- Page numbers followed by f refer to figures.
- Accenture, 78
- Accounting industry, 77–78
- Acton, Lord, 24
- Adams, John Quincy, 36
- Adjustable‐rate mortgages, 54, 155
- The Age of Turbulence (Greenspan), 80
- Ahmadinejad, Mahmoud, 128
- Alameda Research, 126–127
- Aldrich, Nelson, 32
- Allison, Carolina, 126–127
- Amazon, 96
- American Eagles, 175
- American Express, 72
- Andrew, A. Piatt, 32
- Argentina, 121
- Arthur Andersen, 55, 78, 139
- Asian central banks, 152–153
- Asian countries, 131
- Asian currencies, 75–76
- Asset bubbles, 55, 71
- Assignats, 120
- Augustus, Emperor, 117, 118
- Australia, 12, 152, 160
- Bahamas, 126
- “Bailouts,” government, 32
- Baker, James, 76
- Bangalore, Asha, 166
- Bankman‐Fried, Sam, 55, 126–127
- Bank of England, 162–163
- Bank of Japan, 152, 162
- Bank of Korea, 128
- Banque de France, 101
- Barclays, 80
- Barron's, 112
- Bastiat, Frédéric, 8–9
- BEA (Bureau of Economic Analysis), 87, 95
- Beijing, China, 135
- Berkshire Hathaway, 133, 148
- Bernanke, Ben, 54, 55, 57, 59, 63–65, 67, 78–79, 81, 83, 88, 132–133, 141, 146, 175
- The Big Short (film), 81
- Big Tech, 65, 66
- Bio tech, 157
- Bitcoin, 26, 126, 127
- Black Death, 135
- Black Wednesday, 163
- Block chain, 126
- Bloomberg, 81, 91
- Bloomsbury Group, 11
- Blue‐chip stocks, 160
- “Blue Magic” (song), 100
- Bombay, India, 135
- Bond bubble, 73
- Bond market, 52, 71, 73, 151
- Bonner, Bill, 64
- Brady, Tom, 126
- Brazil, 148, 166
- Bretton Woods Agreement and system, 11–15, 17, 18, 20, 21, 27, 36, 107, 122–124, 161
- British Commonwealth, 12
- British empire, 33–34
- British pound, 15, 101, 162–163
- Bubble economy, 73
- Budget deficit(s), 22, 33, 53, 62–63, 85, 113, 129–130, 144–146
- “Budget surpluses,” 40
- Buffett, Warren, 133–134, 148–149, 165
- Bündchen, Giesele, 100, 126
- Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), 87, 95
- Burns, Arthur, 28
- Bush, George H. W., and administration, 41
- Bush, George W., and administration, 40, 41, 85
- Business investment, 68, 94–95, 132
- Business Week, 81
- “Buy American,” 66
- Buybacks, 68
- Calhoun, John C., 49
- California, 36
- Calls, 159, 172, 176
- Canada, 12, 137
- Canadian dollar, 101, 148, 171
- Canadian Maple Leafs, 175
- Capital inflows, 87–88
- Capital investment rate, 72, 93
- Capitalism, 28–29, 67, 143
- Cargo ships, 103
- Caribbean, 137
- Carlin, George, 99
- Carpeting, 159
- “Carry trade,” 53
- CDs (certificates of deposit), 172
- Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 93
- Central America, 66
- Central bank(s), 67, 75
- Fed as, 9–10
- IMF as, 15
- Keynes' vision of international, 13
- Certificates of deposit (CDs), 172
- Chavez, Hugo, 128
- “Cheap money,” 83–84, 88, 97
- Chicago, Ill., 135
- China, 27, 29, 43, 61, 66, 71–72, 75, 76, 101, 103, 117–119, 128, 130–132, 135, 137, 141, 152–154, 158–160, 165, 170–171, 174–175, 177. See also Yuan
- Cisco, 169
- Citicorp, 69
- Citigroup, 80
- Civil War, 36, 38, 50, 117, 122
- Class warfare, 46
- Clinton, Bill, and administration, 37, 40, 51, 53, 85
- Closed‐end funds, 156
- Clothing, 154, 159
- CNBC, 86
- CNN, 91
