]] in the period after [[World War I]] was a response to the economic chaos created by the debt-based monetary system in early 20th century [[Europe]]. Some of the economic policies introduced by [[Hitler]] and [[Mussolini]] were in direct response to the economic collapse and social [[anarchy]] caused by soaring government and personal debt levels in both countries in the post-[[Versailles Treaty]] era, and (indirectly) arose from the writings of [[Silvio Gesell]] and others on the nature of the problems associated with a debt-based [[monetary system]]. Although many [[historian]]s justifiably criticize many of the non-economic policies of the [[fascist]] governments of [[Germany]] and [[Italy]] during this period, the [[economics of fascism]] seemed to provide a degree of [[prosperity]] to the populace, and their stated objective of restoring economic and social order during the pre-[[World War II]] era.<ref>[http://www.webofdebt.com/articles/bankrupt-germany.php How a Bankrupt Germany Solved its Economic Problems], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref> These economic policies and their results are the subject of vigorous debate even today.<ref name="North_National_Great">Gary North. [http://www.garynorth.com/public/7009.cfm "Historical Error #27: Hitler's National Socialist Economic Policies Ended the Great Depression in Germany."], ''GaryNorth.Com''. Referenced 2011-02-24.</ref> (See also [[Inflation in Nazi Germany]].)

Similarly it could be argued that [[socialism]] and [[communism]] were movements inspired by the inequalities caused by the intense (and in [[Karl Marx]]'s view unsustainable) concentrations of monetary wealth, power and influence inherent in the practice of [[fractional reserve banking]] in a [[laissez-faire]], [[monopoly]] [[capitalist]] environment (particularly when [[fractional reserve banking]] is combined with a [[gold standard]] or other [[hard currency]] [[monetary system]]).<ref>[http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/02/steve-keen-roving-cavaliers-of-credit.html ''Roving Cavaliers of Credit'', Steve Keen, with commentary from Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism]</ref>

The [[communist]]/[[socialist]] solution to the problem of [[fractional reserve banking]] is simple: re-enfranchising workers through widespread organization and unionism, complete removal (and if necessary, violent non-democratic removal) of the allegedly "parasitic" financial, capitalist and upper classes, wholesale repudiation of [[government debt]] resulting in complete debt [[default]]; forced [[expropriation]] of [[land]] and wealth from the [[upper classes]] to the dispossessed and needy [[working classes]]; [[nationalization]] of the [[private banks]] (which has required armed [[coup]]s by the [[military]] in some past [[revolution]]s); and the return of the banking function from a dominant, speculative to a subordinate, administrative institution, where the banking system is reduced to a subservient arm of the centralized [[Leviathan]]. In this system, government-owned banks are directed by government policy; often provide different kinds of loans to different industry sectors at different interest rates depending on the perceived "needs" of the economy and the community; normally have a significant proportion of [[non-performing loan]]s due to weak or non-existent [[bankruptcy]] laws; and periodically "forgive" failed debts in recognition of the impossibility of some businesses in paying this debt money back. In addition, individuals are prohibited from possessing large property holdings, in excess of their individual needs.

It is to be expected that the [[profitability]] of the government-owned banking system would be more stable - but dramatically lower - than that in a debt-based [[capitalist]] economy. It is also to be expected that a significantly higher misallocation of resources could occur in this system, where lending decisions are "infected" by political considerations and are not made on the basis of expected [[return on investment]]. The risk of [[corruption]] in the banking system is also expected to be higher where there is no separation between the political and monetary systems in an economy. Market-oriented [[monetary reform]]ers and [[neo-classical]] economists therefore do not support [[nationalization]] of the [[private banking]] system.

It should be noted that partial [[nationalization]] of the [[private bank]]ing system would only be temporary, as any remaining [[private banks]] could still engage in unlimited [[fractional reserve banking]] and facilitate the eventual acquisition and control of any strategic assets in a partially socialized economic system. It is to be expected that in the absence of complete [[nationalization]] of the banking system, the [[private bank]]ing system would eventually dominate the financial system in any nominally [[socialist]] society.

===Status under current systems===
Whatever their political leanings, nearly all [[monetary reform]]ers agree that the current financial and economic system imposed on the populace by governments worldwide, involving the perpetuation of government-protected [[private bank]]s (organizations legally permitted to engage in unlimited and inherently speculative [[fractional reserve banking]] activities during boom times, with recourse to monopoly [[central bank]]s - and in some cases corrupt governments<ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/thebearslairview?art_id=10513 The Evils of Crony Capitalism], Martin Hutchinson</ref><ref>[http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/ambroseevans-pritchard/100008812/irelands-debt-servitude/ Ireland's Debt Servitude], Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, UK Telegraph</ref> - to provide [[bail out]]s of [[fiat money]] during downturns), "deregulated" labor markets (which have the effect of increasing the marketization and commodification of human activity), strictly enforced [[bankruptcy]] laws (which permit the periodic transfer of assets from failed [[bankrupt]] investors caught at the end of "Ponzi-scheme" cycles to the [[private banks]] and their associates) and [[personal income tax]] (which, combined with periodic economic collapses, dispossesses the majority of the populace from their accumulated [[income]] and [[wealth]] and transfers this wealth to the owners of [[government bonds]]) amounts to an inherently unstable, unjust and dysfunctional [[economic system]] resulting in [[environment]]ally damaging [[over-consumption]], the systematic and irredeemable destruction of fertile [[arable land]] and the government-sponsored (and ultimately unsustainable) oppression of the indebted, impoverished and economically enslaved majority.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4893 ''The Ethics of Money Production''], Jorg Guido Hulsmann</ref>

==See also==
* [[Austrian Business Cycle Theory]]
* [[Central bank]]
* [[Monetary reform]]
* [[Murray Rothbard]]
* [[Ron Paul]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://econpapers.repec.org/paper/wpawuwpma/0203005.htm Fractional Reserve Banking as Economic Parasitism]
*[http://www.prosperityuk.com/prosperity/links/links.html Monetary Reform websites]
*[http://www.relfe.com/plus_5_.html I want the Earth Plus 5%]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVkFb26u9g8 Money As Debt (videoplay animation)]
*[http://www.financialarmageddon.com/ Financial Armageddon]
*[http://jsmineset.com/ Jim Sinclair's MineSet]
*[http://www.lewrockwell.com/ LewRockwell.com]
*[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/ Market Oracle]
*[http://maxkeiser.com/ Max Keiser]
*[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/ MISH]
*[http://www.prudentbear.com/ PrudentBear.com]
*[http://www.rgemonitor.com/index.php RGE Monitor]
*[http://www.webofdebt.com/ Web of Debt]
*[http://www.zerohedge.com/ Zero Hedge]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Criticism Of Fractional-Reserve Banking}}
[[Category:Argumentation]]
[[Category:Money]]

Austrian Business Cycle Theory

2011-01-19T01:23:58Z

203.209.200.99:

The [[business cycle]] describes regularly occurring booms and busts observed in the economy and the '''Austrian Business Cycle Theory''' (sometimes called the "hangover theory"<ref name="Cochran_ABCT">John P. Cochran. [http://mises.org/daily/630 "The Hangover Theory?"], Mises Daily, Friday, March 16, 2001, referenced 2009-11-14.</ref> or simply '''ABCT''') is an explanation of this phenomenon from the [[Austrian School]]. Originally developed by [[Ludwig von Mises]] in the 1912 ''[[Wikipedia:The Theory of Money and Credit|Theory of Money and Credit]]'' it was elaborated on by [[Friedrich Hayek|Hayek]] and others.<ref name="Rothbard_business_cycle">[[Murray N. Rothbard]]. [http://mises.org/pdf/austtrad.pdf "The Austrian Theory of the Trade Cycle and other essays"] (pdf), "Economic Depressions: Their Cause and Cure", p.58-81, referenced 2009-10-27.</ref> In one classical rendition:

Banks expand credit well beyond their own assets and by the funds of their clients, often supported or encouraged by the setting of low interest rates by a central bank. This additional credit flow into the economy from increased borrowing for capital projects stimulates economic activity. Projects which would not have been started before, seem now profitable, creating [[malinvestment]]. They increase demand for production materials and for labor and their prices rise, which, in turn, leads to an increase in prices of consumption goods. If the banks would stop the extension of credit, the boom would be rapidly over. To prevent the sudden halt of this boom (and the resulting collapse of prices), the banks must create more and more credit, and the prices will rise even more.

But this expansion of credit cannot continue forever. There is no additional capital or labor; there is only more money (and debt). The means of production and labor which have been diverted to the new enterprises have to be taken away from others. Society is not sufficiently rich to permit the creation of new enterprises without taking away from others. As long as the expansion of credit is continued this will not be noticed, but it can't be pushed indefinitely. The inflation and the boom can last only as long as the public thinks that the prices will stop rising in the near future. When the public becomes aware, that there the inflation will not end, and that prices will continue to rise, panic sets in. Eventually, people may give up the currency and rush to exchange money for goods, buying things they have no use for, just in order to get rid of the money (the so-called "[[flight into real values]].")<ref name="Mises_business_cycle">[[Ludwig von Mises]]. [http://mises.org/pdf/austtrad.pdf "The Austrian Theory of the Trade Cycle and other essays"] (pdf), "The Austrian Theory of the Trade Cycle", p.23-32, referenced 2009-10-27.</ref>

==History==
The regularly occurring booms and and busts were observed from approximately late eighteenth century, along with the start of the [[Wikipedia:Industrial Revolution|Industrial Revolution]]. Sudden economic crisis, when some king made war or confiscated the property of his subject were known; but there was no sign of the modern phenomena of general and fairly regular swings in business fortunes, of expansions and contractions.<ref name="Rothbard_business_cycle" />

The Austrian cycle theory began with the eighteenth century Scottish philosopher and economist [[Wikipedia:David Hume|David Hume]], and with the eminent early nineteenth century English classical economist [[Wikipedia:David Ricardo|David Ricardo]]. These theorists observed another crucial institution developing in the mid-eighteenth century, alongside the industrial system. It was the institution of banking, with its capacity to expand credit and the money supply (first, in the form of paper money, or bank notes, and later in the form of demand deposits, or checking accounts, that are instantly redeemable in cash at the banks). It was the operations of these commercial banks which held the key to the mysterious recurrent cycles of expansion and contraction, of boom and bust, that had puzzled observers since the mid-eighteenth century.

The English "[[British Currency School|Currency School]]" has tried to explain the boom by the extension of credit resulting from the issue of banknotes without metallic backing. But the school did not see that current accounts which could be drawn upon at any time via checks, play exactly the same role in the extension of credit as bank notes. Because of the legislation inspired by the Currency School (like the [[Wikipedia:Robert Peel|Peel]]'s [[Wikipedia:Bank Charter Act 1844|Bank Act of 1844]] and similar laws in other countries), to prevent other economic crises, the issue of banknotes without metallic backing was restricted, but the expansion of credit through current accounts was unregulated. From this it was wrongly concluded that the English School's attempt to explain the trade cycle in monetary terms had been refuted by the facts.

The Currency School has also restricted its analysis to the case where credit is expanded in only one country while the banking policy of all the others remains conservative. The internal rise in prices would encourage imports and paralyse exports. Metallic money would drain away to foreign countries. As a result the banks would face increased demands for repayment of the instruments they have put into circulation (such as unbacked notes and current accounts), until they have to restrict credit. Ultimately the outflow of specie checks the rise in prices. The Currency School analyzed only this particular case; it did not consider credit expansion on an international scale by all the capitalist countries simultaneously. In the second half of the 19th century, this theory of the trade cycle fell into discredit, and the notion that the trade cycle had nothing to do with money and credit gained acceptance. The attempt of [[Wikipedia:Knut Wicksell|Wicksell]] (1898) to rehabilitate the Currency School was short-lived.<ref name="Mises_business_cycle" />

== Questions Addressed ==

The Austrian business cycle theory attempts to answer the following questions about things which Austrian theorists, notably [[Murray Rothbard]], believe appear during the business cycle:<ref>[http://www.mises.org/rothbard/agd/chapter1.asp#boom_and_depression America's Great Depression], Murray Rothbard</ref>
* Why is there a sudden general cluster of business errors?
* Why do [[capital good]]s industries and asset market prices fluctuate more widely than do the [[consumer good]]s industries and consumer prices?
* Why is there a general increase in the quantity of money in the economy during every boom, and why is there generally, though not universally, a fall in the [[money supply]] during the depression (or a sharp contraction in the growth of [[credit (finance)|credit]] in a recession)?

== The Theory Explained ==
{{Wikipedia text}}
According to the theory, the boom-bust cycle of malinvestment is generated by excessive and unsustainable credit expansion to businesses and individual borrowers by the [[bank]]s.<ref name="econlib.org">[http://www.econlib.org/library/Mises/msT.html Theory of Money and Credit], Ludwig von Mises, Part III, Part IV</ref> This [[money creation|credit creation]] makes it appear as if the supply of "saved funds" ready for investment has increased, for the effect is the same: the supply of funds for investment purposes increases, and the [[interest rate]] is lowered.<ref>[[The Mystery of Banking]]. [[Murray Rothbard]]</ref> Borrowers, in short, are misled by the bank [[monetary inflation|inflation]] into believing that the supply of saved funds (the pool of "deferred" funds ready to be invested) is greater than it really is. When the pool of "saved funds" increases, entrepreneurs invest in "longer process of production," i.e., the capital structure is lengthened, especially in the "higher orders", most remote from the consumer. Borrowers take their newly acquired funds and bid up the prices of capital and other producers' goods, which, in the theory, stimulates a shift of investment from consumer goods to capital goods industries. Austrians further contend that such a shift is unsustainable and must reverse itself in due course. Proponents of the theory conclude that the longer the unsustainable shift in capital goods industries continues, the more violent and disruptive the necessary re-adjustment process.

