In theory, Nixon cutting money free in 1971 appears to confer great power on Central Banks. In practice, however, they are just the forced and automatic accommodators of the money creation decisions of the private banking and broader financial system. The Great Depression following the Wall Street crash of 1929 has been widely blamed on the flawed policy response of the US Federal Reserve. Most famously, the doyen of monetary economics, Milton Friedman, argued that the collapse of the US money supply by a third between 1929 and 1933 turned a brutal day on the stock market into a multi-year depression.…

Want to read the full story?

Unlock this article – and everything else on The Currency – with an annual membership and receive a free Samsonite Upscape suitcase, retailing at €235, delivered to your door.

Subscribe

Cancel at any time.

Are you already a member? .