A Prophet Without Honor in His Own Land

August 28, 2009 7:35 AM by Bettina Bien Greaves

The year was 1921. It was near midnight. Economist Ludwig von Mises was guiding some visitors through Vienna's dimly lit inner city. The city was asleep. All was quiet except for the sound of the men's muted conversation and the clop of their footsteps on the cobblestone streets. The men had just come from an economic conference where they had been discussing the disastrous effects of inflation.

Prices were rising rapidly in most of the countries of post -- World War I Europe. Germany and Austria, especially, were facing hyperinflation. In Austria, the economy was in the doldrums. Large numbers of industrial firms were idle throughout the land, while others were working only part-time.

As the men approached the center of the city, the still of the night was broken by "the heavy drone of the Austro-Hungarian Bank's printing presses." Their Viennese host, Mises, explained that those presses "were running incessantly day and night, to produce new banknotes." Throughout the land, only the printing presses making banknotes were operating at full speed. "Let us hope," Mises told his guests, "that industry in Germany and Austria will once more regain its prewar volume and that war- and inflation-related industries, devoted specifically to the printing of notes, will give way to more useful activities." FULL ARTICLE

My letter re: Friedman's take on the Great Depression

October 22, 2007 12:17 PM by Bettina Bien Greaves

THE FREEMAN
Letters to the Editor

Thanks to Milton Friedman’s brilliance, charisma and diplomacy he became an ardent spokesman for many free market reforms in this country. And now Ivan Pongracic, Jr. (The Great Depression According to Milton Friedman, September 2007) gives him credit for convincing Fed officials that the Fed itself was responsible for precipitating the crash and the 1929-1933 monetary contractions that followed. But the contractions were only the spark that brought the boom to an end; the seeds of the depression itself were sown in the preceding boom.

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Remembering Henry Hazlitt

July 27, 2007 8:24 AM by Bettina Bien Greaves

Henry Hazlitt was one of a very special breed, an economic journalist who not only reported on economic and political events in clear and understandable language, but also made contributions to economics.

He was easy to approach; his manner was pleasant, not aloof or overbearing. He was of average height. His features were regular, and he wore a mustache. He dressed appropriately for a journalist working in midtown Manhattan in his day — in suit and tie. He was modest, always thoughtful of others, and one of the kindest and most gracious men I have known. FULL ARTICLE