- Coal, 178
- Coinage, debasement of, 124–125
- Cold War, 37
- Colombia, 152
- Colonialism, 33–34
- Columbus, Christopher, 135
- Commodities, 101, 123–124, 160, 177–178
- Commodity funds, 159
- Computer industry, 95, 154
- Congress, 45–46, 51
- and discussion of public debt, 42–43
- economic illiteracy in, 130
- power to coin money granted to, 85
- and statutory debt limit, 41
- Congressional Budget Office, 40
- Constantine, Emperor, 124
- Constitution, 85
- Construction, 159
- Consumer borrowing, 71, 88
- Consumer confidence, 94, 130
- Consumer credit (consumer debt), 56, 64, 89f, 116, 138, 139f, 141, 155–156, 164
- Consumer culture, 60
- Consumer price index (CPI), 35, 51–52
- Consumer savings, 59–60
- Consumer spending, 41, 71, 73, 77, 97
- Consumptive debt, 41
- Continental money (continentals), 120
- Contracts, enforcement of, 48
- Copper, 178
- Corporate bonds, 164
- Corporate debt, 164
- Corporate profits, 79–80, 93, 96
- Corporations, 68
- Cortina, Hernando, 165–166
- Counterfeiting, 120
- Cousins, Norman, 111
- COVID‐19 pandemic, 4, 22, 48, 55, 63, 64, 68, 76, 96–97, 99, 101, 102, 113, 152, 154, 158–159
- CPI (consumer price index), 35, 51–52
- Credit, production vs., 88
- Credit bubble, 79
- Credit card debt, 66, 155–156, 164
- Credit crisis, 73, 138
- “Crowding out,” 22
- Cryptocurrencies, 55, 126–127, 157
- Cuba, 112
- Cuban Missile Crisis, 17
- Currency devaluation, as policy, 13
- Currency fluctuations, 103–104
- Daily Reckoning newsletter, 79, 88, 104
- Davison, Henry, 32
- “Deadweight loss,” 47
- Debt. See also National debt
- bailouts and purchasing of bad, 32
- consumer, 56, 64, 66, 116, 138, 139f, 141, 155–156, 164
- consumptive, 41
- current explosion of, 55–57
- definition of, 33
- as essential feature of US economy, 167
- good vs. bad, 43–55
- government, 33–34, 43, 61–62
- institutionalization of, 38–39
- mortgage, 59, 164
- productive, 41
- Debt capitalization, 57
- Debt ceiling, 40, 43, 44
- Debt limit, statutory, 41
- Debt spending, 136
- Debt‐to‐GDP ratio, 45, 45f
- Deficits (deficit spending), 33, 39, 44, 45, 47–49, 60–61. See also Budget deficit(s); Trade deficits
- Deflation, 13, 59, 63, 65, 83
- De Gaulle, Charles, 19–20
- Demand inflation (demand‐pull inflation), 102, 123
- Democrats, 46, 109
- Denim jeans, 154
- Depressions, 27. See also Great Depression
- Derivatives market, 138–139
- Dien Bien Phu, battle of, 19
- Dillon, Douglas, 20
- Dinar, 124
- Dollar, United States, see US dollar
- Dollar index (DXY), 101, 102
- Dollar Index futures, 171
- Dow Theory letters (Russell), 165
- Droke, Clif, 124
- Ducato, 124
- DuPont, 69
- Earnings reports, 68
- Economic bubbles, 66, 116, 136, 164. See also specific bubbles
- Economic history, 136
- Economic indicators, 72
- Economic policy, 51
- Economic recovery, 76
- Economy, shift in, from production to services, 92
- Efficient systems, 123
- Egypt, ancient, 175
- Eichengreen, Barry, 20
- Emergency Banking Relief Act (1933), 21, 112
- Empire of Debt (Wiggin and Bonner), 4
- Employee stock options, 68
- Energy funds, 159
- Energy markets, 66
- “Enlightened self‐interest,” 143
