My Favorite Posts from 2013

Whew.  What a year.  I wrote a lot of words.  Some smart.  Some stupid.  I tried to provide kernels of knowledge and useful information where I could.  Unfortunately, out of the hundreds of posts here there were probably only 20 or so that were really worth reading.  I’ve probably overlooked a few, but here are a few of my favorite ones from 2013:

• Debunking “The Biggest Scam In The History Of Mankind” – in which I tried to demolish the misleading idea that anyone should invest their savings primarily in gold and silver as well as trying to debunk the idea that the US monetary system is a big ponzi scheme….

 

• The Fear Trade has been Demolished – Discussing why fear sucks and why people who sell fear for a living suck even more.

 

• Some things I got right.  And some things I got wrong.  

 

• Understanding the Savings Portfolio – My concept of the Savings Portfolio is an important concept in portfolio construction that I hope more and more people will better understand when constructing their own portfolios or hiring someone else to construct portfolios for them.

 

• Stop With the “Money Printing” Madness – In this one I tried to debunk the idea that the US government is the primary creator of money in our monetary system….

 

• Inflation is not Necessarily a different form of default – In which I attempt to explain why a solvency crisis is drastically different than an inflation crisis and therefore should not be conflated.

 

• Understanding Moneyness – One of the more improtant pieces I wrote this year and a helpful addition to my paper on the monetary system about understanding the concept of “moneyness”.

 

• Understanding why Austrian Economics is Flawed – My succinct attempt to explain why Austrian economics is flawed.

 

• Credit IS Money – Another important monetary system piece in which I explain why credit is money.

 

• Who Owns the Federal Reserve? – Another important clarification on the role of the Fed and why it’s often misunderstood.

 

• The US Government is not “$16 Trillion dollars in the hold”. – Debunking the myth that the US government has run out of money.

 

• For the seriously wonky (and bored), my back and forth with Paul Krugman:

Cullen Roche: The Failure of the IS/LM Model in Predicting the Crisis

Paul Krugman: Banks and the Monetary Base

Cullen Roche: Banks and the Monetary Base – A Friendly Response to Paul Krugman

Paul Krugman: The Monetary Base, IS-LM, And All That

Cullen Roche: Economath: economics – IS/LM – Krugman Cross = Win

Paul Krugman: Banks as Creators of “Money”

Cullen Roche: Banks are Special – the Ins and Outs of Money