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Get your money's worth April 7, 2000 We've all perused the yellowed pages of old catalogs in our grandparents' homes, marveling less at the items for sale (whale-bone corsets?) than at the prices (for only four bucks? Give me two). Cars went for the price of today's bicycles, bicycles cost what we now cough up for skateboards, and skateboards ... well, you couldn't get skateboards then, but they would have gone for a song. Of course, income once upon a time was lower too. Grandpa likely took home weekly wages that might just about cover today's cable bill, and would have gone giddy with glee at all the zeroes on even the stingiest of today's paychecks -- before he realized what today's paychecks buy. Something has obviously changed between yesteryear and today. What have they done to our money? Not too coincidentally, "What Has Government Done To Our Money?" is the title of a book by the late libertarian luminary, Murray Rothbard. (The book is online in its entirety, for free.) Rothbard blamed the proliferation of zeroes on price tags and paychecks on government's ongoing habit of paying its bills cheaply by debasing currency. In the old days, princes diluted the amount of gold and silver in coins to stretch the royal purse; today, Treasury officials keep the presses running overtime. The result is the same -- a buck just doesn't buy what it once did. The solution, Rothbard suggested, is a free market for privately issued money. Competition would discourage issuers from getting cute with the cash. The idea is a radical one, and raises eyebrows even among fans of the market. Rothbard himself acknowledged the point, saying that, "[m]oney ... is the economic area most encrusted and entangled with centuries of government meddling. Many people -- many economists -- usually devoted to the free market stop short at money." But Rothbard was hardly a one-man chorus for competitive currencies. The Nobel-prize winning Austrian economist F.A. Hayek raised the same issue in his classic "Denationalisation of Money," first published in 1976. In a separate lecture, Hayek noted that, "I am more convinced than ever that if we ever again are going to have a decent money, it will not come from government: it will be issued by private enterprise, because providing the public with good money which it can trust and use can not only be an extremely profitable business; it imposes on the issuer a discipline to which the government has never been and cannot be subject." Strong stuff. Even for an internationally renowned economist it seems a bit ... out there. But private money isn't just an academic exercise. Money has been issued privately and competitively in the past, and is still in existence, though in abbreviated form. Lawrence H. White is an expert in the history of independent monetary systems, and the author of "Free Banking in Britain." He points in particular to 18th- and 19th-century Scotland as a place where government bankers were denied the opportunity to monopolize the money business -- and deprived of the chance to add zeroes to price tags. The U.S. was never quite as laissez-faire as Scotland in this respect (and who thought they'd ever see those words in any context), but Americans managed to putter along quite nicely without a centralized Federal Reserve system for a very long time. As George Selgin points out in a study for the Cato Institute, it wasn't until the Civil War that banking was completely nationalized in America. How can we get competitive money back again? Private money being a radical idea to the modern sensibility, wholesale transformation of the monetary system is a ways off. Still, significant steps might be taken without scaring folks too badly. Antoine Clarke of the Libertarian Alliance suggests lifting government monopolies on issuing currency -- and presumably, the U.S.-style "legal tender" laws that require people to accept the government notes. Says Clarke, "After the lifting of the Bank of England's legal monopoly of currency emission, it is not essential that one or several currencies should appear immediately." Clarke sees the threat of competition by itself as having an excellent effect on monetary policy. Another approach might be to bypass people's traditional attachment to the paper bills in their wallets by going to realms where the Federal Reserve hasn't had a chance to put down roots. Private money is already appearing in new forms -- such as variations of digital cash for use on the Internet and in other electronic transactions. Talk of electronic money has circulated since the early days of the Internet, holding as it does the promise of privacy and international acceptance. But several attempts at establishing online currency have either crashed and burned or else limped along rather unimpressively. Established in the Internet's infancy, they failed to find much acceptance on the part of businesses and consumers who were still getting used to using credit cards on the Web. Times may be changing though, or maybe consumers are. At least one electronic currency -- e-gold -- is finding acceptance among online buyers and sellers. The system is described in a Business Week article as "an awkward currency," but it offers enough privacy and security that the author tagged it as "an open door for tax evasion." A nice endorsement that. We may be a long way off from widespread acceptance of private alternatives to government-issued money in the physical world. But we are certainly closer online. And either way, the potential leaves us with at least one important question: Will those old-fashioned whale-bone corsets still seem like such a deal in a world of stable, competing money? For updated information, browse the resources to the right or click over to the Money, Banking, and Finance Directory.