- Enron, 55, 139
- Entrepreneurial culture, 65
- Entrepreneurs, 43
- ERM (Exchange Rate Mechanism), 163, 165
- ETFs, see Exchange‐traded funds
- Euro, 52, 87, 99, 100, 104, 124–126, 148, 163, 171, 172
- Euro call options, 172
- Europe, 16, 142
- European Central Bank, 75
- European Recovery Plan (Marshall Plan), 16
- European Union, 86
- Exchange‐traded funds (ETFs), 156, 159, 175–176
- Executive compensation, 55
- Exorbitant Privilege (Eichengreen), 20
- Faber, Marc, 163
- Facebook, 96
- Factory jobs, 90–91
- Fannie Mae, 79, 138–139, 170
- FDI (foreign direct investment), 141
- Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), 112
- Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), 9–10, 78, 80, 84, 150
- Federal Reserve (Fed):
- and 2007‐2008 financial crisis, 54, 83
- as “bubble blower,” 73
- as central bank, 9–11
- creation of, 31–32, 50, 122, 149
- and debt, 57, 59–60, 161, 164
- debt spending as policy of, 136
- and deficits, 78
- and of the dollar, 86
- and “full faith and credit,” 25
- and housing bubble, 74
- and inflation, 51, 52, 75, 140–142, 144, 152, 167–168
- interest rates lowered by, 41, 51, 64, 80, 88–89, 152
- interest rates raised by, 1, 9, 22, 89
- monetary policies of, 63–65, 109–110, 113, 114, 132, 136–137, 141, 149–150, 155, 177
- money printed by, 21–23, 26, 106, 111, 173, 174
- and recession, 84–86
- responsibilities of, 150
- and solvency of credit markets, 79
- target rate of, 63f
- and trade deficit, 141–142
- and value of the dollar, 127, 149, 163, 174
- Federal Reserve Act (1913), 32, 85
- Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, 85
- Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 16
- Federal Reserve Board of Governors, 150
- Ferdinand and Isabella, 119
- Ferguson, Niall, 127
- Fiat money:
- arguments in favor of, 105
- and central banks, 127
- and declining value of the dollar, 151
- definition of, 25
- in history, 118–122
- inevitable failure of, 26–27, 104–105, 109, 123, 126, 177
- and inflation, 105–106
- intrinsic problem with, 106–107
- Keynes and, 29
- Mises on, 108
- printing of, 51–54, 124
- as “smoke and mirrors,” 115–116
- Fictitious capitalism, 67, 68
- Financial Crisis (2007‐2008), 32, 54–55, 78, 80–81, 83, 101, 113, 136, 139, 157
- Financial panics, 149–150
- Financial Post, 148
- Financial Reckoning Day (Wiggin and Bonner), 4, 66, 68, 127
- Financial speculation, 88–90
- Floating currencies, 31
- Florence, 124
- Florin, 124
- FOMC, see Federal Open Market Committee
- Ford, Gerald, and administration, 21, 117
- Foreclosures, 73, 131
- Foreign countries, US dollar reserves held by, 128–129
- Foreign direct investment (FDI), 141
- Foreigners, US debt held by, 43
- Foreign investment, 73–74, 77
- Forster, E. M., 11
- Fort Knox, 25
- Founding Fathers, 34
- France, 12, 20–21, 27, 87, 100, 101, 117, 119–121, 137
- Freddie Mac, 139
- Free markets, 24, 29, 107
- Free money, 68
- French and Indian War, 120
- French franc, 20
- Friedman, Milton, 150
- FTX crypto exchange, 55, 126–127
- “Full faith and credit,” 23, 25, 127
- Futures, 176–177
- G‐5 nations, 76