The preference by entrepreneurs for longer term investments can be shown graphically by using any [[discounted cash flow]] model. Essentially lower [[interest rates]] increase the relative value of cash flows that come in the future. When modelling an investment opportunity, if [[interest rates]] are artificially low, entrepreneurs are led to believe the income they will receive in the future is sufficient to cover their near term investment costs. In simple terms, investments that would not make sense with a 10% cost of funds become feasible with a prevailing interest rate of 5% (and may become compelling for many entrepreneurs with a prevailing interest rate of 2%).<ref>[http://mises.org/story/2810 Manipulating the Interest Rate: a Recipe for Disaster], Thorsten Polleit, 13 December 2007.</ref>

The proportion of [[Consumption (economics)|consumption]] to saving or investment is determined by people's [[time preference]]s, which is the degree to which they prefer present to future satisfactions. In a stable money environment<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/1186 Sound Money and the Business Cyle], John Cochran, March 19, 2003</ref> the interest rate is the price signal reflecting the balance of consumption and saving. If the goods and services presently on offer encourage people to spend, interest rates will be higher, reflecting people's short-term time preferences. If the goods and services presently on offer do not encourage people to spend, interest rates will be lower, reflecting people's desire to save their money (and spend their money on goods and services in the future). Thus, interest rates in a stable money environment<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/1186 Sound Money and the Business Cyle], John Cochran, March 19, 2003</ref> are determined by the time preferences of depositors.<ref>[http://www.econlib.org/library/Mises/msT.html Theory of Money and Credit], Ludwig von Mises, Part II</ref>

In an environment where the money supply is continually expanding through the issuance of credit, interest rates no longer reflect people's time preferences, as interest rates are set by the [[central bank]].<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/1186 Sound Money and the Business Cyle], John Cochran, March 19, 2003</ref> Because the debasement of the [[means of exchange]] in a low interest rate environment is universal, many entrepreneurs can make the same mistake at the same time (i.e. many believe investment funds are really available for long term projects when in fact the pool of available funds has come from credit creation - not real savings out of the existing money supply). As they are all competing for the same pool of capital and market share, some entrepreneurs begin to borrow simply to avoid being "overrun" by other entrepreneurs who may take advantage of the lower interest rates to invest in more up-to-date capital infrastructure. Mises suggests that a tendency towards over-investment and speculative borrowing in this "artificial" low interest rate environment is therefore almost inevitable.<ref name="econlib.org"/>

This new money then percolates downward from the business borrowers to the factors of production: to the landowners and capital owners who sold assets to the newly indebted [[entrepreneurs]], and then to the other factors of production in wages, rent, and interest. Austrian economists conclude that, since time preferences have not changed, people will rush to reestablish the old proportions, and demand will shift back from the higher to the lower orders. In other words, depositors will tend to spend money on consumption items, capital investors will find their projects are unsustainable, banks will then ask their borrowers for payment and interest rates and credit conditions will deteriorate.<ref name="econlib.org"/>

Austrian economists theorize that capital goods industries will find that their investments have been in error; that what they thought profitable really fails for lack of demand by their entrepreneurial customers. Higher orders of production will have turned out to be wasteful, and the malinvestment must be liquidated.<ref name="Human Action">[http://mises.org/pdf/humanaction/pdf/humanaction.pdf Human Action], Ludwig von Mises, p.572</ref> In other words, the particular ''types'' of investments made during the monetary boom were inappropriate and "wrong" from the perspective of the long-term financial sustainability of the market because the price signals stimulating the investment were distorted by [[fractional reserve banking]]'s recursive lending "ballooning" the pricing structure in various capital markets.

This concept is captured by the term "heterogeneity of capital", where Austrian economists emphasize that the mere macroeconomic "total" of investment does not adequately capture whether this investment is genuinely sustainable or productive, due to the inability of the raw numbers to reveal the particular investment activities being undertaken and the inherent inability of the numbers to reveal whether these particular investment activities were appropriate and economically sustainable given people's real preferences.

The boom then, is actually a period of wasteful [[malinvestment]], a "false boom" where the particular kinds of investments undertaken during the period of fiat money expansion are revealed to lead nowhere but to insolvency and unsustainability. It is the time when errors are made, when speculative borrowing has driven up prices for assets and capital to unsustainable levels, due to low interest rates "artificially" increasing the [[money supply]] and triggering an unsustainable injection of [[fiat money]] "funds" available for investment into the system, thereby tampering with the complex pricing mechanism of the [[free market]]. "Real" savings would have required higher [[interest rates]] to encourage depositors to save their money in term deposits to invest in longer term projects under a stable money supply. According to von Mises's work, the artificial stimulus caused by bank-created credit causes a generalized speculative investment bubble, not justified by the long-term structure of the market.<ref name="econlib.org"/>

[[Ludwig von Mises]] stated that the "[[financial crisis|crisis]]" (or "[[credit crunch]]") arrives when the consumers come to reestablish their desired allocation of saving and consumption at prevailing interest rates.<ref name="Human Action"/><ref name="mises.org"/> The "recession" or "depression" is actually the process by which the economy adjusts to the wastes and errors of the monetary boom, and reestablishes efficient service of sustainable consumer desires.<ref name="Human Action"/><ref name="mises.org"/>

Since it takes very little time for the new credit-sourced money to filter down from the initial borrowers to the recipients of the borrowed funds (the various factors of production), why don't all booms come quickly to an end? Continually expanding bank credit can keep the borrowers one step ahead of consumer retribution (with the help of successively lower interest rates from the [[central bank]]). In the theory, this postpones the "day of reckoning" and defers the collapse of unsustainably inflated asset prices.<ref name="Human Action"/><ref name="goldensextant.com">[http://www.goldensextant.com/SavingtheSystem.html Saving the System], Robert K. Landis, 21 August 2004</ref> It can also be temporarily put off by price deflation or exogenous events such as the "cheap" or free acquisition of marketable resources by market participants and the banks funding the borrowing (such as the acquisition of land from local governments, or in extreme cases, the acquisition of foreign land through the waging of war).<ref>[http://mises.org/story/3010 War and Inflation], Lew Rockwell</ref>

The "false" monetary boom ends when bank credit expansion finally stops - when no further investments can be found which provide adequate returns for speculative borrowers at prevailing interest rates. It is asserted that the longer the "false" monetary boom goes on, the bigger and more speculative the borrowing, the more wasteful the errors committed and the longer and more severe will be the necessary bankruptcies, foreclosures and depression readjustment.<ref name="Human Action"/>. There is also a notion of capital consumption contributing negatively to the readjustment period, which has been discussed in works such as ''[[Human Action]]''.<ref name="Human Action">[http://mises.org/pdf/humanaction/pdf/humanaction.pdf Human Action], Ludwig von Mises, Chp. 18</ref>

[[Ludwig von Mises]] and [[Friedrich Hayek]] warned of a major economic crisis before the [[Great Depression]]. Hayek made his prediction of a coming business crisis in February 1929. He warned that a financial crisis was an unavoidable consequence of reckless monetary expansion.

===The role of central banks===

All Austrian theorists consider the unsustainable expansion of bank credit through [[fractional reserve banking]] as the driving feature of most business cycles. However, Murray Rothbard paid particular attention to the role of central banks in creating an environment of loose credit prior to the onset of the [[Great Depression]], and the subsequent ineffectiveness of central bank policies, which simply delayed necessary price adjustments and prolonged market dysfunction.<ref>''[[America's Great Depression]]'', [[Murray Rothbard]]</ref> Rothbard begins with the assertion that in a market with no centralized monetary authority, there would be no simultaneous cluster of malinvestments or entrepreneurial errors, since astute [[entrepreneur]]s would not all make errors at the same time and would quickly take advantage of any temporary, isolated mispricing. In addition, in an [[openness|open]], non-centralized (uninsured) capital market, astute bankers would shy away from speculative lending and uninsured depositors would carefully monitor the balance sheets of risky financial institutions, tempering any speculative excesses that arose sporadically in the finance markets. The cycle of ''generalized'' malinvestment is therefore caused solely by ''centralized'' monetary intervention in the money markets by the [[central bank]].

Rothbard asserts that this over-encouragement to borrow and lend is initiated by the mispricing of credit via the [[central bank]]'s ''centralized'' control over interest rates and its need to protect banks from periodic [[bank run]]s (which Austrian economists believe then causes interest rates to be set too low for too long when compared to the rates that would prevail in a genuine non-[[central bank]] dominated [[free market]]).<ref name="econlib.org"/><ref name="mises.org">[http://mises.org/story/2810 Manipulating the Interest Rate: a Recipe for Disaster], Thorsten Polleit, 13 December 2007</ref>

==Other theories==
Since the cycles appeared on the scene at about the same time as modern industry, [[Wikipedia:Karl Marx|Marx]] concluded that business cycles were an inherent feature of the capitalist market economy. Many current schools of economic thought, regardless of other differences and the different causes that they attribute to the cycle, agree on this vital point: That the business cycle originates somewhere deep within the free-market economy, and it can be only solved by some form of massive government intervention.<ref name="Rothbard_business_cycle" />

===Innovations===
It is sometimes held, that '''[[Innovation|innovations]]''' cause the ups and downs of the business cycle. The most prominent defender of that view was probably [[Wikipedia:Joseph Schumpeter|Joseph Schumpeter]]. He stated that booms are due to technological or other innovations whose implementations at first seem to promise high profits. After a while, more and more entrepreneurs copy the strategy of the pioneer firms until competitive behavior forces profits to go down again and a depression begins, in which the market is cleaned of unprofitable firms. This is a brief description of the well-known process of "[[Wikipedia:Creative destruction|creative destruction]]" — a term made famous by Schumpeter himself. The new state of equilibrium is only maintained until a new innovation creates the foundation for another boom.

The industrial revolution, the appearance of railway tracks, or the rise of cheap automobiles can be interpreted as examples. Furthermore, the [[Wikipedia:dot-com bubble|dotcom bubble]] at the end of the last decade could have been due to innovations like the internet. Even the current crisis can be regarded as the result of financial innovations.<ref name="Kahler_Innovations">Malte Tobias Kahler. [http://mises.org/daily/3998 "Do Innovations Cause Business Cycles?"], Mises Daily, January 07, 2010, referenced 2010-01-07.</ref>

However, it is not technological innovation that generates the boom, but the general boom that makes it possible for more and more firms to implement their innovative ideas. In every moment there exist many ideas for possible innovations and improvements. The latest innovation has not yet been implemented in every business. If there are always many ideas whose only problem is to get enough funds, then it is not technology, but [[Saving|savings]] that limit development. To implement them, the companies need capital. Society has to save first and then grant credit.

There is, of course, nothing wrong with using credit for an innovative project. The problem only appears when these credits are created out of thin air, thus inducing [[malinvestment]]s. In an environment of monetary expansion, many innovative projects can be started that are in fact not sustainable. The clusters of innovative activities that seem to be the cause of inevitable depressions are in fact a symptom of the distortion of the market process that is introduced by fractional-reserve banks.

From a policy point of view, using political means to push forward new innovations (like "renewable energy sources") will not suffice to get the economy out of the slump. Moreover, it can be highly dangerous for the aid for such innovations to be flanked by expansive monetary policy.<ref name="Kahler_Innovations" />A recent study suggests that this was the case in Spain where a "green" bubble went boom and bust<ref name="Mariana_Renewable_Spain">Instituto Juan de Mariana. [http://www.juandemariana.org/pdf/090327-employment-public-aid-renewable.pdf "Study of the Effects of Public Aid to Renewable Energy Sources"] (pdf), pp. 19–20. March 2009, referenced 2010-01-08.</ref> — with all its destructive side effects, including unemployment.<ref name="Schwartz_Unemployment">Nelson D. Schwartz. [http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/01/business/global/01jobless.html "In Spain, a Soaring Jobless Rate for Young Workers"], published December 31, 2009, referenced 2010-01-08.</ref>

==Criticisms==
These are some of the more frequent or known criticisms of the theory.

===Central banking===
Some critics point out, that the theory blames the [[business cycle]] on central banks, but the cycle has been well known throughout 19th century, well before [[central bank]]ing in the modern sense and the 20th century growth of the state. One particular example are the United States and its wide range of monetary and banking systems.<ref name="Quiggin_Austrian">John Quiggin. [http://johnquiggin.com/index.php/archives/2009/05/03/austrian-business-cycle-theory/ "Austrian Business Cycle Theory"], posted on May 3rd, 2009, referenced 2009-11-11.</ref>

Many casual expositions of '''ABCT''' say things like, "The business cycle is not a feature of the free market, but instead is caused by the manipulations of the central bank." But it is far more accurate to say that ABCT blames the boom-bust cycle on [[fractional reserve banking]]. Specifically, when banks are allowed to issue paper money (or increase customers' electronic bank deposits) without an actual act of saving by somebody in the economy, then the resulting drop in interest rates is artificial. The false interest rate sets in motion an unsustainable boom period, which leads people to erroneously consume [[capital]] and which creates the inevitable bust.