Introduction and Overview Current Resources News Reports Commentary, Opinion, and Book Reviews Introductions and Backgrounders Online Resource Directories Online Discussions and E-Mail Lists Audio and Video Magazines and Periodic Columns Institutes, Organizations, and Clubs Online Books and Collections Books Scholarly and In-Depth Studies Help Wanted Experts News Reports Would a global crisis make e-gold glitter? Source: Business Week Business Week calls the free-market currency e-gold "paranoid" and "an open door for tax evasion," then acknowledges that it's catching on. (4/4/00) Click here for more News Reports on other topics Commentary, Opinion, and Book Reviews Justifying ATM fees Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute Author: Gene Callahan Much-maligned fees for the use of ATM machines don't need to be justified in terms of paying for the provision of banking services. In fact, they're the market prices of a wildly popular convenience. (4/19/00) Can the stock slide be stopped by government? Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute Author: Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr. As much as people are concerned about the stock market plunge, interventionism would be the worst approach. (4/17/00) The Government of Iceland is not a good banker Source: Minimal State Author: Ívar Páll Jónsson In Iceland, a planned merger between one of the two government-owned banks and one of the big private banks has failed, because of government inefficiency. (4/1/00) The mystery of the money supply Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute Author: Frank Shostak Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan recently said that he doesn't know what the money supply actually is, but is it really so hard to figure out? (3/1/00) Fool's gold Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute Author: Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr. Coloring the new U.S. one-dollar coin a fake gold color is an insult to a country that has lost all but the memory of real money. (2/23/00) Money and freedom Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute Author: Joseph T. Salerno Despite the claims of critics, the gold standard was a guarantee of sound money that was undermined by government. (2/2/00) The beauty of a parallel currency Source: The Cato Institute Author: Steve. H. Hanke Another country is in the midst of a currency crisis. This time it's Ecuador, and Steve Hanke recommends a parallel currency system. (1/14/00) Click here for more Commentary, Opinion, and Book Reviews on other topics Introductions and Backgrounders The micropolitics of free-market money: A proposal Source: Libertarian Alliance Author: Antoine Clarke Clarke focuses on the problem of selling the idea of competing, private currencies to a skeptical audience. (1992) Review of Monetary Evolution, Free Banking, & Economic Order Source: Free Nation Foundation/Formulations Steven Horwitz's book is positively reviewed for its complete treatment of free banking. "It's a great book for any economist, banker, or investor, if they like thinking theoretically or if they seek real-world examples of spontaneous monetary order." (1994/5) The solution Source: The Freeman Author: Murray N. Rothbard [M]oney must be returned to the market economy, with all monetary functions performed within the structure of the rights of private property and of the free-market economy. (1995) Taking money back Source: The Freeman Author: Murray N. Rothbard "[T]he best way to penetrate the mysteries of the modern monetary and banking system is to realize that the government and its central bank act precisely as would a Grand Counterfeiter, with very similar social and economic effects." (9/95) How to save our economy from destruction Source: The Freeman Author: Murray N. Rothbard "To save our economy from destruction and from the eventual holocaust of run away inflation, we the people must take the money-supply function back from the government." (11/95) Denationalizing money Source: MOER Author: Nizam Ahmad Governments use money as a way to tax people through inflation. The gold standard and private money would bring a freer, better economy. This article describes a plan for a transition to this ideal through competing state and private money systems. (5/98) IMF plan hurts nations needing most help Source: Mannkal Author: Ron Manners The IMF was applauded when it announced that it would sell-off some of its gold reserves and give the money to the 'poor people of the undeveloped countries' -- a move that subsequently depressed gold prices and hurt many poor nations with