- GAO (Government Accountability Office), 105
- Gas prices, 129, 155
- Gates, Bill, 149
- GDP, see Gross domestic product
- General Electric, 69
- General Motors, 69
- Genoa, 124
- Genoin, 124
- Germany, 13, 16, 27, 112, 117, 122, 137, 147
- Glass‐Steagall Act (1933), 112
- Global banking system, 103
- Globalization, 37, 154, 163
- Gold:
- as international margin call, 51
- as investment, 115, 117–118, 160–161, 173–178
- limited world supply of, 23
- as money, 26
- price of, 10, 16, 21–24, 113–115, 114f, 147–148, 157, 168–169, 174
- rarity of, 123
- restrictions on ownership of, 21, 107, 112
- and Triffin's paradox, 100–101
- US reserves of, 14, 17, 20, 25, 92, 111
- Gold coins, 175
- Gold exchange‐traded funds, 175–176
- Gold mining stock, 160
- Gold options, 176–177
- Gold standard:
- arguments against the, 27–28, 122–123
- and Bretton Woods agreement, 14–18, 20, 27
- and currency valuation, 23
- as distant memory, 107
- as economic tool, 26
- and fiat money, 105, 116
- and gold prices, 10–11
- and governments, 109–110
- during Great Depression, 112, 122–123
- in history, 118, 121–122, 150, 160–161, 175
- and market for gold, 174
- Nixon's abandonment of, 21, 24, 27–29, 51, 115, 117–118, 138, 144, 146, 171, 173, 177
- in postwar period, 21
- and trade gap, 21–22
- and US gold reserves, 14
- and World War I, 25
- Government Accountability Office (GAO), 105
- Governments, as non‐producers of wealth, 48
- Government spending, 44
- Grant, Jim, 173
- Grant's Interest Rate Observer, 173
- Great Britain (United Kingdom), 11–12, 28, 33, 43, 104, 120, 122–123, 152, 162–163
- Great Depression, 12–13, 21, 25, 37, 62, 112, 113, 117, 122, 136, 150
- Great Dollar Standard Era, 25, 84, 104, 127–131, 136
- “Great Inflation” of the 1970s, 1
- Great Society, 28, 34
- “Greenback boogie,” 10, 63
- Green energy, 159
- Greenspan, Alan, 41, 54, 55, 57, 60, 61, 65, 67, 75, 78, 80, 85, 88, 141–142, 144–146, 149
- Griffin, Edward, 31
- Gross, Bill, 75
- Gross domestic product (GDP), 40, 45, 45f, 60, 61, 66, 67, 72, 75, 79, 87, 94, 97, 116, 132–133, 137, 145, 162
- Group of Ten, 24
- Hamilton, Alexander, 34
- Harari, Yuval Noah, 11
- Hayek, Friedrich, 24
- Health care jobs, 64, 116
- Hemingway, Ernest, 57
- Herbener, Jeffrey M., 109–110
- High‐tech industries, 95–96
- Homebuying, 1
- Hong Kong, 137
- Hong‐Kong Shanghai Banking Company (HSBC), 101
- House of Representatives, 44, 46, 47
- Housing bubble, 67, 71, 80–81, 91, 131, 133, 136, 139
- Housing investment, 73
- Housing market, 81, 138–139
- Housing permits, 80–81
- Housing values, 57
- HSBC (Hong‐Kong Shanghai Banking Company), 101
- Hull, Cordell, 13
- Hyperinflation, 132, 147
- IBM, 69
- IBRD (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development), 14, 16
- IMF, see International Monetary Fund
- Income tax, 37, 44, 46, 47, 50–51
- Index funds, 160, 171
- India, 43, 66, 130, 135, 137, 152, 154, 158
- Industrial base, 90–91
- Industrial production, 90–91
- Industrial revolution, 135
- Inflation:
- in 1960s and 1970s, 24–25, 28, 51, 157
- from 2013 to 2022, 140f
- in Asia, 152, 153
- and budget deficit, 22
- and cheap money, 97
