In the stage musical and film 'Evita', Eva Peron sings "Screw the middle classes! I will never accept them." A recent study in the United States indicates that the middle classes are being screwed and squeezed as never before - click here to see NY Times coverage of the report. This squeezing of the middle classes is also happening in other economies - click here to see a recent Economist piece on the issue. Three questions spring to mind. Why is this happening? Will the middle class disappear? What is the long-term effect of this squeezing of the middle classes? The squeezing of the middle classes is a worrying trend which has major consequences for the future of Western civilisation.
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.