The most sophisticated monetary and banking policy advice available in the decades after 1776was found in Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations. Smith recommended free competition amongnationwide banks of issue with only minimal legal restrictions and no legal privileges. Yetneither Alexander...

President George W. Bush famously remarked in July 2008 that during the housing boom “Wall Street got drunk... and now it has a hangover.” It was the Federal Reserve that spiked the punchbowl. The Fed sowed the seeds for the bust of 2007-08 by overexpanding credit, keeping interest rates too...

The recent rise of dollar, pound, and euro inflation rates has rekindled the debate over potential alternative monies, particularly gold and Bitcoin. Though Bitcoin has been much discussed in recent years, a basic understanding of how it and gold would work as monetary standards is rare....

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Foreword -- Introduction -- 1. Why Is the U.S. Banking Industry in Trouble? Business Cycles, Loan Losses, and Deposit Insurance -- 2. Public-Sector Deficits and Private-Sector Performance -- 3. An Empirical Analysis of Public Choice Aspects of the Savings and Loan...