RJA #5b: Periodical Articles

The characteristics of a monetary economy: a Keynes-Schumpeter approach

Author:	Giancarlo Bertocco
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Edition/Format:	Article : English
Publication:	Cambridge Journal of Economics, 31, no. 1 (2007): 101-122
	Resource searched: articles Keywords used: fiat money system; monetary policy Date of search: 3/1/10 Number of hits: 21 Relevance of hits: about 50% I found this article within the Auraria Campus Library's database. This article should give me a good basis for the ideology i will be arguing against.

RJA #5a: Books

Title	Economics in one lesson / Henry Hazlitt.
Author	Hazlitt, Henry, 1894-
Publisher	New York : Arlington House Publishers, c1979.
Description	218 p. ; 23 cm.
Notes	Includes bibliographical references (p. 212-214) and index.
	Publisher varies.
Summary	A simple, straightforward analysis of economic fallacies that are so prevalent they have almost become a new orthodoxy. I found this book by searching for "Austrian economics" within Google's database. I then found that the Auraria library only had a audio version of the book and ended up finding that the paper version is available at the Denver Public Library. After a review, I think that this book will be helpful in building an argument against a fiat money system.

Fiat Money

Fiat Money
This is a neat internet search, data collection, and sharing tool that i set up with information regarding monetary policy.

RJA #2b: Research Topic

For my topic of interest i have chosen to put my research efforts into the subject of a Fiat Money System and how such a system negatively effects an economy, specifically, our economy. I believe I have a fairly basic understanding on the subject. I am also very interested and concerned about the potential economic depression some say are inevitable when a government embraces a fiat money system. I think that I will have no problems finding reliable resources on this topic and believe that an abundance of research material will be available because this topic seems to be a popular one right now because of our current economic status.

My knowledge about this subject is currently limited when it comes to any opposing arguments that might be in favor of our government continuing its backing of a Fiat currency. I am also unclear about the events that led President Nixon to remove the link between Gold and the Dollar. Another aspect of this topic I will have to learn about is what the effects on the American people's standard of living would be like if the current monetary policy would be reversed to one like that of the gold standard. I am looking forward to learning a great deal about these items during my research.

I do, start this research by knowing a few key things about the topic. I know that in a fiat money system, money is not backed by a physical commodity. Instead, the only thing that gives the money value is its relative scarcity or surplus and the faith placed in it by the people that use it. I also am aware of the economic failure many countries have seen throughout they're history after a form of this economic policy was embraced. In most cases, a fiat monetary system comes into existence as a result of excessive debt. When the government is unable to repay all its debt with a solid commodity, the temptation to remove physical backing rather than to default becomes irresistible. It seems that a currency not backed by something other than interest rates has created many hardships for the average American citizen lately.

RJA #2a: Possible Topics

In brainstorming topics for my research paper, I have considered discussing the following:

• The current U.S foreign policy and how it is bankrupting America and also the fact that it is totally against what the founding fathers had outlined in the constitution.
  
• A Fiat Money System and how it has failed all people who have relied upon it.
• Health Care Reform; be careful what you wish for. The socializing of America's health care system and how it will degrade the quality and accessibility of care giving within the United States.
• Did Friedrich Nietzsche hold a nihilistic perspective in regards to morality?
• The War on Drugs and it's ineffectiveness.
  

RJA #1: Areas of Academic Interest

• Foreign Policy (Middle East)
• Fiat Currency (The rise and fall of the American dollar)
• Flying Airplanes (The coming shortage on pilots)