Why Mainstream Economists Lie About Deflation

[nazgulnarsil]

I agree with Rassah.  Any hope of a rational economic system is out the door as long as populism is the ideology du jour.

[AyeYo]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austrian_business_cycle_theory

Considering an expansion of credit to be the same as inflation is a loose definition, but in a temporal fashion, a valid one I suppose.  Still, the business cycle is created by the expansion and resultant contraction of credit within an economy.  Credit can exist without expansion of the monetary base (inflation), thus inflation does not cause the business cycle.  Although inflation can (and does, that's one intent) affect the credit markets, thus altering the timeline and severity of the cycle.

That is simply the semantics of how one defines inflation.

In our monetary system, which is entirely predicated on the notion that debt = money, there is little difference between "credit expansion" or "printing money".

Okay, you're arguing semantics then.  That's fine, so long as we all know that you are using a loose definition of the terms.  There is certainly little difference between those two terms, but there is a little difference.

Yes, to be precise when I say money printing, I'm referring directly to credit expansion.

You still have not explained why the business cycle has existed as along as business has existed.

You can sit there and quote lectures all day, but the historical record still disagrees with you.

[michaelsuede]

You still have not explained why the business cycle has existed as along as business has existed.

You can sit there and quote lectures all day, but the historical record still disagrees with you.

Because there are very few instances of historical record where 100% reserve banking has been enforced.

I'm not familiar with a period of US history where there was widespread 100% reserve banking in place.

Since anything other than 100% reserve banking will cause business cycles, it should be obvious why the historical record shows business cycles going back as far as we can see in the economic data.

[GideonGono]

 You are about to see a guy with a BBA in MIS smash a Noble prize winning PhD economist’s arguments using simple common sense.

Not that impressive considering that the PhD Economist is Paul Krugman

Regardless, excellent article. And the rebuttals have been spot on as well. Hope you don't mind me reposting this on other sites, due credit given of course.

[michaelsuede]

absolutely.

All the work published on my site is public domain.

[cypherdoc]

so now that Bernanke has declared that gold is not money, do they let Bernard Nothoff off on his counterfeiting charge?