Government intervention is still very much involved here. Were it not for legal privileges granted to banks, the practice of fractional-reserve banking would be "regulated" by market competition. Even if banks were legally allowed to extend more loans than they had cash (or gold) in the vaults, they would be very cautious with their overissue so long as a [[bank run]] would spell ruin. Yet time and again, even before the establishment of central banks, governments would allow the banks to "suspend specie payment" during panics. This practice of absolving privileged bankers of their legal obligations was simply institutionalized (in the United States) with the creation of the Federal Reserve. It is no coincidence that the worst boom-bust in US history occurred sixteen years after the formation of the modern American central bank.
<ref name="Murphy_Quiggin">Robert P. Murphy. [http://mises.org/story/3466 "Correcting Quiggin on Austrian Business-Cycle Theory"], Mises Daily: Monday, May 25, 2009, referenced 2009-11-11.</ref>

{{See also|History of money and banking in the US}}

===Rational Expectations===
"If investors correctly anticipate that a decline in interest rates will be temporary, they won't evaluate long-term investments on the basis of current rates. So, the Austrian story requires either a failure of rational expectations, or a capital market failure that means that individuals rationally choose to make "bad" investments on the assumption that someone else will bear the cost. And if either of these conditions apply, there's no reason to think that market outcomes will be optimal in general."<ref name="Quiggin_Austrian" />

First off, free individuals often make mistakes — even systematic mistakes. But even perfectly rational entrepreneurs who know a boom is underway cannot prevent their more reckless competitors from taking cheap (or now free) government loans and bidding away scarce resources. Workers don't care whether their paychecks come from genuine saving or from the printing press, and every few years there is always a fresh crop of naïve employers willing to borrow money and start new projects.

Second, Austrians emphasize that interest rates ''communicate information'' to entrepreneurs. In some critiques it seems that "everybody knows" that the true interest rate ought to be 5 percent, and so the central bank's efforts to push it down to 3 percent should be easily corrected. Yet nobody knows what the truly free-market [[interest rate]] is. That's why market prices are important in the first place, and why government distortions of these prices lead to real imbalances in the economy.<ref name="Murphy_Quiggin" />

Entrepreneurs don't need to speculate about a change in consumers’ "rate of [[time preference]]", or about the "supply of capital goods". An individual entrepreneur is concerned only with a very small set of market prices, namely, the prices of the inputs she will need for her projects, and the prices for which these products will sell. That’s the whole point of relying on the market rates of interest and other prices — it eliminates the need for individuals to speculate about aggregates that are far too complex for any single mind to comprehend.

Also, some expositions of ABCT assume an initial free market state, and then analyze the impact of a one-shot [[intervention]]. But in reality the government of each major country intervene permanently in the credit market by the creation of a central bank (or a centralized system of banks). Actors in these economies have no idea what the free market rate of interest would be in the absence of such interference; even if the rates were raised, the new rate could still be below the "natural rate".<ref name="Murphy_rational">Robert P. Murphy. [http://consultingbyrpm.com/files/2009.05.14%20ABCTRatExp%20Excerpt.pdf "The Rational Expectations Objection to Austrian Business Cycle Theory: Prisoner’s Dilemma or Noisy Signal?"] (pdf), last updated May 25, 2005, referenced 2009-11-12.</ref>

===Investment vs. Consumption===
If booms are driven by mistaken beliefs that investments have become more profitable, and labor and other resources are channeled into projects not compatible with the overall level of real savings, then consumption should go down, say some critics. But booms are characterized by high, not low, consumption. If the government can't make the economy more productive by pushing down interest rates, how could businesses possibly produce more investment and consumption goods during the boom?<ref name="Quiggin_Austrian" /><ref name="Cowen_ABCT">Tyler Cowen. [http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2008/10/paul-krugman-on.html "Paul Krugman on Austrian trade cycle theory"], posted on October 14, 2008, referenced 2009-11-14.</ref>

The answer is in the Austrian approach to [[capital]] theory. The low interest rates of the boom period mislead entrepreneurs into borrowing too much, but they also mislead consumers into borrowing too much and saving too little. This is physically possible because resources that otherwise would have gone into replenishing the capital structure are instead devoted to new projects or additional consumption goods. This "eating of the seed corn" can take a while to manifest in a complex, modern economy.<ref name="Murphy_Quiggin" />

====Unemployment in the boom====
In a similar vein, it is pointed out that there is generally no period of high [[unemployment]] when resources are transferred out of consumption-producing sectors into investment goods-producing sectors. There is no necessity that the transfer of resources out of investment goods-producing sectors be accompanied by high unemployment.<ref name="DeLong_ABCT">Brad DeLong. [http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2010/04/what-is-austrian-economics.html "What Is Austrian Economics?"], April 2010, referenced 2010-04-27.</ref>

Suppose we start in an original equilibrium position, where unemployment is at the "natural" rate, reflecting the normal turnover of workers as some businesses fail, etc. Then a $100 billion in crisp new bills is printed, and handed out to bankers. The banks lend the new money to employers, who enter the labor market with the fresh wads of cash in their pockets. Armed with the money that was just created out of thin air, the employers bid up wage rates. Seeing the higher pay, many workers quit their current jobs and take new positions in the expanding sectors. Also, some previously unemployed workers end their job search and take positions with the employers who got their hands on the new $100 billion. There is no reason for unemployment to go up in the scenario just described.

But when the the influx of new money is cut off, the underlying economic fundamentals will reassert themselves. The workers who had been drawn into the expanding sectors by new money weren't ''supposed'' to move to those sectors. The employers in the boom sectors will lose their advantage over their competitors in other sectors. Without being propped up artificially by cheap money, the bloated boom sectors will realize their unprofitability. They will cut back on operations and lay off workers.

And why don't the laid-off workers move seamlessly back into the original niches from which they came? Why does a massive reservoir of unemployed workers build up after the bust, when no such reservoir built up during the boom? The answer is pretty simple: Workers are more eager to quit and take a better job than to be laid off and take a worse job. During the boom, workers are drawn into the expanding sectors by the promise of higher wages. They aren't forced into the expanding sectors by getting let go from their original position; instead they voluntarily leave. No less important is the '''capital consumption''' during the boom period. Society "eats the seed corn" through [[malinvestment]].<ref name="Murphy_explain">Robert P. Murphy. [http://mises.org/daily/3387 "Austrians Can Explain the Boom and the Bust"], Mises Daily, March 2009, referenced 2010-04-27.</ref>

===There was no inflation as measured by the CPI===
Some critics point out, that if prices did not rise (the CPI did not rise excessively) there was really no inflation. There was no wave of rising consumer price inflation in the 2000s.<ref name="DeLong_ABCT" />

However, as the [[CPI]] is an arbitrary index of prices, it does not necessarily capture the "true" inflation picture.<ref>[http://dailyreckoning.com/why-you-shouldnt-trust-the-core-cpi-numbers/ You shouldn't trust the CPI numbers]</ref> For example, in the 2000s, there was an unprecedented spike in house price inflation fuelled by credit growth. This is a form of inflation, but was not fully picked up in the inflation figures, which focus more on consumer goods.

Expansionary monetary policy makes prices higher than they otherwise would have been. For example, the extraordinary interventions in late 2008 — in which the M1 measure of the monetary stock rose 12 percent over a three-month period — went hand-in-hand with falling prices. Prices should have fallen in response to the bursting bubble. Prices would have fallen more, were it not for a floor under them with an aggressive influx of new money. At the same time, house prices rose at unusual rates during the boom years.<ref name="Murphy_Fed">Robert P. Murphy. [http://mises.org/daily/3252 "Evidence that the Fed Caused the Housing Boom"], Mises Daily, December 2008, referenced 2010-04-27.</ref><ref name="Murphy_explain" />

Murray Rothbard stressed that the stock-market [[Late 1920s bubble|bubble of the late 1920s]] — fueled by the Fed's policies — did not coincide with rampant consumer-price inflation.<ref name="Murphy_Chicago">Robert P. Murphy. [http://mises.org/daily/4875 "The Fed: The Chicago School's Achilles Heel"], see also [http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/fredgraph.png?&chart_type=line&graph_id=&category_id=&recession_bars=On&width=630&height=378&bgcolor=%23B3CDE7&graph_bgcolor=%23FFFFFF&txtcolor=%23000000&ts=8&preserve_ratio=true&fo=ve&id=CPIAUCNS&transformation=l graphic]. ''Mises Daily'', December 13, 2010. Referenced 2010-12-14.</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==See also==
*[[Ponzi scheme]]

==External links==
* [[Wikipedia:Austrian business cycle theory|Austrian Business Cycle Theory]] on Wikipedia
* [http://mises.org/daily/672 Austrian Business Cycle Theory: A Brief Explanation] by Dan Mahoney, May 2001
* [http://mises.org/daily/2673 Why Don't Entrepreneurs Outsmart the Business Cycle?] by Brian J. Stanley, August 2007
* [http://mises.org/daily/4730 Are the Austrians Too Harsh?] by John P. Cochran, October 2010
* [http://mises.org/daily/4682 Putting Austrian Business-Cycle Theory to the Test] by Robert P. Murphy, October 2010
[[Category:Austrian School of Economics]]
[[Category:Economic concepts]]

Criticism of fractional reserve banking

2011-01-19T01:02:40Z

203.209.200.99: /* Inequities in system */

{{main|Fractional-reserve banking}}
{{wikipedia text}}
'''Criticisms of [[fractional reserve banking]]''' have been put forward from a variety of perspectives. Critics have included economists such as [[Irving Fisher]],<ref>''100% Money'', Irving Fisher</ref> and [[Milton Friedman]].<ref>Friedman, M., A Program for Monetary Stability, New York, Fordham University Press, 1960, pp. 65</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/3108 The Social Imperative of Sound Money], Lew Rockwell: "I find it sickening that there are so few voices outside the [[Austrian School]] that will stand up to this policy (of [[fiat money]]/[[fractional reserve banking]]/[[central bank]]ing)".</ref> Within the economics profession, most criticisms are from the [[Austrian School]].<ref>[http://mises.org/media/4014 The Economics of Legal Tender Laws], [[Jorg Guido Hulsmann]] (includes detailed commentary on [[fractional reserve banking|FRB]])</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Money-Bank-Credit-and-Economic-Cycles-P290C0.aspx Money, Bank Credit and Economic Cycles], Jesus Huerta de Soto, Mises Institute ISBN: 978-1-933550-39-8</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Meltdown-P557.aspx ''Meltdown''], Tom Woods, Regnery Press ISBN: 9781596985872</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25212.html The Faults of FRB], Thorsten Polleit</ref> There are also critics from outside the economics profession who advocate [[monetary reform]].<ref>[http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2010/12/matt-stoller-end-this-fed.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29 End This Fed], Matt Stoller</ref><ref>For an example of the writings of these groups, see [http://www.bilderberg.org/monref.htm this] contribution from Bilderberg.org</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMngK0t5WkY Max Keiser]</ref>

==Terminology==

Critics of fractional reserve banking and the related fiat paper monetary system may refer to it by the term '''debt-based monetary system''',<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4631 Is Our Money Based On Debt?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref name="speech">For an example of the public use of the term, see the [http://www.prosperityuk.com/prosperity/articles/earl.html speech] of the Earl of Caithness in the House of Lords on 5 March 1997</ref> or '''credit-based monetary system'''.<ref>For example of the public use of the term, see this speech given by [[Zhou Xiaochuan]], [http://www.bis.org/review/r090402c.pdf Reform the monetary system], 23 March 2009 (BIS), and this article, [http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/02/steve-keen-roving-cavaliers-of-credit.html ''Roving Cavaliers of Credit''] by Steve Keen (with commentary by Yves Smith)</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/09/myths-about-whats-economically.html Myths], MISH</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/07/are-we-trending-towards-deflation-or-in.html Deflation], MISH</ref>

The term, "debt-based monetary system," and related terms, such as "debt money" are not used by conventional economists or academic [[mainstream economics|mainstream economists]]. Mainstream economists often refer to "debt money" simply as [[Credit (finance)|credit]], and distinguish between types of money only after the money is created. The mainstream generally do not discuss or comment on the fact that virtually all money is now created through individuals, or businesses, or governments going into debt to government-sponsored commercial banks.<ref>For an example of the mainstream use of the term "credit" instead of "debt-money" see [http://www.ft.com/cms/s/bdfa429e-17a2-11dd-b98a-0000779fd2ac,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2Fbdfa429e-17a2-11dd-b98a-0000779fd2ac.html&_i_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fhome%2Fasia this] example from the Financial Times, 1 May 2008</ref> The subject of debt-based money (as distinct from traditional monetary policy) is absent from most established mainstream academic economic publications.<ref>Paul Krugman, writing at Slate.com, says the Austrian theory of business cycles is "about as worthy of serious study as the phlogiston theory of fire". http://www.slate.com/id/9593</ref>

== Typical criticisms ==

Norm Franz, states in his ''Money and Wealth in the New Millennium'':<ref>[http://www.amazon.com/Money-Wealth-Millennium-Norm-Franz/dp/0971086303 ''Money and Wealth in the New Millennium'', Norm Franz</ref>

{{quote|Gold is the money of kings, silver is the money of gentlemen, barter is the money of peasants – but debt is the money of slaves.}}

Robert H. Hemphill, credit manager of the Federal Reserve in Atlanta, stated in 1939:<ref>Preface to ''100% Money'', Irving Fisher</ref>

{{quote|If all the bank loans were paid, no one would have a bank deposit and there would not be a dollar of coin or currency in circulation. This is a staggering thought. Someone has to borrow every dollar we have in circulation, cash or credit. If the banks create ample synthetic money we are prosperous; if not, we starve. When one gets a complete grasp of the picture the tragic absurdity of our hopeless position is almost incredible, but there it is. It (the banking problem) is the most important subject intelligent persons can investigate and reflect upon. It is so important that our present civilization may collapse unless it becomes widely understood and the defects remedied very soon.}}

Ron Paul states in his book ''End the Fed'':<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/3687 ''End the Fed''], Ron Paul</ref>

{{quote|American presidents actually worked to implement and defend the gold standard, which put a brake on the ability of the largest banks to expand credit without limit. The gold standard worked like a regulator in this way. Ultimately, banks had to function like every other business. They could expand and make risky loans up to a point, but when faced with bankruptcy, they had nowhere they could turn. They would have to contract loans and deal with extreme financial pressures. Risk bearing is a wonderful mechanism for regulating human decision making. This created a culture of lending discipline.

