One of the many books on my reading list includes "How an Economy Grows and Why It Crashes" by Peter D. Schiff. I admit I basically know nothing about economics other than what I've gathered from the news etc. over the years, and my own experiences. While the book makes it easy for me to understand the basic story of what's been happening to the US (and global) economy over the past century or so, it raises some questions:

  • is it really true that since Nixon took us off the gold standard, that there really is nothing tangible our money is tied to other than faith in the money? It seems completely ludicrous to me that the entire world economy is based on nothing.
  • Did the crises in the early 20th century really warrant the creation of the Fed? And was the Fed really that evil before FDR? Or was FDR really the one who weaponized it? I'd love some more material to read about FDR and the Fed.
  • Is there any credible argument for Keynesian theory, because the way it's been laid out here seems like it's a giant scheme with no safety net.
  • If the Fed is supposed to control inflation/deflation, why has there been so much inflation the past 100 years, and do they just do a good job of masking any negative effects?
  • Is deflation really that bad? I almost want to make an announcement, that, after learning a bit more about this seemingly ticking time bomb that is our economy, that I would be honored to take on deflation and a resetting of the economy so my children, grandchildren do not have to suffer worse consequences, and resent me decades from now.


I clearly need some more education in this area, so if anyone has any good follow-up books to this one, or good resources I can use to investigate any of these questions further, I would appreciate it very much. Thanks!

edit: I should add, who are the proponents to the current system, and are there any good, credible arguments for this current system? I would like to learn it thoroughly enough to be able to refute any of the oppositions claims.