Daily Archives: 13 April 2012

Bernanke’s Deep Understanding

open quote“Gold standards are far from perfect,” Bernanke said. “ They waste of resources,.” citing Milton Friedman’s quip about taking gold from one hole in the ground just to transfer it to other hole.

Gold standards are far from perfect because government bureaucrats have always been in charge of managing them. The mere fact that heavy costs and resources are involved to mine the yellow metal is one of the factors making gold a perfect money.

A gold-shackled currency takes away central bank flexibility, which bothers Bernanke. But the question is, how much Bernanke flexibility can the dollar stand before it falls apart completely?

The Fed Chair admitted that the gold standard provides price stability–but only in the long run. He stressed that there have been short-term periods of price inflation and deflation under gold. Well sure, prices increase and then correct, that’s what a gold standard does. Under central bank management prices just increase; either slowly, quickly, or catastrophically.close quote (Read more)

Growing Antitax Movement Shows Irish Stoicism Wearing Thin

open quoteThroughout the European financial crisis, Ireland has won plaudits for the way it has handled austerity. But growth has stalled here once again, and an incipient tax revolt is being taken as a sign that even this most stoic of nations is becoming fed up.

Urged on by promoters of a tax boycott, fully 85 percent of Irish homeowners have yet to pay a $130 property tax that is due March 31. The latest official figures show that just 225,000 property owners out of 1.6 million have paid a total of $29 million — well short of the more than $200 million the government was planning to raise to help support public services.

The government has so far dismissed talk that the boycott is gathering strength, saying the Irish are notorious procrastinators on money matters.

“The Irish people are law-abiding citizens and will pay the charge before March 31,” a government spokesman said. “We are ready to cope with a late surge — Irish people always tend to leave it to the last minute to pay their bills.”

The boycott’s organizers see it differently. close quote (Read more)

Israel cuts contact with UN rights council, to protest settlements probe

open quoteIsrael’s Foreign Ministry orders envoy to Geneva to ignore all phone calls from rights council commissioner; ‘The council sparked this process’, says a senior Israeli official.

Israel decided Monday to sever all contact with the United Nations human rights council and with its chief commissioner Navi Pillay, after the international body decided to establish an international investigative committee on the West Bank settlements.

The Foreign Ministry ordered Israel’s ambassador to Geneva to cut off contact immediately, instructing him to ignore phone calls from the commissioner, a senior Israeli official said. close quote (Read more)