commodity-based economies. (8/99) Rothbard on Greenspan Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute Author: Murray Rothbard In two commentaries, the late Murray Rothbard criticized Alan Greenspan's insufficient respect for free markets and adherence to behind-the-scenes central planning. (8/97) The Geodesic Economy Source: Economic Government Group Author: Robert A. Hettinga Some new -- and very interesting -- ideas on alternative currency. The Crash of 1929: Could It Happen Again? Source: Mackinac Center Author: Lawrence W. Reed Unwise government policies, not stock market shifts, are the culprits that lead to widespread economic distress. (10/4/99) A new legal currency backed by pure silver Source: NORFED Describes NORFED's silver-backed currency and its purpose in issuing the new money. What Every American Citizen Should Know about Money Source: NORFED Brief introduction to various monetary and banking concepts. Notable quotes on money Source: Foundation for the Advancement of Monetary Education A collection of interesting quotes pertaining to money and various banking and government practices that adversely affect its worth. Why the Gold Industry is Being Destroyed and What To Do About It Source: Foundation for the Advancement of Monetary Education Author: Lawrence Parks A concise, easily understood summary of why banks do not want money back on a gold standard. The Oncoming Monetary Collapse: The Fight for Honest Money Source: Foundation for the Advancement of Monetary Education Author: Lawrence Parks An excellent, easily understood summary of the dangers inherent in fiat money. Also available in .pdf format. When Will the Bubble Burst? Source: The Jefferson School Author: George Reisman In this online article, Reisman provides a free-market-oriented analysis of the current stock market boom. (8/99) Central Banks, Gold, and the Decline of the Dollar Source: The Freeman/FEE Author: Robert Batemarco A historical examination of gold and the U.S. dollar's decline as compared to other currencies. How to Return to the Gold Standard Source: The Freeman/FEE Author: Bettina Bien Greaves Different ways for returning to the gold standard. How Much Money? Source: The Freeman/FEE Author: Bettina Bien Greaves Greaves examines whether we need more money or just increased purchasing power. Place Your Bets on Virtual Cash Source: Free-Market.Net Media Spotlight Author: J.D. Tuccille Why so many are flocking to electronic trade. Tuccille looks at the mass media treatment of e-cash in this Media Spotlight. Click here for more Introductions and Backgrounders on other topics Online Resource Directories The Dismal Scientist: The best free lunch on the Web Source: Dismal Sciences Inc. Economics is known as "the dismal science." This Web site is designed as an information source for non-economists, mainly about macroeconomic and financial issues. It includes employment and inflation data, stockmarket forecasts, and economic dictionary, etc. The site does not seem to have any free market leaning. Businesses That Accept American Liberty Currency Source: NORFED List of businesses that accept American Liberty Currency, a silver-based alternative to fiat money. American Liberty Currency Redemption Centers Source: NORFED List of current redemption centers for American Liberty Currency, a silver-based alternative to fiat money. Reading List for Monetary Issues Source: Foundation for the Advancement of Monetary Education Listing of recommended reading to become educated about monetary issues. Most are available from the site in html and/or pdf format. Gendex Bank Source: DEXCOM Issuance Systems An alternative currency scheme. "The International Virtual Sovereign exists in platters of seven diamond shaped units." Like all such ideas, this one should be approached with caution and thorough investigation before any investment is undertaken. Douglas Casey's Homepage Source: Douglas Casey Hard money investment advisor. Author of several best selling investment books. The Sovereign Society Source: The Sovereign Society Virtual community for "sovereign individuals" where information regarding conserving wealth through offshore strategies can be found. Central Banking Resource Center Source: Central Banking Resource Center If you're looking for current news, history, or analysis of central banks, their methods, or the economies they dominate, you'll find it here. Stockscape's Library Source: Stockscape "The latest insider trading reports" from the likes of John Pugsley and Harry Browne. Numismatique Source: Compagnie Générale de Bourse French language. There is no free market if there is no free money. Coins and notes from the last 2,700 years, with pictures and descriptions. If you study a period of history, you can look for the currency of the period, its symbolism, intrinsic value, and issuing authority. Informaciones Económicas y Empreseriales Source: IEE Lots of information in Spanish on financial markets, Argentinian banks and lots of links to free-market resources. Woodrow Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Not exactly a free-market resource (it is part of the central bank, after all), but a very useful one in that it is home to economic data not found anywhere else on the Internet. Very