- current period of, 1–2, 8, 56, 57, 59, 75, 76, 83, 97, 101, 140–146, 167
- demand, 102, 123
- and demise of the dollar, 99, 105–106, 136
- difficulty of containing, 169
- and economic growth, 152–153
- and Fed policy, 63–65, 84–86, 89, 136, 168
- and government spending, 44, 48
- hidden, 155–156
- in history, 35f, 117–122, 125
- hyper‐, 132, 147
- and interest rates, 51, 136
- in Japan, 60–62
- official measures of, 51–52, 75, 94
- and oil prices, 129
- and opposition to capitalism, 29
- price, 52, 147–149
- “real,” 53, 94
- rising prices as result of, 7
- root cause of, 3
- and stock market, 167
- supply‐side, 102–103
- and trade deficits, 77, 142
- “transitory,” 9
- Inflation psychosis, 102–103
- “Information Age,” 67
- Information technology (IT), 65
- Infrastructure, 14, 56, 93, 118
- Institute for Supply Management (ISM), 54, 72
- Interest rates, 63f
- in 1970s, 41
- as arbitrage, 53
- effective rates (1955–2020), 9f
- Fed's lowering of, 41, 51, 64, 80, 88–89, 152
- Fed's raising of, 1, 9, 22, 89
- in Japan, 62
- “overnight Fed funds rate,” 10
- and value of the dollar, 150
- International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), 14, 16
- International Monetary Fund (IMF), 14, 16–18, 166
- Investing, 157–169
- foreign investments, 160–161
- in gold, 175–177
- Investment spending, 73
- “Invisible hand,” 143–144, 146
- “iPod economy,” 96
- Iran, 128
- Iraq, 128, 152, 169
- Ireland, 137, 152
- Iron ore, 178
- iShares COMEX Gold Trust, 176
- ISM (Institute for Supply Management), 54
- Israel, 137
- Italy, 87, 124
- Jackson, Andrew, 36
- Jackson, Curtis, 101
- Japan, 13, 16, 43, 59, 60–63, 65, 132, 137, 152, 165
- Jay‐Z, 100
- Jefferson, Thomas, 34
- Jekyll Island Club, 32
- Jobs:
- creation of, 93, 130
- factory, 90–91
- outsourcing of, 153–155
- Johnson, Lyndon B., and administration, 17, 19, 28
- Junior gold stocks, 176
- Junk bonds, 164
- Kelton, Stephanie, 64
- Kennedy, John F., 135
- Kessler, Andy, 96
- Keynes, John Maynard, 11–13, 29, 87, 124
- Kiyosaki, Robert, 83
- Krugerrands, 175
- Kuwait, 128
- Labor market, 65, 153–155
- Laptop computers, 154
- Law, John, 119–120, 127
- Legal Tender Act, 117
- Lehman Brothers, 55
- Lerner, Abba, 42
- “Leveraging” assets, 65
- Lincoln, Abraham, 117, 122
- Lobbying, 47
- London Gold Pool, 17
- Long Beach, Calif., 103
- Los Angeles, Calif., 135
- Louisiana territory, 34, 120
- Louis XIV, King, 119
- Luxembourg, 43, 137
- McGovern, George, 53
- Mackay, John, 120–121
- MacroMavens, 171
- Madison, James, 36
- “Making Less Than Dad” (CNN headline), 91
- Manufacturing, 54, 64, 66, 96, 116, 138, 159, 163, 168–169
- Margin calls, 19
- Marshall, George, 16
- Marshall Plan, 16
- “Maximum point of revenue” (taxation), 49
- Medicaid, 38
- Medicare, 38–40, 105, 164
- Mercantilism, 71
- Mergers and acquisitions, 68
- Merrill Lynch, 80, 164
- Meta, 96
- Mexican War, 36
- Mexico, 12, 117, 119, 137
- Microchips, 66
- Military spending, 37
- Mises, Ludwig von, 24, 108, 173–174
- Mississippi Scheme, 127
- Modern monetary theory (MMT), 22, 64
- Monetary policy, 50, 51, 109
