Inflated: How Money and Debt Built the American DreamAmericans as a whole view themselves as reasonably prudent and sober people when it comes to matters of money, reflecting the puritan roots of the earliest European settlers. Yet as a community, we also seem to believe that we are entitled to a lifestyle that is well-beyond our current income, a tendency that goes back to the earliest days of the United States and particularly to get rich quick experiences ranging from the Gold Rush of the 1840s to the real estate bubble of the early 21st Century. Inflated examines this apparent conflict and makes the argument that such a world view is so ingrained in us that to expect the United States to live in a "deflated" world is simply unrealistic. It skillfully seeks to tell the story of, money inflation and public debt as enduring (and perhaps endearing) features of American life, rather than something we can one day overcome as our policy makers constantly promise.
The gradual result of the situation we find ourselves in will inevitably lead to inflation, loss of economic opportunity, and a decline in the value of the dollar. This book will show you why, and reveal how we might be able to deal with it. |
Contents
1 | |
9 | |
15 | |
The Gold Rush | 24 |
Robber Barons and the Gilded Age | 63 |
The Rise of the Central Bank | 85 |
War Boom and Bust | 123 |
New Deal to Cold War | 183 |
A Rising Tide Lifts | 241 |
Leveraging the American Dream | 285 |
A New Monetary Order | 329 |
Changing Places | 338 |
Notes | 347 |
365 | |
371 | |
Other editions - View all
Inflated: How Money and Debt Built the American Dream R. Christopher Whalen No preview available - 2011 |
Common terms and phrases
American dream Anna Schwartz bankers began bonds Bretton Woods Carter Carter Glass central bank century Chairman Clarence Barron Congress created crisis currency decades deficits Democratic Depression dollar Eccles economic election Europe fact FDR’s Fed’s federal government Federal Reserve Act Federal Reserve Bank Federal Reserve System financial markets financial system fiscal Ford foreign global gold standard Gould government’s governor greenbacks Greenspan growth Hoover House of Morgan increase industry inflation interest rates investment issue J.P. Morgan legislation liquidity loans million monetary money supply national banks Nixon Panic paper money Party Paul Volcker percent period political President purchases Reagan Republican Richard Nixon Roosevelt Second Bank sector Senate silver speculative spending tariffs taxes Teddy Roosevelt tion trade trusts U.S. banks U.S. economy U.S. government U.S. Steel United Wall Street Washington White House Wilson WWII