In the jargon of the day, the system lacked "elasticity." That's another way of saying that banks couldn't expand money and credit as much as they wanted. They couldn't inflate without limit and count on a centralized institution to bail them out...

The banking industry has always had trouble with the idea of a free market that provides opportunities for both profits and losses. The first part, the industry likes. The second part is another issue. That is the reason for the constant drive in American history towards the centralization of money and banking, a trend that not only benefits the largest banks with the most to lose from a sound money system, but also the government, which is able to use an elastic system as an alternative form of revenue support. The coalition of government and big bankers provides the essential backbone of support for the centralization of money and credit...

Consider the Soviet case: to my knowledge, no business ever went under with the Soviet system but society in general grew ever poorer. Think of that Soviet system applied to the banking industry and you have the Fed.}}

In the foreward to ''Fiat Money Inflation in France'', Mr John McKay wrote the following:<ref>[http://mises.org/books/inflationinfrance.pdf ''Fiat Money Inflation in France''], Andrew Dickson White, 1912</ref>

{{quote|The story of "Fiat Money Inflation in France" is one of great interest to legislators, to economic students, and to all business and thinking men. It records the most gigantic attempt ever made in the history of the world by a government to create an inconvertible paper currency, and to maintain its circulation at various levels of value. It also records what is perhaps the greatest of all governmental efforts—with the possible exception of Diocletian's—to enact and enforce a legal limit of commodity prices. Every fetter that could hinder the will or thwart the wisdom of democracy had been shattered, and in consequence every device and expedient that untrammelled power and unrepressed optimism could conceive were brought to bear.

But the attempts failed. They left behind them a legacy of moral and material desolation and woe, from which one of the most intellectual and spirited races of Europe has suffered for a century and a quarter, and will continue to suffer until the end of time. There are limitations to the powers of governments and of peoples that inhere in the constitution of things, and that neither despotisms nor democracies can overcome.

Legislatures are as powerless to abrogate moral and economic laws as they are to abrogate physical laws. They cannot convert wrong into right nor divorce effect from cause, either by parliamentary majorities, or by unity of supporting public opinion. The penalties of such legislative folly will always be exacted by inexorable time. While these propositions may be regarded as mere commonplaces, and while they are acknowledged in a general way, they are in effect denied by many of the legislative experiments and the
tendencies of public opinion of the present day. The story, therefore, of the colossal folly of France in the closing part of the eighteenth century and its terrible fruits, is full of instruction for all men who think upon the problems of our own time.}}

C.J. Maloney wrote of the desperation of Henry VIII of England to counterfeit gold by engaging charlatan-alchemists:<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/maloney/maloney28.1.html The Desperation of King Henry VIII], C.J. Maloney</ref>

{{quote|Despite his formidable education and great historic reputation, the disastrous interventions into the economy, the lifelong dishonesty with the currency in his care and, most of all, his laughable attempts to bring a sorcerer into his court to conjure gold, mark the great King Henry VIII as a fool. Yet there is no reason, be warned, for anyone to feel superior to the King; one only needs to pick up a newspaper to see that though alchemy may be a dead science, it has merely taken up new forms.

This has always been and always will be, for its immortality is powered by economic man’s most dangerous, fondest wish, the one that will drive us to endless imbecilities and repeated destruction – the ardent desire to believe that you can get something for nothing. His adherence to that belief made King Henry VIII a man of his times – and ours.}}

Certain [[monetary reform]]ers claim that a fiat money/fractional-reserve based banking system is inherently destructive and inevitably generates [[inflation|debasement of the currency]], [[debt slavery|extreme inequality]] or [[Austrian Business Cycle Theory|periodic crises]].<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25212.html The Faults of FRB], Thorsten Polleit</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/3687 ''End the Fed''], Ron Paul</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Money-Bank-Credit-and-Economic-Cycles-P290C0.aspx Money, Bank Credit and Economic Cycles], Jesus Huerta de Soto, Mises Institute ISBN: 978-1-933550-39-8</ref><ref>[http://www.mises.org/Books/mysteryofbanking.pdf Murray Rothbard, ''The Mystery of Banking'']</ref><ref name="books.google.com">{{cite book |last= Brown |first= Ellen H. |title= Web of Debt |url= http://books.google.com/books?id=ILMGrEC524UC |accessdate= 2007-12-15 |year= 2007 |publisher= Engdahl Publishing|isbn= 0979560802 }}</ref><ref name="death"/><ref name="monetary.org">[http://www.monetary.org/lostscienceofmoney.html Stephen A. Zarlenga, ''The Lost Science of Money'' AMI (2002)]</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/story/3108 Sound Money], Lew Rockwell</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/story/1971 Our Money Madness], Lew Rockwell</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/rothbard/genuine.asp The Case for a Gold Dollar], Murray Rothbard</ref><ref name="twilight"/> Vladimir Z. Nuri has analyzed fractional reserve banking and considers it a form of economic parasitism.<ref>[http://econpapers.repec.org/paper/wpawuwpma/0203005.htm Fractional Reserve Banking as Economic Parasitism]</ref> This view is not accepted by mainstream economists.<ref>[http://www.capitalspectator.com/archives/2005/11/does_m3_matter.html Capital Spectator, "Does M3 Matter"], November 16, 2005.</ref>

Critics of fractional reserve banking frequently argue that since money creation requires ''loans'' from the banking system, people are required to go further into debt in order for any new money to be created. They theorize that this eventually causes [[Austrian Business Cycle Theory|credit cycle]]s (or [[Austrian Business Cycle Theory|business cycles]]) and necessarily debases the [[means of exchange]].<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25212.html The Faults of FRB], Thorsten Polleit</ref>

Many critics find it problematic that banks "create money out of nothing" and consider this akin to [[counterfeiting]] and/or [[embezzlement]].<ref>[http://www.dailypaul.com/node/119914 Ron Paul video - fractional reserve banking is fraudulent]</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/3687 ''End the Fed''], Ron Paul</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25212.html The Faults of FRB], Thorsten Polleit</ref>

Other critics link the alleged negative effects of fractional reserve banking with central banking and a government-enforced "paper" or [[fiat currency]], which they claim allows the practice of fractional reserve banking to continue without a "natural" limitation on the growth of the [[money supply]], thereby causing inherently unsustainable "[[bubble (economics)|bubbles]]" in asset and capital markets, which are vulnerable to Ponzi-like speculation by highly leveraged [[hedge funds]] and other bank agents.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/3687 ''End the Fed''], Ron Paul</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Money-Bank-Credit-and-Economic-Cycles-P290C0.aspx Money, Bank Credit and Economic Cycles], Jesus Huerta de Soto, Mises Institute ISBN: 978-1-933550-39-8</ref><ref name="books.google.com">{{cite book |last= Brown |first= Ellen H. |title= Web of Debt |url= http://books.google.com/books?id=ILMGrEC524UC |accessdate= 2007-12-15 |year= 2007 |publisher= Third Millennium Press |location= Baton Rouge, Louisiana |isbn= 0979560802 }}</ref><ref name="death"/><ref name="monetary.org">[http://www.monetary.org/lostscienceofmoney.html Stephen A. Zarlenga, ''The Lost Science of Money'' AMI (2002)]</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/story/3108 Sound Money], Lew Rockwell</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/story/1971 Our Money Madness], Lew Rockwell</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/rothbard/genuine.asp The Case for a Gold Dollar], Murray Rothbard</ref><ref name="twilight"/><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25212.html The Faults of FRB], Thorsten Polleit</ref>

Some critics (particularly those from the [[Austrian School]]) support a "full reserve" banking system and criticize [[fractional reserve banking]] as inherently fraudulent. [[Murray Rothbard]] held this view very strongly throughout his life.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/3687 ''End the Fed''], Ron Paul</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25212.html The Faults of FRB], Thorsten Polleit</ref> Others support free banking.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=DFv6OzeBWpQC&pg=PP3&dq=steven+horwitz++banking&sig=VZasp_8pGVvpQsFKMI3W9yp4AlM#PPA231,M1 Microfoundations and Macroeconomics: An Austrian Perspective], Steven Horwitz, pp. 223-232.</ref>

==Basic debate==

Many Austrian economists and monetary reformers focus on the combined use of [[fiat currency]], [[fractional-reserve banking]] and [[central banking]] as a negative feature of modern monetary systems.<ref>[http://mises.org/media/4014 The Economics of Legal Tender Laws], [[Jorg Guido Hulsmann]]</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Meltdown-P557.aspx ''Meltdown''], Tom Woods, Regnery Press ISBN: 9781596985872</ref> These commentators use the term "debt-based monetary system" to refer to an economic system where [[money]] is created primarily through fractional-reserve banking techniques, using the banking system.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4569 What Does Debt-Based Money Imply for Interest Payments?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4631 Is Our Money Based On Debt?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref name="speech"/> This form of money is called "debt-based" because as a ''condition of its creation'' someone must go into debt in order for the money to be created and it must be paid back plus interest at some time in the future.

To some commentators, this implies that as the [[money supply]] and the economy grows, the general populace becomes increasingly indebted at the same time due to the idea that debt grows in parallel with money supply growth, and increasing interest payments (from either taxpayers or indebted consumers) are needed to pay bondholders as the money supply grows.<ref name="death">{{cite book |last= Rowbotham |first= Michael |title= The Grip of Death: A Study of Modern Money, Debt Slavery and Destructive Economics | year= 1998 |publisher= Jon Carpenter Publishing |isbn= 9781897766408 }}</ref><ref name="twilight">[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article4489.html Antal E. Fekete, The Twilight of Irredeemable Debt]</ref><ref name="The Forgotten War">[http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1192819378.php The Forgotten War]</ref>

One argument posits that since debt and the interest on the debt can only be paid in the same form of money, the total debt (principal plus interest) can never be paid in a debt-based monetary system unless more money is created through the same process. For example: if 100 credits are created and loaned into the economy at 10% per year, at the end of the year 110 credits will be needed to pay the loan and extinguish the debt. However, since the additional 10 credits does not yet exist, it too must be borrowed. To some, this implies that debt must grow exponentially in order for the monetary system to remain solvent.<ref name="death"/><ref name="twilight"/>

Others argue that there is in fact no mathematical necessity for the stock of money in a debt-based system to grow, as the "turnover" or "flow" or "velocity" of money can increase to allow for compounding interest payments.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4569 What Does Debt-Based Money Imply for Interest Payments?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2010/10/08/ami-talks-in-flv-format/ AMI Conference 2010], Steve Keen</ref><ref>[http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2010/11/05/solving-the-paradox-of-monetary-profits-2/ Solving the Paradox of Monetary Profits], Steve Keen</ref> However this does imply that some consumers would increasingly have to consume and transact to expand the GDP sufficiently to allow the fixed stock of money to turnover sufficiently to pay for the interest compounding on top of the debt.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/01/steve-keen-credit-impulse.html The Credit Impulse], Steve Keen with commentary from MISH</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4569 What Does Debt-Based Money Imply for Interest Payments?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2010/10/08/ami-talks-in-flv-format/ AMI Conference 2010], Steve Keen</ref><ref>[http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2010/11/05/solving-the-paradox-of-monetary-profits-2/ Solving the Paradox of Monetary Profits], Steve Keen</ref> This may mean that Ponzi-like dynamics bubble up in "pockets" of the economy with interest payments being allowed in a fixed money economy, but these "pockets" of higher consumption or speculation would pop and die out relatively quickly.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4569 What Does Debt-Based Money Imply for Interest Payments?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/01/steve-keen-credit-impulse.html The Credit Impulse], Steve Keen with commentary from MISH</ref>