- Money, 111–112. See also Fiat money
- power to coin, 85
- printing, 21–23, 26, 51–54, 106, 111, 118, 124, 173, 174, 177
- as store of value, 127
- and tangible value, 26
- Morgan, J. P., 31
- Morgan Stanley, 80, 162, 166
- Morris, Robert, 120
- Mortgage‐backed securities, 138–139
- Mortgage Bankers Association, 54
- Mortgage bubble, 41
- Mortgage debt, 59, 164
- Mortgage payments, 54
- Mortgage refinancing bubble, 73, 91
- Motorola, 56
- Mutual funds, 61, 156, 159, 160, 176
- Nasdaq, 147
- National Association of REALTORS (NAR), 131, 139
- National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), 84
- National debt, 36–43, 38f
- ballooning of, 105, 161, 164
- and budget deficits, 22
- complacency about, 39
- deficit spending vs., 33
- and Fed policy, 44, 67, 74, 75, 146, 152
- held by foreign central banks, 43, 153, 160
- in history, 36–38, 50, 51, 117
- and inflation, 149
- interest on, 170
- as share of GDP, 45, 61, 116
- and trade deficits, 52–53, 143
- unsustainability of, 144–145
- National Economists Club, 59
- National Income and Product Accounts (NIPA), 96
- National parks, 42
- Nazis, 122
- NBER (National Bureau of Economic Research), 84
- Nero, 117, 118
- Nestlé, 72
- Netflix, 96
- Netherlands, 137
- New Deal, 37
- Newmont Mining, 176
- New Orleans Investment Conference, 165
- New York City, 100, 135
- New York Times Annual Financial Review, 149
- New Zealand, 12
- 9/11, 37, 41, 113
- NIPA (National Income and Product Accounts), 96
- Nixon, Richard, and administration, 18, 21, 23–28, 51–53, 115, 117, 118, 122, 137–138, 161, 171, 177
- “Nixon Shock,” 28
- Northern Trust, 166
- Nussle, Jim, 37–38
- Office of Management and Budget, 37–38
- Oil (oil prices), 23–24, 101, 129, 157–159, 158f, 178
- O'Neill, Paul, 40
- Open‐end funds, 156
- Optimism, false sense of, 75
- Options, 157, 159, 160, 176–177
- Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 61
- Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), 128, 159
- Outsourcing, 153–155
- “Overnight Fed funds rate,” 10
- Owen‐Glass Act, 50
- Panic of 1893, 31
- Panic of 1907, 31, 149
- Paper money, 26, 117–124, 127
- “Parable of the Broken Window” (Bastiat), 8–9
- “Paradigm of flexibility,” 146
- Paulson, Henry “Hank,” 32, 37–38, 83
- Payment currency, 99, 101–103
- Pension obligations, 70
- Pension plan assets, 69
- People's Republic of Congo, 152
- Peron, Juan, 121
- Personal consumption, 72, 132
- Personal savings rate, 72, 88, 89f
- Peter G. Peterson Foundation, 105
- Petrochemicals, 159
- Pierce, Franklin, 36
- Pinker, Steven, 11
- Polo, Marco, 119
- Pomboy, Stephanie, 171
- Powell, Jerome “Jay,” 9–10, 57, 64, 83, 88, 89, 141, 149, 156
- Price inflation, 52, 147–149
- Production, credit vs., 88
- Productive debt, 41, 43
- Productivity, 64, 75, 86, 92–93, 95, 128
- Profit motive, 65
- Profits, corporate, 79–80, 93, 96
- Protectionism, 144
- Purchasing power, 75–76
- Putin, Vladimir, 128
- Puts, 176
- Quantitative easing (QE), 64, 83
- Ratings agencies, 54
- Reagan, Ronald, and administration, 37, 41–42, 63
- Real, Brazilian, 148
- “Real economy,” 71, 96
- Real estate speculation, 135
