Are central banks independent of political influence? Do we want them to be independent of the government? Can central banks really be independent? Do democratic polities and central banking mix? Do we need central banks? Click here to listen to a short and fascinating podcast by Gerald P. O'Driscoll Jr. on the myth of central bank independence. Hat tip to Graham Brownlow.
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.