Topic: Sound Money Project

The global gold market vs. sovereign debt

– November 24, 2015

This article was originally published by UFM Market Trends. By Dickson Buchanan Jr. The gold market has shown a lot of volatility recently, causing many financial commentators to question its relevance for today’s modern financial arena. It’s become qu …

Sound Money Project

Does bitcoin have a big volatility problem?

– November 18, 2015

Harper is right that bitcoin is volatile; that this volatility makes it less desirable to hold; and that its volatility will continue to decline as the demand for bitcoin increases. Nonetheless, concerns about its volatility are often overstated.

Sound Money Project

Cato Monetary Conference: a reflection on James Bullard

– November 16, 2015

Last Tuesday, the 33rd annual Cato Monetary Conference was held at the Cato Institute in Washington, DC. There, brilliant minds met and presented on various interesting topics. I will briefly comment on some of them in another post, but for now would l …

Sound Money Project

Do we need a distinct monetary constitution?

– November 9, 2015

Having a monetary constitution is important. But do we need a distinct monetary constitution? Steven Horwitz says no. Agreeing with James Buchanan that a monetary constitution is desirable, Horwitz argues that a general constitution that protects priva …

Sound Money Project

Prudential banking versus real bills doctrine

– November 4, 2015

Should banks adhere to the Real Bills Doctrine (RBD)? This is an old question that, from time to time, resurfaces. So what then is a real bill? A real bill is a bill that is backed by a real good. If I produce bread, for instance, then as a producer I …

Sound Money Project

Op-ed: A new sound money movement for the GOP?

– November 2, 2015

Taking a look back at last week’s GOP debate, there is clearly room for much criticism of CNBC and the questions asked of the candidates. But, sound money advocates might concede that the moderators did get one thing right: monetary policy. According t …

Sound Money Project

Sound as a dollar

– October 29, 2015

A few weeks ago I addressed the question, “Who Wants Sound Money?” Because my answer was that apparently everyone does, the next obvious question is: who should be responsible for assuring sound money? In the case of the US dollar, the original answer …

Sound Money Project

When should the Fed raise its federal funds rate target?

– October 27, 2015

There are at least two situations in which it would make sense for the Fed to raise its target rate.

Sound Money Project

The drawback of a monetary constitution

– October 14, 2015

My previous posts have been fairly positive towards the idea of a monetary constitution: a binding rule on monetary policy makers that these policy makers cannot change. A monetary constitution is particularly appealing for those who desire monetary a …

Sound Money Project

Who wants sound money?

– October 12, 2015

Well, apparently everyone does. An often misunderstood postulate in economics is known as “Gresham’s Law.” The popular version is that “bad money drives out good money.” Historically, what this has meant is that the bad money is what circulates in the …

Sound Money Project

Paper: Risk and Risk-Based Capital of U.S. Bank Holding Companies

– October 6, 2015

The following is a newly released paper by Dr. Thomas Hogan, former Sound Money Project fellow and current Chief Economist for the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs. Risk and Risk-Based Capital of U …

Sound Money Project

Op-ed: How the Fed saved the economy

– October 5, 2015

This piece originally appeared in The Wall Street Journal By Ben S. Bernanke For the first time in nearly a decade, the Federal Reserve is considering raising its target interest rate, which would end a long period of near-zero rates. Like the cessatio …