- Real productivity, 64
- Recessions, 78, 84, 90
- Republicans, 46, 109
- Reserve currency, 101
- Restructuring, 61–62
- Retail jobs, 64, 116
- Retirement saving, 105–106
- Reuters, 80
- Revolutionary War (War for Independence), 34, 50, 120
- “Revolving door,” 47
- Rickards, Jim, 99
- Roach, Stephen, 73, 162
- Robinson, Joan, 87
- Rogers, Jim, 68, 149, 162
- Roman Empire, 27, 117, 118, 124
- Roosevelt, Franklin Delano, and administration, 37, 51, 106–107, 112, 117, 122
- Rosenberg, David, 164
- Rubin, Robert, 40
- “Rubinomics,” 40, 53
- Ruble, 112, 128, 158
- Russell, Richard, 165
- Russia, 67, 112, 128, 137, 158. See also Ukraine, Russian invasion of
- Safety trades, 101
- San Francisco, Calif., 81
- Sarbanes‐Oxley Act (2002), 77
- Saudi Arabia, 100, 101, 128, 152
- Savings (savings rates), 59–60, 71, 79, 131, 151, 166
- Savings glut, 133
- Schiff, Jacob, 149
- Schwartz, Anna J., 150
- SDRs (Special Drawing Rights), 17–18
- Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), 78
- Senate, 46, 47
- Senior gold stocks, 176
- Service sector, 54, 64, 92, 116, 130
- Seventh Amendment, 50
- Shanghai, China, 135
- Shays, Daniel, 121
- Shays' Rebellion, 121
- Shelton, Arthur, 32
- Singapore, 137
- Smith, Adam, 44, 143–144
- Snow, John, 161, 168
- Social Security, 38–40, 105, 164
- Solidus, 124
- Soros, George, 149, 163, 165, 169
- Sound money, 8, 15, 85
- South African Krugerrands, 175
- South Korea, 128, 137, 152
- Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs), 132
- Soviet Union, 12, 147, 154
- S&P (Standard & Poor's), 69
- S&P 500 companies, 97
- Spaghetti Westerns, 2
- Spain, 27, 117, 119
- Spanish Inquisition, 119
- Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), 17–18
- Speculation, 120
- Stagflation, 165
- Standard of living, 2
- Standard & Poor's (S&P), 69
- Stimulus checks, 48, 64, 103
- Stockholders, 56–57, 78
- Stock market, 70, 71, 73, 131, 133, 151, 160, 167–168
- Stock market crash (1929), 62, 113
- Stock options, employee, 68
- Stock prices, 70
- Stock values, 57
- Stumpf, John, 81
- Subprime adjustable‐rate mortgages, 54, 73, 131
- Subprime mortgage crisis, 136
- Subprime mortgages, 80
- Substitution effect, 94
- Sudan, 129
- Supply and demand, 20–21, 26, 115, 116, 123, 175
- Supply chains, 103
- Supply‐side inflation, 102–103
- Supreme Court, 37, 44
- Sweden, 137
- Swedish krona, 101, 171
- SWFs (sovereign wealth funds), 132
- Swiss franc, 101, 171
- Switzerland, 137
- Taiwan, 66, 137
- Tangible assets, 178
- Tangible capital investment, 70
- Tangible capital stock, 70
- Tariffs, 49, 51, 138
- Tax cuts, 46, 59
- Tax policy, 47, 49–50
- Tax rebates, 72
- Tax revenues, 44
- Tech bubble (early 2000s), 55, 101
- Templeton, Sir John, 149, 164–165
- Terrorism, 129, 159, 169
- “Thanksgiving dinner” (metric), 2
- Tight money, 84–86
- TikTok, 96
- Time magazine, 20
- Torquenada, Tomás de, 119
- Trade barriers, 13
- Trade deficits, 21–22, 52–53, 63, 74–77, 107–108, 117, 129–130, 140, 142–143, 148, 160, 162, 173
- Trade gap, 77, 132, 142
- Trade surplus, 16, 107, 131
- Transitory inflation, 9
- Treasury securities, 53, 137, 150, 152, 164