==Basic nature of system==

The economic, environmental and social effects arising from money creation through fractional-reserve banking has been subject to much heated political debate for well over two centuries.<ref name="books.google.com"/><ref name="death"/><ref name="twilight"/><ref>[http://www.silverbearcafe.com/private/fracbank.html Antal E. Fekete, Fractional Reserve Banking Revisited]</ref>

Critics claim that, in contrast to "debt money" (which is money created in parallel with the issuance of debt or [[Credit (finance)|credit]]), "true" fiat currency is issued by the [[Treasury]] of a [[central government]] debt-free, as no requirement for its eventual return is made as a condition of its creation.<ref name="monetary.org"/><ref name="The Forgotten War"/> Government-issued debt-free fiat currency (such as debt-free notes and coins) can circulate perpetually in the economy as "stable" or even [[sound money]] (if backed by [[gold]] or [[silver]]) and although not as stable as [[hard currency]], government-issued debt-free notes and coins (such as [[United States Note]]s and [[silver certificate]]s) do not have the same effects of debt-based money described below.<ref>[http://www.entrewave.com/freebooks/docs/a_pdfs/gnhm.pdf Honest Money]</ref> It should be noted however that fiat currency can be a source of [[hyperinflation]] if its production is not controlled, as the government has the potential to issue unlimited amounts of fiat currency - ''provided'' it is accepted as "money" by the [[private bank]]ing system.<ref>[http://mises.org/books/shorthistorypapermoney.pdf A Short History of Paper Money in the United States], William M. Gouge, Mises Institute</ref> Notes and coins in circulation (being defined as [[M0]]) now account for a tiny fraction of the total M3 [[money supply]] in all developed, debt-based [[capitalism|capitalist]] economies (M0 generally being less than 10% of the total [[M2 (economics)|M2]] money supply in most developed economies).<ref>[http://www.dollardaze.org/blog/?post_id=00216 Global Money Supply Ratios]</ref>

Similarly, gold, silver and other [[precious metals]] have in the past been used as money. Because of the difficulty in increasing the supply of precious metals quickly, some [[monetary reform]]ers believe a return to the [[gold standard]], or a similar system of "hard" or "real" asset-backed currency, is the only way to stabilize the growth of the money supply. These monetary reformers often refer to the gold standard and [[silver standard]] as "sound money" or "honest money".<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4860 Money: Sound and Unsound], Mark Thornton commentary on Joseph Salerno's book</ref>

==Other economic and political criticisms==

In a 2003 statement to the U.S. House of Representatives, Ron Paul stated "if unchecked, the economic and political chaos that comes from currency destruction inevitably leads to tyranny".<ref name="house.gov">[http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2003/cr090503.htm Paper Ron Paul, Paper Money and Tyranny, Speech in U.S. House of Representative, September 5, 2003]</ref>

Some economic thinkers (primarily members of the [[Austrian School]]) and political commentators believe that a debt-based monetary system amounts to a subtle form of monetary "[[fraud]]" in that it creates money "costlessly" through the use of [[fractional-reserve banking]] techniques.<ref>[http://www.mises.org/rothbard/moneyback.asp Taking Money Back, by Murray Rothbard]</ref>

[[Michael Rowbotham]] is an active proponent of [[monetary reform]], and argues that this system of [[money supply]] is perverse and inherently monopolistic and "anti-[[democratic]]", as and creates inflationary [[exponential growth]] imperative in the economy which leads to over-centralization and [[Natural environment|environment]]ally damaging and unstable [[over-consumption]]. Critics such as Rowbotham argue that the indebted are forced to induce new [[consumers]] to spend their way into debt so existing loans can be repaid with new debt-created money. Failure to achieve this goal results in [[foreclosure]] for those businesses and [[insolvency]] in the banking system that leads to economic collapse due to the sudden contraction of the money supply.<ref name="death"/><ref name="Ponzi Nation">[http://www.iimagazine.com/article.aspx?articleID=1234345 Ponzi Nation]</ref>

Mark Anielski as well as some political thinkers such as Rowbotham and some economists (such as [[Hyman Minsky]], [[Steve Keen]] and Mike Shedlock) argue that this system of money supply has characteristics similar to a [[pyramid scheme]], where the newly indebted are compelled to induce others into debt to pay off their own debts.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/01/steve-keen-credit-impulse.html The Credit Impulse], Steve Keen with commentary from MISH</ref><ref>[http://www.lin.ca/resource/html/arpa02/PC1-FertileObfuscation.pdf ''Fertile Obfuscation: Making Money Whilst Eroding Living Capital''], 34th Annual Conference of the Canadian Economics Association, Mark Anielski</ref> It is therefore argued by a number of monetary reformers that fractional-reserve banking and the associated exponential growth of money in the economy "forces" the economy towards indebted [[consumerism]].<ref name="books.google.com"/>

Rowbotham argues that a major negative side-effect of the debt-based monetary system is its effect on [[agriculture]], claiming that [[residential development]] produces one of the greatest continuous injections of debt money into the economy. Therefore, significant super-normal profits can be generated by re-zoning agricultural land and replacing it with low-density [[House|housing]].<ref name="death"/>
If this is correct, this trend will lead to the destruction of fertile [[arable land]], as this land is progressively re-zoned for speculative new residential development. Rowbotham also predicts that the global supply of fertile [[arable land]] will decline, leading to a broad decline in the quality and nutritional value of agricultural produce and, eventually, a dramatic increase in the prices of many "soft" commodities - which could then lead to actual food shortages for poorer segments of the world population.<ref name="death"/><ref>[http://www.wsws.org/articles/2007/dec2007/food-d22.shtml Naomi Spencer, World Socialist Website, "Severe food shortages, price spikes threaten world population", 22 December 2007]</ref>

If for any reason the monetary system broke down, urban populations (nominally "rich" but poor in terms of direct access to [[food supply]]) could find basic foodstuffs either rationed or unavailable at any price, ultimately resulting in food security becoming a major public policy issue.<ref name="death"/><ref>[http://www.wsws.org/articles/2007/dec2007/food-d22.shtml Severe food shortages, price spikes threaten world population]</ref><ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/18/business/global/18yuan.html?hpw Inflation in China]</ref>

===Effects on economic health===

According to Michael Rowbotham the expansion of money through debt creates [[Boom and bust|economic bubbles]]. This concentrates [[wealth]] in the hands of private banks as the populace is forced into [[debt]] simply to own a home and educate their children.<ref name="death"/> Debt expansion leads to price appreciation of assets through speculation as the financial market becomes riskier. Edward Chancellor compares this type of market to a monetary [[Ponzi scheme]].<ref>[http://www.iimagazine.com/article.aspx?articleID=1234345 Ponzi Nation,"Who is Hyman Minsky?", para 6]</ref>

The bust phase of this [[business cycle]] where "debt-based" money growth slows or contracts catches newly indebted businesses and consumers who are left out of the growth cycle.<ref name="death"/><ref name="Ponzi Nation"/>

===Effects on the environment===
There are also critics in the left-wing and [[environmentalist]] camps who contend fractional reserve banking (by creating a necessity for indefinite [[economic growth]]) leads to environmental destruction and depletion of natural resources.<ref>David Korten, ''Agenda For A New Economy'', Berret-Koehler, 2009</ref><ref>[http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2004/10/06/no-longer-obeying-orders/ George Monbiot], about five sixths of the way down</ref>

===Inherent problems with the system===

Some monetary reformers predict that there will be an increased incidence of financial crises in the developed world, as economic and [[population growth]] inevitably slow and as the success of [[laissez-faire]] economic political policies result in a reduction in redistributive [[tax]] policies which, combined with the debt-legacy of the [[welfare state]], allows an intense and unsustainable concentration of wealth and political power in the financial services sector.<ref name="death">{{cite book |last= Rowbotham |first= Michael |title= The Grip of Death: A Study of Modern Money, Debt Slavery and Destructive Economics | year= 1998 |publisher= Jon Carpenter Publishing |isbn= 9781897766408 }}</ref>

Some monetary reformers argue that perverse incentives in the financial services industry lead to a collusive relationship between governments and bankers which are economically and socially destablizing in the long run.<ref>[http://mises.org/media/4014 The Economics of Legal Tender Laws], Jorg Guido Hulsmann</ref>

Some monetary reformers argue that it is vital that the indebted "victims" who must sink deeper into debt for the system to survive do so voluntarily and willingly and are not made aware of the consequences of purchasing consumables with debt money.<ref name="death">{{cite book |last= Rowbotham |first= Michael |title= The Grip of Death: A Study of Modern Money, Debt Slavery and Destructive Economics | year= 1998 |publisher= Jon Carpenter Publishing |isbn= 9781897766408 }}</ref> Some politicians and others have highlighted the fact that mainstream media organizations appear to downplay or minimize the seriousness of deficit spending by government and debt-sourced spending of all kinds.<ref>[http://www.senate.gov/~budget/democratic/statements/2005/fs_reconciliationfloorstmt102005.pdf Speech by Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) on October 20, 2005 regarding the "misleading" reporting of deficit spending by the mainstream media]</ref> The associated growth of derivatives during the upward phase of the debt money cycle was referred to as "[[innovation]]" in financial markets.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/03/opinion/03krugman.html?em&ex=1196917200&en=ac60abcdbd977d07&ei=5087%0A Innovating Our Way to Financial Crisis, by Paul Krugman]</ref>

[[Bankruptcy]] laws differ to a small degree in different jurisdictions but in all developed economies unpaid debt results in legal penalties, property confiscation on behalf of the creditor and income [[sequestration]]. Although in [[Christian]], [[Jewish]] and [[Muslim]] religious practice there have been traditions of [[debt relief]] or laws against [[usury]], in no modern Western jurisdiction are any debts periodically forgiven or cancelled in recognition of the inherent impossibility of repaying debts in circumstances where the debt-based monetary cycle has inevitably resulted in too little new [[debt money]] being injected into the [[money supply]] to pay for the currently outstanding debts.<ref>[http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2007/11/new-bankruptcy-law-backfires-by.html Bankruptcy law backfires]</ref>

On a national level, if the issuance of [[government bonds]] becomes unsustainable, sovereign [[bankruptcy]] can occur - and has occurred many times in history.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4869 Can the Fed Become Insolvent?], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://elainemeinelsupkis.typepad.com/money_matters/2007/10/greenspaniel-an.html Greenspaniel and U.S. bankruptcy]</ref> [[Sovereign debt]] crises due to the inability of nations to pay interest on [[government bonds]] have occurred frequently and regularly in the [[third world]] and less frequently (every 30 years or so) in the first world as a result of high levels of unsustainable public debt - often because private debts are assumed by a corrupt government through large private bank bailouts.<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1331076/Ireland-bailout-Lets-frank-7bn-bunch-liars-crooks-bunglers.html Ireland Bailout], Alex Brummer</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article24543.html QE2 and the Great Economic Misdiagnosis], Jim Willie</ref> The [[Latin American debt crisis]] is an example of sovereign debt levels becoming unsustainable, resulting in a [[currency crisis]] and economic collapse, as [[interest rates]] rise precipitously due to the inability of the national government to attract financiers to purchase new [[government bonds]] to inject new [[debt money]] into the ailing economy.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article24543.html QE2 and the Great Economic Misdiagnosis], Jim Willie</ref>

At such times, it is the responsibility of the [[IMF]] to come in as a kind of supranational [[central bank]] to mediate between the national government and international financiers. The role of the [[IMF]] as [[central bank]] to the world has similar responsibilities and risks inherent in [[central bank]]ing which are described below in relation to the role of the [[Federal Reserve]]. If the [[IMF]] repeatedly intervenes to save financiers from loss when sovereign bankruptcy occurs, this has a tendency to induce [[moral hazard]] and can encourage the financing of reckless government spending and borrowing.<ref>[http://www.rgemonitor.com/41 IMF Reform and International Lender of Last Resort, RGE Monitor]</ref><ref>[http://info.interactivist.net/article.pl?sid=02/11/07/199213&mode=thread&tid=8 Banking Bunkum, by Henry C.K. Liu]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article24543.html QE2 and the Great Economic Misdiagnosis], Jim Willie</ref>

A [[single currency]] regime such as the [[Euro]] can mask national liquidity or solvency crises, by ensuring that a national currency is not quickly exchangeable for another, thereby restricting the ability of national governments to depreciate their currencies and cutting off the possibility that the real value of [[government bond]] interest repayments could decline relative to other currencies.<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1316442/Anglo-Irish-Bank-bail-Will-Irish-economic-meltdown-hit-UKs-fragile-recovery.html Irish Meltdown], UK Mail On-line,</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article24459.html Ireland Bailout Consequences for Britain, Portugal Next?], Nadeem Walayat</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article24543.html QE2 and the Great Economic Misdiagnosis], Jim Willie</ref><ref>[http://news.goldseek.com/RichardDaughty/1192374060.php The Mogambo Theory of Currency Relativity]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvJEJEGzeU8&feature=player_embedded#! Putin ditches dollar], RTTV</ref> This may however increase the risk of bond default where indebted national governments cannot pay back the interest payments in the denominated common currency.<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1316442/Anglo-Irish-Bank-bail-Will-Irish-economic-meltdown-hit-UKs-fragile-recovery.html Irish Meltdown], UK Mail On-line,</ref><ref>[http://blog.mises.org/15129/bagus-explains-the-ecb-and-the-euro/ The Tragedy of the Euro], Philipp Bagus</ref>

===Types of downturns===
{{main|Austrian Business Cycle Theory}}

There are two main kinds of debt money contraction that can cause a collapse in the value of inflated assets.

