Principles play a critical role in the development of any theory. Including economic theory. Definition Principle:“A fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behavior or a chain of reasoning.” from Oxford Dictionary Introduction Reasoning begins with principles. We tend to ignore principles because, frequently, they seem so obvious. … Continue reading Describe Economic Principles
Month: October 2023
Political Justification for Ignorance
Despite all the noise politicians make about the importance of education, they have a significant incentive to keep the electorate ignorant. That provides the reasoning behind their wanting to maintain control of the education system and the process of education itself. Introduction Keeping the electorate ignorant has paid politicians substantial political dividends for many generations. … Continue reading Political Justification for Ignorance
Government Borrowing
The nature and effect of government borrowing seems to confuse people. Most explanations of government borrowing tend to complicate the subject beyond comprehension. First, why does government borrowing occur? The government must have a source for every dollar it disburses. Taxes provide the money for most of those disbursements, but when the government spends more money … Continue reading Government Borrowing
Who Owns Government Property?
Many years ago, I bought a stolen car. I did not buy this car from the person who stole it, but I did buy it from the person from whom it was stolen. Fortunately, he went through the judicial process to get his title restored. The experience made me think about who actually owns our … Continue reading Who Owns Government Property?
Who Sells Securities to the Federal Reserve?
Introduction People frequently refer to the open-market operations of the Federal Reserve Bank as if all participants were the same. That definitely is not true. The Fed deals with different entities in what they refer to as open-market operations, but there are some important distinctions. I will briefly outline the major distinctions between the different … Continue reading Who Sells Securities to the Federal Reserve?
Death of Deposit Banking
The “laws” of physics change very slowly. The technology we use to apply those laws, however, can change rapidly. We have been able to calculate the amount of power in a gallon of gas for a relatively long time. The amount of that power transmitted to the road has changed significantly since the invention of … Continue reading Death of Deposit Banking