Bob Murphy

Author Archive

The League of Monetary Cranks…

…has been established by Scott Sumner, my favorite new blogger. In his latest post, he points out that the author of the leading monetary textbook, Mishkin, is in fact a “monetary crank” because “[t]he sine qua non of a monetary crank is the bizarre belief that even depressions featuring zero interest rates can be magically […]

Murphy Interviewed on New Book

I’ve been doing tons of these, but this one is fairly long so it gave me time to give complete answers to the questions. In the beginning my words are a little distorted, but I think it gets better a little way into it. (I was hearing feedback on my phone in the beginning, not […]

Toward a Review of Tom Woods’ Meltdown

I always thought it was funny when people would use that phrase; e.g. I have a book called Toward a History of Game Theory. I think it means, “If I weren’t so lazy I would write…” For sure, that’s what it means in this blog post. Flat out, Tom’s book Meltdown is freakin’ sweet. I […]

Potpourri

* Robert Wenzel tells us “the next big thing” in the financial world. (I think he means, the next big thing after Bernanke’s balance sheet.) * The principles of Walt Disney’s success [pdf]. * The 1870s depression wasn’t so bad after all (HT2 Tom Woods). * This guy says what everyone needs to be saying: […]

TARP, a Criminal Enterprise

So says Larry Kudlow (HT2EPJ). Some strong words indeed for a CNBC article: Is the whole TARP plan a criminal enterprise? Sounds farfetched, I suppose. But after reading about Special Inspector General Neil Barofsky’s report, it may well be that TARP is just one big criminal problem. I know, let’s play a game! I’m going […]

Local Communities Start Printing Own Currency

A few people have mentioned this to me; here’s a USA Today article (so it must be true): A small but growing number of cash-strapped communities are printing their own money. Borrowing from a Depression-era idea, they are aiming to help consumers make ends meet and support struggling local businesses. The systems generally work like […]

Barney Frank on Ron Paul (and not on Steady Cam)

I’m sorry folks, but ever since I testified before his committee (though he was never in the room when I was speaking!), I have liked Barney Frank. There’s all kinds of funny stuff in this clip (HT2LRC)–especially watch for him talking about the Democrats treating Ron Paul better than the Republicans did–but note that he […]

Does the 1937-38 "Depression Within the Depression" Vindicate the Keynesians?

In the thread of my infomercial for my new book, a reader asks an excellent question: Just yesterday I received your book and after skimming it, I must say that it looks like it is going to be excellent! Hopefully I can start reading it this weekend. One point though. In part of your first […]