For those who want to understand what is going on in the financial markets, I suggest The Theory of Money and Credit by Ludwig von Mises (1912). Mises foretold our current state, not through a Nostradamus-like prognostication, but through a book of sound theory and explication.
Mises.org has the book available for sale and as a free download.
Or, try Murray Rothbard's Case Against the Fed (also at Mises.org).
Other excellent books for the times are Fooled by Randomness (Taleb) and Crap: A Guide to Politics (Arthur).Get them now. You'll learn about our current state, and you'll be able to read them under incandescent lighting -- don't forget that the do-gooders and the bureaucrats are taking away incandescent lighting in the near future (we are sheep, aren't we?).
My latest post the Blog at Mises.org(Mises.org):
I never thought I'd be cheering NPR, but Michelle Norris really makes Sen. Baucus squirm. Sure her economic theory is off, but some of her questions are spot on. Norris: "Will this stimulus package in the end add to the nation's deficit woes?"
Baucus: "Well ... it's ... um ... My thought is ... It probably will initially, but all economists say we should do this. All ... I'm not saying all, the vast majority of economists say we should do this. We need to give the economy a little bit of a stimulus, a little bit of an increase. This is the advice we were given by economists. This is the advice we were given by business people. It's I think the right thing to do at this point."
The vast majority of economists, or just the Brain Trust? Didn't Rothbard write a book about this? Funny how history repeats itself.
Ok, it's not actually funny -- more like ironic, but you get the point.
Go NPR!
