QUESTION: Mr. Armstrong; I have investigated your explanation of hyperinflation and can see that you are correct in that this is limited to third world and revolutionary governments. Is it correct to say that as government becomes a bit more aggressive to try to meet its obligations, the economic collapse is a self-destruction process of […]

In the tax code there are provisions that clearly state that payment for employment is taxable defining wages as “all remuneration for employment.” However, when a company closes down and tries to be fair to its employees providing severance payments, as in the case of Quality Stores, you are receiving money not for employment. Clearly, […]

  Tiberius (14-37AD) Silver Denarius – the Tribute Penny The Financial Panic of 33AD provides one of the few detailed accounts of events recorded by the ancient historian Tacitus (56–117AD) whose primary focus appears to be moneylending. Of course, Tacitus did not personally experience the event of being born well after that event. Tiberius (14-37AD) […]

  By about 142 to 140 BC,  the Roman monetary system goes through a suspension of the minting of the Roman bronze As. Previously, the silver denarius was valued at 10 bronze As denoted by the “X” on the obverse behind the bust of Roma. The bronze As has declined in weight significantly from one […]

  The Financial Crisis of 1294 that erupted with the seizure of the  Bonsignore’s Gran Tavola by Philip IV of France, expanded rapidly with the seizure of the Papacy itself. Avignon is often referred to as the “City of Popes” because of the presence of the French anti-Popes from 1309 to 1423 during the seizure of the […]

Corruption between government and the bankers is nothing new. During the 4th Century BC, money that was donated to the gods became the temple treasure. Typically, the government would borrow from this hoard of cash and thus temples emerged as bankers. In Athens, there was one of the early banking crisis events involving what we […]

The Financial Crisis of 1971 was the culmination of a series of events that began during the early 1960s. Politicians set the gold ratio to the dollar at $35 an ounce that was decided in 1934 by Franklin D. Roosevelt. However, politicians have a vest self-interest in always pretending they do a good job. Unfortunately, […]

  South Sea Bubble originated plan was that of the English statesman Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford. The scheme was a debt-for-equity swap in 1711, whereby the idea was to retire the floating national debt of Great Britain. Under the scheme, the debt was assumed by merchants to whom the government guaranteed for a […]

  The Panic of 1896 is perhaps best known for the fiery speech of William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925) who was the Silver Democrat’s Presidential candidate that year. The major thrust down took place during the Panic of 1893. However, by 1896, the economic conditions had not improved very much. There was still a dramatic and […]

The Panic of 1893 was quite different from the US panics that had preceded. To a large extent, the Panic of 1893 came on the heels of American speculation in overseas investment which had kept up with the trend toward “global diversification” and opportunity much like that of the 1990s. The Panic of 1893 was […]