well designed and easy to navigate. BuildFreedom.Com Source: Free World Order "Practical things you can do right now to increase your freedom." Advanced Freedom Solutions, Terra Libra, Freedom Technology, etc. Caveat Emptor. Cyberhaven Source: Adam Starchild Home to a variety of "libraries" containing extensive content on personal finance and international business. Includes issues like tax havens, offshore banking, asset protection, and investment strategies. The Motley Fool: Finance and Folly Source: The Motley Fool Personal finance advice with an offbeat, often free-market, twist. The Motley Fool is practically an online legend -- they have been one of the most successful areas on AOL for years. Their Web site is a growing community now too. Banking Without Borders Source: Baltic Banking Group Offering international merchant banking, trust and other financial services. The site offers detailed information on many banking and finance matters. Mskousen.com: Independent Advice for Independent Thinkers Source: Mark Skousen Financial newsletter publisher Mark Skousen's Web site touts his contrarian financial advice and dedication to free-market principle in general. You'll find a few good book excerpts, speeches, interviews and articles online, in addition to an up-to-date appearance/seminar schedule. The Future of Money Source: Free-Market.Net Policy Spotlight With the rapid growth of the Internet, alternatives to government money have arisen in electronic form. An overview of the technology and policy issues, with extensive links. Click here for more Online Resource Directories on other topics Online Discussions and E-Mail Lists Sovereign Society A-Letter Source: The Sovereign Society Free e-newsletter. "Your e-mail link to freedom, privacy and prosperity in the offshore world." E-Gold Discussion List Source: Gold & Silver Reserve/Free-Market.Net A list for discussions related to e-gold, the free-market electronic money, 100% backed by gold. Click here for more Online Discussions and E-Mail Lists on other topics Audio and Video The Case for the 100% Gold Reserve System Source: Future of Freedom Foundation Author: Joseph Salerno Part of a seminar on "Money and Monetary Systems: Looking Forward." Available in audiotape ($9) or video ($19). Should Banks Be Regulated? Source: Future of Freedom Foundation Author: George Selgin Part of a seminar on "Money and Monetary Systems: Looking Forward". Available in audiotape ($9) or video ($19). Crisis Investing for the Rest of the '90s Source: Future of Freedom Foundation Author: Doug Casey FFF advances the libertarian philosophy in uncompromising publications supporting individual liberty, free markets, private property, and limited government. Available in audiotape ($9) or video ($19). Restoring Sound Money Source: Future of Freedom Foundation Author: Mark Skousen FFF advances the libertarian philosophy in uncompromising publications supporting individual liberty, free markets, private property, and limited government. Available in audiotape ($9) or video ($19). The Case against Central Banking Source: Future of Freedom Foundation Author: Roger Garrison FFF advances the libertarian philosophy in uncompromising publications supporting individual liberty, free markets, private property, and limited government. Available in audiotape ($9) or video ($19). The Separation of Money and the State: The Abolition of the Federal Reserve Source: Future of Freedom Foundation Author: Richard M. Ebeling FFF advances the libertarian philosophy in uncompromising publications supporting individual liberty, free markets, private property, and limited government. Available in audiotape ($9) or video ($19). Click here for more Audio and Video on other topics Magazines and Periodic Columns NORFED News and Updates Source: NORFED Web page featuring news and updates for the National Organization for the Repeal of the Federal Reserve Act and Internal Revenue Code. ITK PARI Source: ITK PARI "The only Bulgarian financial business news daily." The Asset Protection News Source: Donlevy-Rosen & Rosen, P.A. Short essays reviewing offshore locations, tax laws, etc. Healy Economics Letter Source: Neal Healy One man's bi-weekly commentary on current economic conditions and the stock market. "With some minor interruptions," it has been published since 1985. The Privateer Source: The Privateer Subscription-based e-mail newsletter. "If you think you can divorce ideas from economics, or principles from investment portfolios, read The Privateer and think again." Click here for more Magazines and Periodic Columns on other topics Institutes, Organizations, and Clubs Center for the Study of Electronic Money Source: CSEI Under the aegis of the Center for the Study of Emerging Institutions, this group is pursuing research into electronic currency systems. Monex Source: Monex Deposit Company One of the biggest precious metal investment companies, and a champion of free-market money. National Organization for the Repeal of the Federal Reserve Act and the Internal Revenue Code Source: NORFED A non-profit organization that issues silver-backed paper certificates (called American Liberty Currency) and supports an excellent Money FAQ. GoldMoney.com Source: Freemarket Gold & Money