- “Trickle‐down” revenues, 48
- Triffin, Robert, 100–102
- Triffin's paradox, 100–104, 131
- Truman, Harry S., 14
- Trump, Donald, 43, 47
- Tungsten, 178
- Turkey, 137, 166
- Tyco, 55
- UBS, 101
- Ukraine, Russian invasion of, 23, 29, 66, 103, 158
- Unemployment, 13, 24, 25, 78, 167
- United Airlines, 69
- United Kingdom, see Great Britain
- United States:
- and Bretton Woods Agreement, 11–14
- economic weakness of, 74–75
- in eighteenth century, 120
- exports from, 92
- gold reserves of, 17, 20
- inflation, from 2013 to 2022, 140f
- “net worth” of, 42
- in nineteenth century, 122
- territorial expansion of, 36–37
- USA Today, 146
- US Commerce Department, 80, 81, 93, 95
- US dollar:
- as America's most successful export, 163
- and Asian currencies, 152, 160
- and Bretton Woods system, 24, 27
- buying power of, over time, 35f
- and Canadian dollar, 100
- in circulation, 114f
- currencies pegged to, 14, 27
- declining value of the, 8, 22, 23, 29, 34–36, 53, 73, 86–87, 91, 94, 106, 133, 136–137, 141–142, 149–151
- demise of the, 2, 19–20, 27, 34, 60, 90, 112–115, 127–131, 169–178
- and euro, 52, 104
- and fiscal deficits, 47
- foreign holdings of, 73–77, 152–153
- global economy and weakening, 137
- and gold standard, 10–11, 14, 15–18
- in Great Dollar Standard Era, 25, 84, 104, 127–131, 136
- hedging against the, 160–169
- and inflation, 35f, 147–149, 155–156
- and interest rates, 10
- as international reserve currency, 3, 15, 64, 99, 103, 122, 135
- as IOU, 23, 111
- and Japanese yen, 60–62
- and national debt, 33, 67, 143
- and oil, 158
- patriotic faith in the, 70–71
- as payment currency, 103
- possible events leading to sudden drop in value of, 128–131
- and trade deficit, 140
- and Triffin's paradox, 100–103
- US Dollar Index (USDX), 171–172
- “US International Investment Position” (BEA report), 87
- US Treasury Department, 26, 32, 34, 37–38, 40, 60, 64, 74, 76, 100, 161
- Vanderlip, Frank, 32
- Venezuela, 128
- Venice, 124
- Veterans' health care, 105
- Vietnam, 19, 154
- Volcker, Paul, 63
- “Voodoo economics,” 41
- Wage and price controls, 24–25, 51, 115, 138
- Wages and salaries, 64, 93, 116, 153–155
- Walker, David, 105
- Wall Street, 47, 68, 84, 113
- Walpole, Robert, 33
- Warburg, Paul, 32, 149
- Warburton, Peter, 52
- War for Independence, see Revolutionary War
- War of 1812, 36, 50
- War on Poverty, 19
- War on Terror, 37, 41, 113
- Wars and military campaigns, 50, 57, 170
- Wealth, 86, 90
- Wealth creation, 57, 71
- Wealth‐driven spending, 85
- Weimar Republic, 122, 147
- Wells Fargo, 81
- White, Harry Dexter, 11–14
- White House Council of Economic Advisers, 132
- Wiggin Sessions (podcast), 4, 26
- Wilson, Woodrow, and administration, 32, 51
- Wolfe, Virginia, 11
- Working capital ratio, 56
- World Bank, 14, 15
- World banking system, 108
- World Trade Organization, 141
- World War I, 25, 37
- World War II, 11, 13, 122
- Yastrzemski, Carl, 7
- Yellen, Janet, 55, 57, 65, 88, 141
- Yen, Japanese, 99, 162
- “Yen miracle,” 60
- Yuan, Chinese, 99, 101, 124, 158, 160
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