A "credit squeeze" occurs where new debt money is difficult to access without a high [[credit rating]]. At such times marginal borrowers, or those who have borrowed at the end of any debt-induced asset bubble, get "squeezed" out of further borrowing and a contraction in the growth of new debt money occurs, triggering a slow down in the growth of inflated assets. Those assets can then be "harvested" by the [[private bank]]s through widespread [[foreclosure]] or [[bankruptcy]] and re-sold to those with the money to buy the distressed assets.<ref name="marketoracle.co.uk">[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article2882.html Market Fundamentalism, by Richard C. Cook]</ref>

A "credit crunch" occurs where new debt money is not available at any [[interest rate]] - even for those with previously acceptable credit ratings - due to widespread insolvency in the banking system. At such times, it is the banking system itself that is [[insolvent]] and other financial institutions (including overseas financiers) become reluctant to lend to the domestic banking system, resulting in the domestic banking system being unable to issue loans even to credit worthy borrowers.<ref>[http://www.scribd.com/doc/3906112/Credit-CrunchThe-New-Financial-Snack Credit Crunch, by Satyajit Das]</ref>

At any stage during the downward spiral of a "credit crunch", the [[central bank]] in a modern economy can try to save the system from complete economic [[meltdown]] by purchasing (either indefinitely or temporarily) the failed debts of the private banks.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTUY16CkS-k&feature=player_embedded#! Quantitative Easing Explained]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article24489.html Does the Fed Create Money?] Michael Pento</ref><ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=A1YourView&xml=/money/2007/12/19/ccom119.xml ECB's mind-numbing cash injection]</ref> However, doing so results in cash being transferred to the private banks in exchange for [[bad debt]], thereby violating the general economic precept to avoid [[moral hazard]] and effectively makes liquid the failed lending decisions of the [[private bank]]s.<ref>[http://www.rgemonitor.com/blog/roubini/228924/ Privitizing Profits and Socializing Losses, by Nouriel Roubini]</ref> In the U.S. banking system this is called "opening the Fed discount window", where the [[Federal Reserve]] temporarily purchases the failed investment portfolios of distressed private banks in exchange for cash. However, this rescue measure may only delay, rather than avoid, the realization of losses in the banking system, as the central bank cannot "force" new borrowing into the system to inject new debt money into the money supply. Somebody has to be a [[counterparty]] to borrow the debt money that is being offered. If all market participants realize a "[[bubble (economics)|bubble]]" has formed in assets markets, there will be few (or no) buyers for new debt money, as no one wants to borrow to buy inflated assets no one else will buy. Money markets can therefore remain illiquid even with intense [[central bank]] support.

Furthermore, banks can go bust even with intense central bank support, if the issue is not one of liquidity, but one of solvency.<ref>[http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/233ae764-abef-11dc-82f0-0000779fd2ac.html Central Banks have No Plan]</ref><ref>[http://www.rgemonitor.com/blog/roubini/233120 Central Banks get desperate]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMngK0t5WkY $20 Trillion in Bad Debt], Max Keiser</ref>

===Pushing on a string===
Some monetary economists describe the opening of the Fed discount window after the bursting of an asset bubble as "[[pushing on a string|pushing on a piece of string]]", as this measure does not solve the key problem – creating new credit (or debt money) to keep up the growth in the money supply and maintain the required level of liquidity in credit markets.<ref>[http://www.mises.org/story/2695 Don't Discount the Fed Discount Window]</ref><ref>[http://www.federalreserve.gov/Pubs/FEDS/2004/200401/200401pap.pdf Monetary Policy in Deflation: The Liquidity Trap in History and Practice]</ref> This is because unlimited central bank money and low interest rates ''allow'' credit creation, but do not ''force'' it into the system. In order for any new debt money to be created, somone has to borrow the excess reserves in order for the money to be injected into the system. If corporations and individuals are already heavily indebted (or insolvent after the bursting of another debt-induced bubble) there are no credit-worthy borrowers to lend to.

To encourage fresh borrowing, central banks generally combine these rescue measures with an interest rate cut to encourage more new borrowing to allow the existing (failed) debts to be [[liquidate]]d at or close to their original value. When [[Alan Greenspan]] repeatedly resorted to this tactic to revive illiquid [[money market]]s this became known in the market as the "[[Greenspan put]]", as the effect of these repeated reductions in interest rates was similar to a [[put option]] in the [[stockmarket]], insuring [[bank]]s' lending mistakes would be covered up by the Federal Reserve.<ref>[http://www.iie.com/publications/wp/02-1.pdf Moral Hazard and the "Greenspan Put"]</ref>

When interest rates cannot go any lower (the so-called "zero bound" monetary problem) and people still will not - or cannot - load themselves up with more debt, then the Keynesian solution is to run large public deficits and indebt future generations (who, they hypothesize, are more likely to be able to pay through increased future growth).<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/business/26view.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=shiller&st=cse Stimulus Without More Debt], Robert Shiller</ref> Fabian socialists, and Keynesian economists such as Paul Krugman and Robert Shiller, argue that governments must take charge of the responsibility of spending more (and taking on more debt) on behalf of the public (who are too fearful to take on more debt themselves) in order to compensate for the immediate and urgent ''present'' insufficiency in total private consumption.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/business/26view.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=shiller&st=cse Stimulus Without More Debt], Robert Shiller</ref> Paul Krugman is a prominent advocate of the policy of spending trillions of government money to help stimulate the economy, if spending billions does not work.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/21/opinion/21krugman.html?dbk Budget Deficits], Paul Krugman</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/10/krugman-and-inevitable-i-told-you-so.html Krugman], MISH</ref><ref>[http://krugman-in-wonderland.blogspot.com/2010/11/inflation-prisoner.html The Inflation Prisoner], William Anderson</ref> For economists such as Paul Krugman, if the "more and more government spending" solution does not work initially, it is a sign that not enough government money has been spent.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/20/opinion/20krugman.html?hp When Zombies Win], Paul Krugman, NY Times</ref><ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/10/krugman-and-inevitable-i-told-you-so.html Krugman], MISH</ref> It is his view that the "deflationary" Japanese recession from 1991/2 could have been cured by the Japanese government going into even more debt than the current net debt to GDP ratio of 110%.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/21/opinion/21krugman.html?dbk Budget Deficits], Paul Krugman</ref><ref>[http://www.economist.com/node/15867844 Japan's debt-ridden economy], The Economist</ref>

Although there is active debate as to whether this policy (indebting future generations by the government spending debt-sourced money on projects the private sector would not touch) can actually help the economy long term,<ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/featuredcommentaryview?art_id=10485 Krugman Is Eating America Alive], Neeraj Chaudhary, Prudent Bear</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25163.html Keynesian models], Robert Murphy</ref><ref>[http://krugman-in-wonderland.blogspot.com/2010/11/inflation-prisoner.html The Inflation Prisoner], William Anderson</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north925.html Yes, Virginia, There Really Is a Free Lunch], Gary North</ref> there is no argument that this would undoubtedly help the present group of private bankers, as increased income from the interest payments on new government bond issuance offsets the decline in private sector debt and allows private bankers to survive when otherwise they may face collapse due to the fatal impairment of their balance sheets through private debt write-offs after an unsustainable debt-fuelled bubble bursts.<ref>[http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/2010/08/quantitative-easing-wont-help-economy.html QE won't help the economy]</ref><ref>[http://moneymorning.com/2010/11/19/federal-reserves-quantitative-easing-strategy-save-the-us-economy/ QE won't save the economy]</ref>

As government debt is effectively an asset on the books of the banks, increasing Treasury bond issuance necessarily increases the profitability and net asset position of the debt-issuing banks - at least until government insolvency renders the value of those bonds worthless.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/featuredcommentaryview?art_id=10485 Krugman Is Eating America Alive], Neeraj Chaudhary, Prudent Bear</ref>

===Inequities in system===

Aside from the [[moral hazard]] issue, the key risk with [[quantitative easing]] (and the associated attempt to control [[interest rate]]s, to encourage new debt money creation) is that the [[central bank]] exposes the financial system to a [[currency crisis]], as the growth in the [[money supply]] spirals out of control due to the need to save the [[bank]]s from themselves, and ultimately precipitates a currency and associated government bond crisis (as the debt-based currency becomes dysfunctional when debtors - including government debtors - cannot even pay interest on the debt money).<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref><ref>[http://www.swlearning.com/economics/hall/hall-lieb2e-upd/ppt_lecture/exchange_rate_macro_policy.ppt Exchange Rates and Macroeconomic Policy]</ref><ref>[http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VGT-41WBFRG-1&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=4e89075114dcdb58b503172ff1801bd2 Central Bank Intervention]</ref><ref>[http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/mishkin20071026a.htm Financial Instability and the Federal Reserve as a Liquidity Provider, by Frederic S. Mishkin]</ref>

For these reasons, a collapse in confidence in the [[solvency]] of the domestic banking system (and the central government) is one of the most complex and difficult policy issues any central government can face.<ref>[http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/ambroseevans-pritchard/100008812/irelands-debt-servitude/ Ireland's Debt Servitude], Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, UK Telegraph</ref>

In such crises of confidence, a central bank may choose to save the current players in the banking sector by printing money and inflating its way out of the crisis, thereby debasing the value of the domestic [[currency]].<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4869 Can the Fed Become Insolvent?], Robert Murphy</ref> This is now called [[quantitative easing]].<ref>[http://blog.mises.org/14626/quantitative-easing-explained/ Quantitative Easing Explained], YouTube video</ref> Some comentators have commented that the media and the Fed have to constantly come up with new terms (such as "quantitative easing") to hide the fact that they are simply repeating the same failed policy of monetary inflation and the creation of worthless fait money over and over.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25679.html Many Euphemismis for Money Creation], Thorsten Polleit</ref>

This is also referred to by some [[monetary reform]]ers and [[economist]]s as "[[socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor]]", as many indebted [[consumers]] will still lose their [[house]]s and be declared [[bankrupt]] regardless whether or not the central bank intervenes to save marginal lenders who have been made [[insolvent]] through their mis-timing of the [[credit cycle]].<ref>[http://www.rgemonitor.com/blog/roubini/228924/ Privatizing Profits and Socializing Losses, by Nouriel Roubini]</ref><ref>[http://www.beearly.com/pdfFiles/Satyajit%20Das.pdf Regulatory Debauchery by Satyajit Das]</ref> Future generations of innocent taxpayers may ultimately finance any [[bail out]] of reckless lenders, as the money used to fund any [[bail out]] will be funds diverted from the general revenue of the central government.<ref>[http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f4cf8426-654d-11dc-bf89-0000779fd2ac.html A run on the bank]</ref>

Some bankers and financial commentators still refer to [[Walter Bagehot]]'s 1873 commentary on monetary crises, ''Lombard Street'', in an attempt to gain insights into the way in which central bankers should revive illiquid banking systems.<ref>[http://blogs.ft.com/economistsforum/2010/04/a-history-lesson-from-lombard-street-for-wall-street-in-2010/ History Lesson from Lombard Street], Roger Farmer, Ft.com</ref> However this old text may be outdated in circumstances where the community's debt limits have been reached and where the banking crisis arises from insolvency rather than illiquidity.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article24543.html QE2 and the Great Economic Misdiagnosis], Jim Willie</ref>

A prime example of the fatal effects of combining aging demographics with reckless bank lending in a purely fiat debt-based monetary system can be found in the case of the [[Japanese asset price bubble]].<ref>[http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10286992 The Japanese and American Bubbles: Been There, Done Some of That]</ref>

===Potential societal impact===

Some more extreme monetary reformers and [[conspiracy theorists]] anticipate the declaration of [[martial law]] and the imposition of [[fascist]]-style restrictions on [[civil rights]] and [[freedom of speech]] by the political [[The Establishment|Establishment]] to physically protect it from [[anarchy]] or military [[coup]] when the [[bubble (economics)|bubble]] of debt completely bursts, either through a precipitous currency crisis or debt-created [[Depression (economics)|depression]].<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/lewrockwell-show/2010/12/14/179-the-espionage-act-and-the-death-of-american-freedoms/ Death of American Freedoms], Naomi Wolf, LRC interview, Dec 14, 2010</ref><ref>[http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2007/cr120507h.htm New security legislation threats freedoms]</ref> Some conspiracy theorists also anticipate price controls, then rationing of basic essentials, as the coalescence of a corrupt banker-government coalition solidifies to eliminate potential dissent and ensure the forced elimination - by any means necessary - of any actual or potential competing [[currencies]] that could threaten the viability or legitimacy of the [[monopoly]] currency, which could include the compulsory confiscation of all privately-owned [[gold]] (gold being the ultimate reserve currency, still used by central banks as a universally accepted medium of exchange for the settlement of international debts).<ref>[http://blog.mises.org/14795/the-gold-clause-cases-and-constitutional-necessity/ Gold Clause Cases]</ref><ref>[http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1196605589.php America's Trade Debts Lead to a Likely Gold Confiscation]</ref><ref>[http://www.libertydollar.org/ld/legal/raid.htm FBI Raids Liberty Dollar]</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/solution.html The Solution]</ref><ref>[http://prudentinvestor.blogspot.com/2007/09/us-mint-suspends-gold-coin-sales-due-to.html US Mint Suspends Gold Coin Sales]</ref><ref>[http://www.swissamerica.com/article.php?art=06-2004/200406140537f.txt Why a Gold Standard Now?]</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/73468.html Bank of America an arm of US government policy]</ref>