Report "An Internet currency system now under development and expected to be operational in Q3 2000." e-gold Source: Gold & Silver Reserve, Inc. A high-tech alternative to fiat currency. Electronic money based on gold, from a company run by free-marketeers. Foundation for the Advancement of Monetary Education Source: FAME "Our goal on the Web is to become the principal source of intellectual ammunition in support of honest money." This site includes news, quotes, and reviews. Click here for more Institutes, Organizations, and Clubs on other topics Online Books and Collections Hayek, currency competition and the European Monetary Union Source: IEA Author: Otmar Issing "In the 1999 IEA Hayek Memorial Lecture, reprinted in Occasional Paper 111, Otmar Issing, the eminent monetary economist and one of Europe's most influential central bankers, discusses currency competition and European Monetary Union." Includes critiques by Professors Lawrence H. White and Roland Vaubel." 64pp (Adobe Acrobat) (4/00) What Has Government Done to Our Money? Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute Author: Murray N. Rothbard Rothbard's classic work on the debasement of money by government fiat during the twentieth century. Monetary policy may have never been explained more fully and accurately. (1964/1980) The Cato Journal, Vol. 18, No. 3, Winter 1999 Source: The Cato Institute This issue of the Cato Journal explores "The Global Financial Architecture." (9/2/99) Click here for more Online Books and Collections on other topics Books Hayek, currency competition and the European Monetary Union Source: IEA Author: Otmar Issing "In the 1999 IEA Hayek Memorial Lecture, reprinted in Occasional Paper 111, Otmar Issing, the eminent monetary economist and one of Europe's most influential central bankers, discusses currency competition and European Monetary Union." Includes critiques by Professors Lawrence H. White and Roland Vaubel." (64pp, £4.00) (4/00) Free Banking in Britain Source: Laissez Faire Books/IEA Author: Lawrence H. White Lawrence White, one of the leading proponents of free banking, documents Britain's experience with private money in the 18th and 19th centuries. (1984/1995) Denationalisation of Money Source: IEA Author: F. A. Hayek "In the third edition of his classic, Professor Hayek argues that the problem of recurrent inflation is due to government monopoly provision of money, competition being the solution." (93pp. £9.95, Offer price: £3.00) (1978/90) The History of Money: From Sandstone to Cyberspace Source: Laissez Faire Books/Three Rivers Press Author: Jack Weatherford A sweeping and entertaining history of money from the invention of coins 3000 years ago to today's electronic cash schemes (Paperback, 1997, 288 p., Laissez Faire price $12.95). The International Monetary Fund: Financial medic to the world? Source: Amazon.com/Hoover Institution Author: Lawrence J. McQuillan and Peter C. Montgomery (editors) This volume provides background information and current public policy discussions on the International Monetary Fund. Contributors offer a variety of views on the IMF and its work, and on whether it should continue to exist. (3/99; Amazon price $15.96) The Creature from Jekyll Island Source: Reality Zone Author: G. Edward Griffin Griffin's mammoth critique of the Federal Reserve scam, available in paperback, hard cover, audio, and bulk discount. Bank Freedom Source: Thomas Schauff Books on "unlocking the secrets the banking industry doesn't want you to know." Click here for more Books on other topics Scholarly and In-Depth Studies The open economy and the national interest Source: Centre for Independent Studies/Policy In Australia, attacks on capital mobility have come from both right-wing and left-wing supporters of state power. (1998) The case for free banking: Then and now Source: Cato Institute Author: G.A. Selgin The author calls for restoring the right of commercial banks to issue their own paper money, and retaining Federal Reserve dollars for use only as bank reserves for settling interbank clearings. (1985) Digital cash & monetary freedom Source: Internet Society Author: Jon W. Matonis Matonis suggests that private digital cash has the potential to compete directly with government-issued money. (1995) Gold, paper, or ... is there a better money? Source: Cato Institute Author: David Friedman An examination of different types of money -- commodity monies, fractional reserve monies, and fiat monies -- as well as the relative superiority of private money to government currency. (1985) Inflation and the federal reserve: The consequences of political money supply Source: Cato Institute Author: Lawrence H. White The Federal Reserve is subject to pressures and incentives that politicize its control of the money supply. A free-market monetary system would break out of this bind. (1982) Currency competition: Some options considered Source: Libertarian Alliance Author: Antoine Clarke Clarke, a former Economic and Political Adviser to the Finance Minister of the Slovak Republic, considers approaches for privatizing money and the benefits of competition. (1994) Possible economic consequences of digital cash Source: First Monday Author: Tatsuo Tanaka The author suggests that