I got to this: http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/parker.depression
from here: http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/
What I have to say is this - the recent collapse of the leverage market amounted to a collapse in real money supply- or perhaps it is simply my ignorance that makes it seem so to me. The first article above, which is long, and took me two sittings to read, tells me that we are on the doorstep - that road last seen in 1929-1931. The international economic news is very sobering. Russia continues to show signs of a collapsing economy, as does Europe.
What is amazing about this article's take on the Great Depression is how little it was, and is, understood. Which is exactly how even very bright people are describing the current economic circumstances. On NPR news recently was an interview with some guy from the WALL STREET JOURNAL (!). He expressed that he had been shocked, somewhat by the market corrections, but more so by the depth of each consecutive failure!
Frightening? I'm getting past being frightened. I just hope our fears don't come true. Gentlemen, I don't know where to head! One assumes that a tight monetary policy is a bad idea, but which stimulatory policy will do the job, and which one will leave us in the lurch?
I'm not really that depressed about all this, and it is fun to think about these things - but they are also truly frightening.
Cheers, I'm off to paying bills - a positively mesmerizing activity after this gloomy session! I think I'll go find that bottle of wine in the back of the pantry . . .down one for me, boys!
Mark