There have been many [[financial crisis|monetary crises]] throughout history<ref>[http://mises.org/store/Early-Speculative-Bubbles-P578.aspx Early Speculative Bubbles and Increases in the Money Supply], Doug French, Mises Institute ISBN: 978-1-933550-44-2</ref> and prior to widespread anarchy or [[revolution]], in the late stages of a [[financial bubble]], there are a number of warning signs of impending [[chaos]] caused by a complete breakdown of trust in the debt-based [[monetary system]].<ref>[http://mises.org/store/Product.aspx?ProductId=435 Fiat Money Inflation in France], Andrew Dickson White, Mises Institute</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref> Just prior to the complete collapse of the [[pyramid scheme]] of public and private debt, the economic system tends to feed on itself, and in the past, where debt-created [[Depression (economics)|depression]]s or periods of [[hyperinflation]] have occurred in [[Europe]], the [[U.S.]] and [[China]], there has been a sustained spike in predatory economic behavior, as the heavily indebted central government and producers are forced to find more extreme (previously considered unethical) methods to extract any remaining wealth from increasingly desperate and impoverished [[consumers]], who are either unwilling or unable to go into further debt without forceful coercion.<ref name="http">{{cite book |last= Widdig |first= Bernd |title= Culture and Inflation in Weimar Germany |url= http://books.google.com/books/ucpress?id=kvKAATycUzIC |accessdate= 2007-12-16 |year= 2001 |publisher= University of California
Press |isbn= 0520222903 }}</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/3569 John Law and the Invention of Modern Finance], Doug French (Mises.org)</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/1690 The Saga of John Law and Richard Cantillon], Sean Corrigan (Mises.org)</ref> [[Long-term]] investment and sustained [[capital investment]] are almost impossible in this environment because the "measuring stick" of [[return on investment]] (the real value of [[money]]) is so uncertain at times of debt-induced [[credit crunch]], depression or hyperinflation.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref>

As potential new [[borrower]]s and international financiers are scared away from participating in the [[pyramid scheme]] of debt and borrowing further, the [[monetary system]] seizes up, starved of the fresh injections of [[debt money]] it needs for its survival, thereby precipitating economic [[anarchy]], widespread [[lawlessness]] and [[insolvency]] of the monetary and banking system.<ref>[http://www.oftwominds.com/blognov07/empire-debt1.html Empire of Debt]</ref><ref>[http://www.goldensextant.com/SavingtheSystem.html Fiat's Reprieve, by Robert K. Landis]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref>

This final denouement is triggered when [[borrower]]s cannot be found to buy depreciating heavily indebted assets, and international financiers reduce lending as they experience losses on pre-existing loans either through asset or currency [[depreciation]]. Some analysts predict that the [[monetary system]] will seize up due to a [[deflationary]] depression or a sustained period of [[stagflation]]ary hyperinflation resulting in a "final and total catastrophe of our fiat monetary system."<ref>[http://www.goldensextant.com/SavingtheSystem.html Fiat's Reprieve, by Robert K. Landis]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref>

This has often occurred after a failed [[aggressive war]], as international financiers realize the heavily indebted [[government]] they funded will not gain the [[resources]] it planned to seize as a result of the waging of [[aggressive war]]. When this pay-off does not materialize, the government is left with the [[debt]] of war without the ability to offset this [[government debt]] through the imposition of [[reparations]] on the defeated [[nation]] and the acquisition of the defeated state's [[resources]]. This occurred to [[Germany]] after the [[First World War]] and [[Japan]] after the [[Second World War]].

Whatever the trigger, the key warning sign of any impending monetary crisis and economic [[anarchy]] is a sudden [[currency crisis]], or a sudden spike in domestic interest rates, or a sudden [[credit crunch]].<ref>[http://www.goldensextant.com/SavingtheSystem.html Fiat's Reprieve, by Robert K. Landis]</ref> Early warning signs that the [[private banks]] themselves are aware of an impending breakdown in the [[solvency]] of the [[financial system]] would be: a spike in the prices for [[oil]] (which is an internationally accepted, inherently limited, store of value, and therefore can act as a modern form of [[hard currency]], oil sometimes being referred to as "black gold"), [[gold]], [[silver]] and other stable, non-perishable, inherently limited [[natural resources]] essential for non-discretionary industrial production;<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref> a spike in the [[futures contract]]s for vital agricultural [[commodities]] such as [[sugar]],<ref>[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-15/portugal-tries-to-prevent-sugar-hoarding-amid-shortage-ft-says.html 2010 Portugal Sugar Crisis]</ref> [[coffee]], [[wheat]], [[soybean]]s and [[rice]], as investors realize the debt-based monetary system has squeezed supplies of [[arable land]]; a sudden flight of money ''to'' [[Treasury bills]] and/or a sudden spike in the [[interest rate]] differential between short-term [[Treasury bills]] and asset-backed corporate paper (or a sudden spike in the [[LIBOR]] rate in [[London]])<ref>[http://www.goldensextant.com/SavingtheSystem.html Fiat's Reprieve, by Robert K. Landis]</ref><ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/12/03/cnrates103.xml&CMP=ILC-mostviewedbox Pleas for rate cut as interbank loans dive]</ref> - and then, in the very late stages of a credit crisis, a sudden and disorderly flight of money ''away from'' government bonds and a "shock" or "panic" collapse in government bond prices, as banks perceive that some governments will ultimately find it ''impossible'' to pay interest on their debt from coercively acquired taxes.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/8190059/Global-bond-rout-deepens-on-US-fiscal-worries.html Global bond rout], Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, UK Telegraph</ref><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/thebearslairview?art_id=10480 When Will The U.S. Become Greece?], Michael Hutchinson</ref>

Shortly thereafter, some [[monetary reform]]ers predict that there would be desperate, but ultimately futile [[central bank]] intervention, a [[currency crisis]], a panic run on a number of marginal, [[insolvent]] [[banks]] and [[hedge funds]] as desperate wealthy investors try to get [[cash]] out before the [[pyramid scheme]] collapses to invest in inherently limited, non-perishable, in-demand commodities such as [[oil]] and [[gold]]<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref> (and undeveloped agricultural and industrial [[land]] in areas of the world with strong [[economic growth]]), followed by a [[recession]] or [[depression]] in the broader heavily indebted economy as the [[money supply]] contracts.<ref>[http://www.goldensextant.com/SavingtheSystem.html Fiat's Reprieve, by Robert K. Landis]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref><ref>[http://www.newyorkfed.org/research/staff_reports/sr291.pdf Hedge Funds, Financial Intermediation and Systemic Risk]</ref>

In 2010 Ireland and Greece experienced simiilar financial crises along the lines described above and many financial commentators and politicians expect more countries to go through the same debt crisis.<ref>[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/12/video-fire-bombs-stones-fly-in-greek.html Greek protests]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gm9q8uabTs "Who the Hell do you think you people are?"], Nigel Farage, UKIP leader</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25313.html Asset Speculation and Capital Destruction], Jim Willie</ref> In 2011, Tunisia experienced a financial and political crisis that was almost identical to those already experienced on the poorer European periphery, except that in this case the pre-existing political establishment quickly fled the country in fear for their safety.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25636.html We are all Tunisians], Yvonne Ridley</ref>

===Potential solutions===
Although time is the only real remedy for monetary crises (allowing re-inflation of the markets through the gradual injection of new [[debt money]] into the system through new borrowings), time is something panicked financiers and investors are least likely to want to give up when the threat is never getting their [[money]] out of the imploding investment [[bubble]]. In extreme cases [[bank]]s could set up "independent" corporate investment vehicles to buy the assets associated with the [[bad debt]],<ref>[http://www.dealbreaker.com/2007/10/citigroup_looks_to_lend_money.php Citigroup looks to lend money]</ref> thereby allowing [[borrower]]s to liquidate their investments and allow time for the markets to re-inflate. Alternatively, these "sour" loans, that have gone bad through too much debt overwhelming the markets, could be dumped or "hidden" on the central bank's balance sheet, and swapped for more secure government debt (financed through compulsorily acquired taxes, which are immune from the risk of private bankruptcy). However the holding costs involved in these measures would be extremely high and would not guarantee that the losses could be averted if no new gullible investors could be found to offload these distressed assets.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8w6Nx2rfiE A Wikileaks for the Fed?]</ref> More fundamentally, these short-term "parachutes" used after bubbles burst do not save ordinary borrowers from [[foreclosure]] and [[bankruptcy]], nor do they address the pernicious long-term dysfunctional aspects of [[fractional reserve banking]] described above. These problems are temporarily averted, only to be dealt with yet again by the next generation of indebted governments and peoples.<ref>[http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18431.htm The Era of Global Financial Instability, by Mike Whitney]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8w6Nx2rfiE A Wikileaks for the Fed?]</ref>

Given these repeated financial crises arising from the debt-based monetary system, many [[monetary reform]]ers predict that there will inevitably be a spontaneous market-induced return to the [[gold standard]],<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMngK0t5WkY Mike Maloney interview with Max Keiser], The Keiser Report</ref> a fundamental change in the way money is produced and distributed (with a return to the prevalence of government-issued debt-free [[fiat currency]] and/or [[free banking]]) - or a complete financial "[[meltdown]]" as fewer young people in developed economies can be found who are willing to go into debt in sufficient magnitude to pay off the debts that have already been accumulated.<ref>[http://www.goldensextant.com/SavingtheSystem.html Saving the System, by Robert K. Landis]</ref> As extreme inequality increases, [[foreclosure]]s mount and financial crises repeatedly erupt, these [[monetary reform]]ers believe a political crisis will eventually result in calls for fundamental [[monetary reform]].

These on-going, worsening, [[debt]]-created crises in the economy and society (and the unsustainable damage to the [[environment]] caused by debt-created [[overconsumption]]) could turn monetary and economic policies either to the extreme left or to the extreme right, as there are a number of competing solutions to the debt-based monetary "problem".

===Proposals for monetary reform===
====Libertarians, Austrians and commodity money====

[[Libertarians]] and [[Austrian School]] advocates envision a society of [[free markets]], [[free banking]], [[small government]]<ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/thebearslairview?art_id=10473 Models of Capitalism], Michael Hutchinson</ref> and the abolition of [[legal tender laws]], allowing money backed by a free market [[gold standard]] or [[silver standard]] to come back in circulation,<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25212.html The Faults of FRB], Thorsten Polleit</ref> along with the abolition of all monopolistic governmental central economic planning and monopolistic central banking.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/73833.html End the Fed], Freedom Watch</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4860 Money: Sound and Unsound], Mark Thornton commentary on Joseph Salerno's book</ref><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/thebearslairview?art_id=10471 Gold Standard Renaissance?]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article24632.html The Gold Standard Never Dies], [[Lew Rockwell]]</ref><ref>[http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/thebearslairview?art_id=10471 Gold Standard], Michael Hutchinson</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Money-Bank-Credit-and-Economic-Cycles-P290C0.aspx Money, Bank Credit and Economic Cycles], Jesus Huerta de Soto, Mises Institute ISBN: 978-1-933550-39-8</ref><ref>[http://radio.goldseek.com/griffin04.10.10.php Goldseek interview] with [[G. Edward Griffin]]</ref><ref>See also these [[Murray Rothbard]] articles: [http://www.mises.org/money.asp What Has Government Done to Our Money?], [http://www.mises.org/story/1829 The Case for the 100% Gold Dollar]; [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/cartelization.pdf The Fed as Cartel], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard191.html Private Coinage], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard190.html Repudiate the National Debt]; [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard181.html Taking Money Back], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard163.html Anatomy of the Bank Run], [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard128.html Money and the Individual]</ref> Some Libertarians would also support experimentation with [[full-reserve banking]],<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4860 Money: Sound and Unsound], Mark Thornton commentary on Joseph Salerno's book</ref><ref>[http://mises.org/store/Money-Bank-Credit-and-Economic-Cycles-P290C0.aspx Money, Bank Credit and Economic Cycles], Jesus Huerta de Soto, Mises Institute ISBN: 978-1-933550-39-8</ref><ref>[http://www.mises.org/Books/mysteryofbanking.pdf Murray Rothbard, ''The Mystery of Banking'']</ref> recognizing that when fractional-reserve banking is combined with the gold standard a deflationary bias (and the systematic transfer of real wealth to the banking system) is normally inevitable. Those Libertarians who support full reserve banking would strongly support more flexible and forgiving bankruptcy laws in a fractional reserve banking environment, recognizing that no [[social stigma|stigma]] should be attached to bankruptcy given the anti-Libertarian "unjust acquisition" of real wealth implicit in both fractional reserve banking and [[taxation]].<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4860 Money: Sound and Unsound], Mark Thornton commentary on Joseph Salerno's book</ref><ref name="Repudiating the National Debt">[http://mises.org/article.aspx?Id=1423 Repudiating the National Debt], Murray Rothbard</ref><ref>[http://www.mises.org/Books/mysteryofbanking.pdf Murray Rothbard, ''The Mystery of Banking'']</ref><ref>[http://gonzalolira.blogspot.com/2010/12/want-to-ruin-your-own-country-assume.html Want to Ruin Your Country?]</ref>

Regarding the current accumulation of [[government bonds]] and private debt, some Libertarians believe that the creation of the [[Federal Reserve System|Federal Reserve]] under the [[Federal Reserve Act]] of 1913 was [[Criticism of the Federal Reserve|unconstitutional]] and some Libertarians consider that at least some of this accumulated debt should be canceled or forgiven prior to a return to the gold standard in recognition of its fundamental illegitimacy.<ref name="Repudiating the National Debt"/> Arguably this would be supported by the "just acquisition" [[jurisprudence]] of legal philosopher [[Robert Nozick]] and Libertarian advocate [[Murray Rothbard]].<ref name="Repudiating the National Debt"/>

In late 2010, financial commentator Max Keiser started the [[Buy Silver Crash JP Morgan Campaign 2010]] in an attempt to expose the flaws underlying the [[fractional reserve banking]] system.

====Reform within fiat currency systems====
[[Ellen Hodgson Brown]] calls for the nationalization of the private banking system once the full losses on the banks' portfolios are recognized.<ref>[http://www.webofdebt.com/articles/new_theory.php Time for a New Theory of Money]</ref><ref>[http://www.webofdebt.com/articles/force_nationalization.php Foreclosuregate could force bank nationalization]</ref><ref>[http://webofdebt.wordpress.com/2010/12/22/austerity-fails-in-euroland-time-for-some-%e2%80%9cdeficit-easing%e2%80%9d/ Austerity Fails in Europe], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref> She also supports "QE2" - which she describes as a necessary and desirable funding of government spending via money printing rather than by the indirect means of issuing of interest-bearing government bonds, which simply allows private bankers to profit from costless money creation.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article24443.html QE2 and the Looming Threat of a Crippling Debt Service]</ref><ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article24719.html QE2 and Hyperinflation], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref> In late 2010, [[Ellen Hodgson Brown]] and Austrian School commentator [[Gary North]] engaged in an intense debate over the direction of [[monetary reform]], with gold-standard supporter [[Gary North]] accusing Brown of going down a path that inevitably leads to the economics of fascism.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north908.html Criticism of Ellen Hodgson Brown]</ref><ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north912.html Ellen Betrays], Gary North</ref>

[[Michael Rowbotham]] also seeks the cancellation of "unjust" debts (such as [[third world debt]]), but would also support the re-introduction of strongly redistributive tax policies involving higher financial transaction taxes (such as a [[Tobin tax]]), [[land tax]]es and [[inheritance tax]]es, and, crucially and most importantly, a [[social security]] [[safety net]] involving a guaranteed minimum [[social credit|debt-free income]] (sourced from government-issued debt-free money independent of any central bank) for all citizens in the debt-based economy. Under this proposal, every adult citizen would be given a livable debt-free income transferred electronically into their [[bank account]], simply by virtue of their [[citizen]]ship. They could then use this debt-free money to pay off their [[mortgage]]s or to live, debt-free, without being compelled to work as a [[wage slavery|wage slave]] in the market economy if they chose not to. The government would finance these payments simply by ordering the private banks to accept their electronic instructions as legal tender. It would therefore not result in the expansion of [[government debt]].

Instead of [[money]] being created "indirectly" and "furtively" at the point of [[loan]] creation by the private banking system, with periodic [[bailouts]] to [[socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor|already-rich bankers]], it would be created directly and openly by the democratically elected government and issued to its [[citizen]]ry by way of instruction to the private banking system.

Rowbotham and Ellen Hodgson Brown both argue in their books that this would ''not'' be [[inflation]]ary (or at least would not be as inflationary or as dysfunctional as the present system).<ref>[http://www.webofdebt.com/articles/hyperinflation.php Weimar Hyperinflation], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref> This would also reduce [[overconsumption]] and the associated [[Natural environment|environment]]al damage associated with debt-based [[consumerism]]. It would also give individuals the free time to engage once again in non-marketable [[religious]], [[artistic]] and [[recreation]]al activities if they chose to do so.<ref name="death"/>

Ex-U.S. Treasury Department analyst Richard C. Cook also supports the issuance of debt-free money and zero-interest credit by the central government and has provided a detailed blueprint of monetary reform recommendations to transition to a debt-free money supply.<ref name="marketoracle.co.uk"/>

Many monetary reformers who call on the government to take back the money creation from debt-sourced banks also call for full reserve banking to remove the bank's alleged "embezzlement" and "counterfeiting" abilities.<ref name="marketoracle.co.uk"/><ref>[http://www.monetary.org/ AMI website, calling on full-reserve banking]</ref>

It is to be expected that these policies would be violently opposed by the [[private bank]]ing "[[elite]]", as it would render impotent their control over the [[money supply]], dissipating this crucial decision-making power away from its current power base. It would also be likely to reduce [[economic growth]], dramatically increase the cost of [[labor]] and, potentially, simply increase monetary and price inflation as individuals used the additional income simply to bid up the cost of health care, education, housing, food and other real assets.<ref>[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article25175.html Kucinich's End the Fed campaign fatally flawed], MISH</ref> <ref>[http://webofdebt.wordpress.com/questions-and-answers/response-to-mogambo-guru/ Response to the Magambo Guru], by Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref> However, this proposal would undoubtedly address the problem of [[inequality]] inherent in a debt-based monetary system and reduce the devastating impact of personal [[bankruptcy]] and allow individual citizens to quickly recover from financial hardship. It would also ensure that this [[social security]] measure (and government spending in general) would not have to be paid for by future generations from future streams of [[income tax]].

===Left-leaning ideas===
Many left-leaning [[social democrats]] would also support the taxing of the banking system and the enforcement of strongly redistributive income and [[land tax]]es to ensure the financially dispossessed are "replenished" with income. They would also support a [[social security]] [[safety net]] involving the provision of unemployment benefits and government-supplied free medical care, education and other essential services and [[public goods]]. It is to be expected however that, without the issuance of debt-free [[fiat currency]], this system would result in the persistent, exponential, accumulation of [[government debt]], financed by the [[private banking]] system by the issuance of [[government bonds]]. If not properly managed, this could result in a progressively higher tax burden and may result in higher [[interest rates]] in the long term, as financiers require higher [[interest rates]] to lend to the increasingly indebted central government. Without the issuance of [[debt-free money]] these policies can be self-defeating, with the net result simply being that a larger stream of guaranteed income goes to the [[private bank]]ing system via the issuance of interest-bearing [[government bonds]] (which are purchased by the [[private banks]] "out of nothing" through [[fractional reserve banking]] techniques). This [[government debt]] must then be financed in perpetuity by compulsorily acquired [[tax]]es from future generations.

It could be argued that the early success of extreme right-wing [[fascism]] in [[Nazi Germany]] and [[Italy]] in the period after [[World War I]] was a response to the economic chaos created by the debt-based monetary system in early 20th century [[Europe]]. Some of the economic policies introduced by [[Hitler]] and [[Mussolini]] were in direct response to the economic collapse and social [[anarchy]] caused by soaring government and personal debt levels in both countries in the post-[[Versailles Treaty]] era, and (indirectly) arose from the writings of [[Silvio Gesell]] and others on the nature of the problems associated with a debt-based [[monetary system]]. Although many [[historian]]s justifiably criticize many of the non-economic policies of the [[fascist]] governments of [[Germany]] and [[Italy]] during this period, it cannot seriously be disputed that the [[economics of fascism]] provided a degree of [[prosperity]] to the populace, and that the economic policies that were implemented during this period by these [[fascist]] governments succeeded in their stated objective of restoring economic and social order during the pre-[[World War II]] era.<ref>[http://www.webofdebt.com/articles/bankrupt-germany.php How a Bankrupt Germany Solved its Economic Problems], Ellen Hodgson Brown</ref>

Similarly it could be argued that [[socialism]] and [[communism]] were movements inspired by the inequalities caused by the intense (and in [[Karl Marx]]'s view unsustainable) concentrations of monetary wealth, power and influence inherent in the practice of [[fractional reserve banking]] in a [[laissez-faire]], [[free market]] [[capitalist]] environment (particularly when [[fractional reserve banking]] is combined with a [[gold standard]] or other [[hard currency]] [[monetary system]]).<ref>[http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/02/steve-keen-roving-cavaliers-of-credit.html ''Roving Cavaliers of Credit'', Steve Keen, with commentary from Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism]</ref>

The [[communist]]/[[socialist]] solution to the problem of [[fractional reserve banking]] is simple: complete removal (and if necessary, violent non-democratic removal) of the allegedly "parasitic" political and financial capitalist class, wholesale repudiation of [[government debt]] resulting in complete debt [[default]]; forced [[expropriation]] of [[land]] and wealth from the [[upper classes]] to the dispossessed and needy [[working classes]]; [[nationalization]] of the [[private banks]] (which has required armed [[coup]]s by the [[military]] in some past [[revolution]]s); and the return of the banking function from a dominant, speculative to a subordinate, administrative institution, where the banking system is reduced to a subservient arm of the centralized [[Leviathan]]. In this system, government-owned banks are directed by government policy; often provide different kinds of loans to different industry sectors at different interest rates depending on the perceived "needs" of the economy and the community; normally have a significant proportion of [[non-performing loan]]s due to weak or non-existent [[bankruptcy]] laws; and periodically "forgive" failed debts in recognition of the impossibility of some businesses in paying this debt money back.

It is to be expected that the [[profitability]] of the government-owned banking system would be more stable - but dramatically lower - than that in a debt-based [[capitalist]] economy. It is also to be expected that a significantly higher misallocation of resources could occur in this system, where lending decisions are "infected" by political considerations and are not made on the basis of expected [[return on investment]]. The risk of [[corruption]] in the banking system is also expected to be higher where there is no separation between the political and monetary systems in an economy. Market-oriented [[monetary reform]]ers and [[neo-classical]] economists therefore do not support [[nationalization]] of the [[private banking]] system.

It should be noted that partial [[nationalization]] of the [[private bank]]ing system would only be temporary, as any remaining [[private banks]] could still engage in unlimited [[fractional reserve banking]] and facilitate the eventual acquisition and control of any strategic assets in a partially socialized economic system. It is to be expected that in the absence of complete [[nationalization]] of the banking system, the [[private bank]]ing system would eventually dominate the financial system in any nominally [[socialist]] society.

===Status under current systems===
Whatever their political leanings, nearly all [[monetary reform]]ers agree that the current mixture of policies prevalent in most Western democracies, involving the perpetuation of government-protected [[private bank]]s (organizations legally permitted to engage in unlimited and inherently speculative [[fractional reserve banking]] activities, with recourse to [[central bank]]s - and in some cases corrupt governments<ref>[http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/ambroseevans-pritchard/100008812/irelands-debt-servitude/ Ireland's Debt Servitude], Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, UK Telegraph</ref> - to provide [[bail out]]s of [[fiat money]]), [[laissez-faire]] economic policies (which have the effect of increasing the marketization and commodification of human activity), strictly enforced [[bankruptcy]] laws (which permit the periodic transfer of assets from failed [[bankrupt]] investors to the [[private banks]] and their associates) and [[personal income tax]] (which, combined with periodic economic collapses, dispossesses the majority of the populace from their accumulated [[income]] and [[wealth]] and transfers this wealth to the owners of [[government bonds]]) amounts to an inherently unstable, unjust and dysfunctional [[economic system]] resulting in [[environment]]ally damaging [[over-consumption]], the systematic and irredeemable destruction of fertile [[arable land]] and the government-sponsored (and ultimately unsustainable) oppression of the indebted, impoverished and economically enslaved majority.<ref>[http://mises.org/daily/4893 ''The Ethics of Money Production''], Jorg Guido Hulsmann</ref>

==See also==
* [[Austrian Business Cycle Theory]]
* [[Central bank]]
* [[Monetary reform]]
* [[Murray Rothbard]]
* [[Ron Paul]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://libertariannation.org/b/money.htm Libertarian Nation Foundation - Money and Banking]
*[http://econpapers.repec.org/paper/wpawuwpma/0203005.htm Fractional Reserve Banking as Economic Parasitism]
*[http://www.prosperityuk.com/prosperity/links/links.html Monetary Reform websites]
*[http://www.jamesrobertson.com/books.htm#creating James Robertson: Creating New Money: A Monetary Reform for the Information Age]
*[http://www.relfe.com/plus_5_.html I want the Earth Plus 5%]
*[http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9050474362583451279 Money As Debt (videoplay animation)]
*[http://libertariannation.org/b/money.htm Money and Banking]
*[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/ MISH]
*[http://maxkeiser.com/ Max Keiser]
*[http://www.webofdebt.com/ Web of Debt]
*[http://www.prudentbear.com/ PrudentBear.com]
*[http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/ Market Oracle]
*[http://www.rgemonitor.com/index.php RGE Monitor]
*[http://www.financialarmageddon.com/ Financial Armageddon]
*[http://thedollarmeltdown.com/book.html The Dollar Meltdown]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Criticism Of Fractional-Reserve Banking}}
[[Category:Argumentation]]
[[Category:Money]]