Is paying down the federal debt a recession trigger? Bob takes on the MMT claim and checks the record, citing US debt payoffs, Canada’s 1990s reforms, and ECB case studies. Conclusion: real wealth beats accounting tricks and paydowns aren’t a mechanical path to recession.

• Read More on Fiscal Austerity: Mises.org/HAP524a
• The Upside-Down World of MMT: Mises.org/HAP524b
• Do Balanced Budgets Cause Depressions?: Mises.org/HAP524c

The Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree

Dr. Alex Pollock joins the Human Action Podcast to explain his recent Congressional testimony on the Fed’s growing insolvency and mandate overreach. The Fed now admits to $243 billion in operating losses and nearly $1 trillion in mark-to-market losses, leaving it with negative capital of about $197 billion. Dr. Pollock explains how the central bank transformed itself into “the biggest 1980s-style savings and loan in history” — funding short while buying long, and bleeding cash as interest rates rose.

• Rear Dr. Pollock's Testimony: Mises.org/HAP523a
• Read More from Dr. Pollock: Mises.org/HAP523b

The Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree

Has economics fallen to politics? Court economists like Paul Krugman–we might call them "regime economists"–represent a profession in big trouble. Jeff and Bob discuss.