I have just received the current issue of Econ Journal Watch, which is a Symposium on the US Sovereign Debt Crisis. Click here to see this issue of EJW. Tyler Cowen, in his introductory remarks, suggests that the US will experience a debt crisis within the next one or two decades. The US federal government is currently borrowing 40 cents of every dollar its spends - is this really sustainable in the long run? I don't think we will see a total default by the US, but a partial one, with the Fed attempting to raise the inflation rate.
According to Robert Shiller , speaking at Davos, Bitcoin is a perfect example of a bubble - story here . Shiller sees Bitcoin as a backwards step in the evolution of money. George Selgin , a free banker, takes an opposing view - click here . Although he doesn't believe that Bitcoin is money, he sees its development as a fascinating turn in the evolution of money. In particular, he lauds the fact that Bitcoin production is constrained and cannot be infinite. There is a short video below where Bitcoin explain how it works.