The American Spectator

Reader Mail

(Page 5 of 13)

p>That point is completely false. All currencies worldwide are fiat currencies and the WSJ has had articles in the past three weeks about worldwide inflation. It is indeed primarily the debasement of the value of money worldwide that has caused the increase in food prices. Indeed, food producers and people on fixed incomes get harmed the most. br> -- Allen Niven br> New York, New York /p>

In order to get politics out of the way in food and energy production, it is going to be necessary to require that all potential members of Congress have to pass a test on basic economics and science. If this were instituted, there'd be far fewer lawyers gracing the "hallowed halls" of the Capitol Building, which would be a good thing.

If only we had any leaders these days. My father was fond of the quote, "Lead, follow, or get out of the way." If only those in Congress, who are incredibly stupid about basic economics and science, would consider their own qualification and follow the relevant part of the quote, vis-a-vis their own capabilities.

p>Five hundred thirty-five American citizens over the age of 50, one for each congressional district, and two extra for each state, picked at random out of the phone book, could do a better job than group we currently have in Washington. As long as we didn't allow any lawyers who might get selected to actually serve. br> -- R. Goodson br> Vero Beach, Florida /p> p> Mr. Johansen in "Food Fracas" claims that the current increase in world-wide food prices is the result of increased ethanol production and growing living standards in China and India. Like global warming, China and India appear to explain every economic event over the past decade. But the fact that the prices of energy, metals and food are all up to records levels, and the dollar to record lows, hint that something else may tie them all together. The only event known to economics that could produce all of these phenomena is a world-wide glut of money. It works like this: the U.S. inflates the supply of dollars through credit expansion (via low interest rates). As a result, U.S. citizens import more goods. Exporting countries take those dollars and use them as reserves in their banks. Larger reserves enable them to inflate their money supply even more than they usually do. The end result is a flood of money of Biblical proportions. I realize that people trained in mainstream econ will simply role their eyes at this explanation of wide spread prices increases because they limit explanations strictly to supply and demand (demand in China and India); money is neutral is their religion. However, mainstream econ should go back and study the decades of the 1960s and 1970s again. It's deja vu all over again.

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