Category Archives: The Mine or the Shaft

When Silicon Valley Bank and other banks failed earlier this year, the debate over the sustainability of fractional reserve banking resurfaced. Under fractional reserve banking, banks keep only a fraction of customers’ deposits in reserve. The difference is bank credit, … Continue reading →

Banks have now reported having more than $309 billion in unrealized losses for the second quarter ending on June 30 alone. The FDIC reported that all 4,645 FDIC-insured financial institutions had $309.6 billion in unrealized losses on held-to-maturity securities. According … Continue reading →

Even as interest rates skyrocketed over the past 18 months, a good job market and strong consumer spending kept the US economy moving. This led to hope that a soft landing was coming, where the Federal Reserve could defeat inflation … Continue reading →

Banks are closing branches faster than they’re opening new ones. U.S. banks closed over 3,000 branches last year while opening just 1,000. JPMorgan Chase led in branch closures last year, shuttering 144 branches, while opening 133. The trend will likely … Continue reading →

Our standard of living is being systematically destroyed, but for a lot of years many Americans didn’t fully understand what was taking place because it was happening so slowly. But now we have reached a stage where the purchasing power … Continue reading →

Leading Economic Indicators See Us on Cusp of Recession Yet Again By many of the most reliable leading indicators of the U.S. economy, we are long overdue for a recession. Yet the economy stubbornly refuses to cooperate. The Conference Board … Continue reading →

As I read about the demise of the U.S. dollar’s status in world trade, I’m struck by the misdirection and irrational “thinking” employed by our politicians and bureaucrats. In this article, legislators think another law, rule or regulation will solve … Continue reading →

America’s middle class is being systematically eviscerated. When the Federal Reserve pumped trillions of dollars into the financial system during the pandemic, most Americans didn’t realize what that would do to them. That money certainly made the wealthy a whole … Continue reading →

Many historians labeled the twentieth century as the American century, with many metrics used. The end of the Cold War in 1989 and the fall of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in December 1991 changed world affairs: several new … Continue reading →

What it looks like when the financial walls close in… For “Ask an Economist” this week, I have two questions from J.R. He says, “My question is what happens when the government continues to spend out of control where it … Continue reading →