true, anonymous, digital money could revolutionize commerce and threaten government authority. He suggests that an international regulation regime would likely arise, but he doesn't suggest a mechanism by which this could happen. (1996) Shelley's critique of paper money and the British national debt Source: Journal of Libertarian Studies Author: Paul Cantor Despite his slightly leftish reputation, the poet Shelley was a fan of hard money and sensible finance. (Adobe Acrobat file) (1997) Toward a free market monetary system Source: Center for Libertarian Studies Author: F.A. Hayek The Nobel laureate economist discusses the prospect for privately issued money as a superior alternative to state-issued fiat currency. (Adobe Acrobat file) (1977) Monopoly and competition in money Source: Journal of Libertarian Studies Author: James Rolph Edwards The author sees private money as a credible alternative to government currencies as long as people can substitute among competing monies at market-determined rates. (Adobe Acrobat file) (1980) Monetary and fiscal rules Source: Centre for Independent Studies/Policy The world is finally emerging from a century of statism, but has yet to deal with the transformation of money and the public budget into tools of discretionary policy. (1998) Electronic money and the market process Source: Centre for Independent Studies/Policy Author: Adam Mikkelsen The development of digital cash may revive the prospects for private money to limit state power. (Winter 1998/1999) Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (S. 900): A Major Step Toward Financial Deregulation Source: Heritage Foundation Author: David C John Soon Congress will consider the conference report to a bill, known as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (S. 900), which would repeal obsolete Depression-era laws that still govern financial transactions today. Banks, securities firms, and other types of financial institutions could join together to offer their customers a more complete range of services. (10/29/99) Too Big to Fail?: Long-Term Capital Management and the Federal Reserve Source: The Cato Institute Author: Kevin Dowd The rescue of Long Term Capital Management was misguided at the time and is causing more long-term consequences. This paper is available in PDF format. (9/22/99) What Does Mr. Greenspan Really Think? Source: Foundation for the Advancement of Monetary Education Author: Lawrence Parks An ongoing commentary on Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's position on various economic issues. Replacing Potemkin Capitalism: Russia's Need for a Free-Market Financial System Source: Cato Institute Author: Kurt Schuler and George A. Selgin This policy analysis argues that Russia needs to adopt sound financial reforms and sweep away the remaining socialist policies and institutions that have held it back. The U.S. should stop supporting the Russian financial status quo. (6/7/99) Stockscape - Online Newsletters Source: Stockscape An extensive member site with special attention to gold and Canadian stocks. Hosts the online newsletters of Doug Casey, Jim Blanchard, Adrian Day, Gary North, Bob Bishop, Rick Rule, John Pugsley, and other noteworthy individuals of libertarian persuasion. The Free Market - Strategies of a Libertarian Investor Source: Jefferson Roarke Author: Jefferson Roarke This site is an interactive book devoted to investment and philosophical strategies intended to help you employ the basic tenets of free market economics to building an investment portfolio. Click here for more Scholarly and In-Depth Studies on other topics Help Wanted Do You Want to Make Money, Have Fun, and Help Your Country? Source: NORFED Information on how to set up an American Liberty Currency (a silver-based alternative to fiat money) redemption center, and why you would want to. Click here for more Help Wanted on other topics Experts Christopher Culp Source: Competitive Enterprise Institute Widely published in the areas of corporate finance, regulation and risk management. He also lectures often on applied mathematics, risk management and financial derivatives. Dr. Nicholas A. Lash Source: Heartland Institute/Loyola University Chicago Specializies in banking, inflation, international banking. Publishes on topics such as "Banks and Black Community Development." Dr. John E. Silvia Source: Heartland Institute/ Zurich Kemper Investments Inc. Dr. John E. Silvia is senior vice president and chief economist at Zurich Kemper Investments, Inc. His primary responsibilities include analysis, modeling, and forecasting of economic developments. His research has appeared in several professional journals, along with The Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, Barron’s and Bondweek. Mark Skousen Source: Mark Skousen Not only does Skousen publish a popular investment newsletter ("Forecasts & Strategies"), he is also a long-time principled defender of free-market principles in general (to the Austrian tune). Adam Starchild Source: Cyberhaven/Paladin Press Author of more than a dozen books and hundreds of articles appearing in libertarian and personal finance periodicals. Click here for more Experts on other topics

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