On this episode, Mark Thornton gives a crash course on the sleight-of-hand world of inflation, how it really works, why the official story doesn’t add up, and who benefits from the illusion. Drawing on Austrian insights, Mark dissects the politically engineered cycle of government overspending, Treasury bond issuance, and Federal Reserve money creation. You’ll learn how inflation doesn’t just “happen”: it’s a deliberate policy that distorts markets, transfers wealth, and props up an elite few while undermining the productive economy. The Fed’s role isn’t heroic. It’s central to the problem.

"What Is Inflation? Clarifying and Justifying Rothbard’s Definition" by Kristoffer Hansen and Jonathan Newman (Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics): https://mises.org/MI_130_A

"Too Much Money Portends High Inflation" by John Greenwood and Steve Hanke (Wall Street Journal): https://mises.org/MI_130_B

Register for the 2025 Mises Institute Supporters Summit in Delray Beach, Florida, October 16–18: https://mises.org/ss25

Be sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

In this episode, Mark Thornton breaks down the political pressure from Trump, market demands for cheap money, and the Federal Reserve’s real fears: a collapsing dollar, rising inflation, and soaring long-term rates. Mark traces the history of interest rate manipulation, the precarious state of US debt, and why Chairman Powell may be clinging to high rates—not for the public good, but to save face before his 2026 exit. With the dollar weakening and deficits exploding, Mark explains why the next crisis could be just one rate cut away.

"Trump Is Wrong about Interest Rates" by Ryan McMaken (Radio Rothbard Podcast): https://mises.org/MI_129_A

"Will Fed Cut Rates By 3%? Is Massive Inflation Returning? Economist Steve Hanke Answers": https://mises.org/MI_129_B

"Federal Funds Effective Rate": https://mises.org/MI_129_C

"Nominal Broad U.S. Dollar Index": https://mises.org/MI_129_D

"Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 30-Year Constant Maturity, Quoted on an Investment Basis": https://mises.org/MI_129_E

"Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee, June 17–18, 2025" (PDF): https://mises.org/MI_129_F

"US FOMC Meeting Minutes (June 17-18, 2025)" by Ksenia Bushmeneva: https://mises.org/MI_129_G

Register for the 2025 Mises Institute Supporters Summit in Delray Beach, Florida, October 16–18: https://mises.org/ss25

Be sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

In the latest episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton unpacks a deceptively simple question and follows its answer deep into the heart of economic history and theory. Drawing on insights from Hayek, Cantillon, Menger, and even WWII prisoner-of-war camps, Mark explores how money actually emerged—not from the decrees of kings or bureaucrats, but from the spontaneous actions of everyday people solving real problems in a barter economy. Mark challenges the fable of state-created money and confronts the dangerous logic of Modern Monetary Theory. This is not just a history lesson—it's a blueprint for understanding inflation, fiat failure, and the path to sound money.

"Who Really Invented Bitcoin?" (Minor Issues, episode 128): https://mises.org/MI_128

An Essay on Economic Theory by Richard Cantillon (see Part 1, Chapter 17, "Metals and Money, and especially of Gold and Silver"): https://mises.org/MI_128_A

Register for the 2025 Mises Institute Supporters Summit in Delray Beach, Florida, October 16–18: https://mises.org/ss25

Be sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues