http://tspwiki.com/index.php?title=1816
Here are some one liners...
The Year Without Summer and Without Economic Sense -- A volcanic eruption disrupts the weather causing worldwide crop failures, yet the UK does not lift its tariff on food. The USA places a tariff on cotton and it's all going to come apart in a couple of years.
The 2nd Bank of the United States and Fractional Banking -- The economic chaos after the war has President Madison pushing for another central bank He will get it... good and hard. I also explain fractional banking.
In Other News -- The Remington rifle, kaleidoscope, stethoscope, and the Stirling Engine
The Year Without Summer and Without Economic Sense
Last year the Mount Tambora volcano in modern day Indonesia exploded, throwing 38 cubic miles of material into the atmosphere. It was one of the largest volcanic explosions in history. Aside from the local death and destruction, it also caused cooler weather... "A Year without Summer". Worldwide crop failures are causing famine. Coincidentally, a credit crunch in the UK has caused their economy to grind to a halt. In response, they have instituted tariffs on corn to protect the corn industry, but tariffs don't protect the people who eat the corn. (The word "corn" in this context means the major grains used for food.) With higher food prices, people start moving to Canada and the United States. Meanwhile, the US passes its first protective tariff. They want to save the American cotton industry! The tariff adds 25 cents per yard to the price of cotton cloth or $4.35 in modern dollars. The South opposes the tariff because THEY GROW COTTON and they already have established (and better) markets in the UK. The South also imports goods, so tariffs mean increased prices for everything they buy. The Depression of 1818 is coming for the UK and the Panic of 1819 in the USA is next when the price of cotton collapses. [1] [2] [3] [4]
My Take by Alex Shrugged
The problem with tariffs is that they are inefficient, and not responsive to changing conditions. As we saw, the UK tariff pushed food prices up, but a volcanic eruption caused crop failures and famine. Did the UK suspend their tariffs on food? No. It would take too long. Government is slow by design. Economic markets change from day to day, week to week. New problems arise. You don't want your government fine-tuning the economy because by the time it gets things just right, things are all wrong again. The best that government can do is to run the courts to resolve contract disputes, but otherwise stay out of the way. I can see a need for tariffs in a few cases vital to the security of the United States, but politicians will suddenly create a list of "vital cases" that are only vital to particular voters or major contributors. So, even though I can see a place for tariffs in the abstract, I don't see how the present government could possibly implement them and not totally mess it up.
The problem with tariffs is that they are inefficient, and not responsive to changing conditions. As we saw, the UK tariff pushed food prices up, but a volcanic eruption caused crop failures and famine. Did the UK suspend their tariffs on food? No. It would take too long. Government is slow by design. Economic markets change from day to day, week to week. New problems arise. You don't want your government fine-tuning the economy because by the time it gets things just right, things are all wrong again. The best that government can do is to run the courts to resolve contract disputes, but otherwise stay out of the way. I can see a need for tariffs in a few cases vital to the security of the United States, but politicians will suddenly create a list of "vital cases" that are only vital to particular voters or major contributors. So, even though I can see a place for tariffs in the abstract, I don't see how the present government could possibly implement them and not totally mess it up.
The 2nd Bank of the United States and Fractional Banking
The charter for the 1st Bank of the United States expired in 1811. The bank was run by the Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, and its job was to create a common currency, control the money supply and otherwise act as a central bank for the Federal government. It's charter was opposed by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, the current President of the United States. Yet Madison is pushing for a 2nd Bank of the United States. The economic chaos after the end of the war has caused a money shortage. Very few coins are in circulation in certain areas of the United States and Madison believes that a central bank is needed to control these shortages. Also, the United States is using several different types of money from the script issued by individual banks to gold doubloons. The charter for the new bank will be approved this year and the bank will be open for business next year. When the time for renewal of the charter comes around, Andrew Jackson will be President and Andrew Jackson hates banks. (This is one of his virtues.) He thinks banks are dishonest. (Well... yes.) So he will fight the renewal of the charter and remove all Federal deposits from the bank. (That will be interesting.) The bank will retaliate, causing economic chaos, until people catch on. The United States economy will be a long time recovering from the 2nd Bank of the United States. [5] [6]
My Take by Alex Shrugged
Fractional banking looks unethical so let's compare it to non-fractional banking. Let's say I deposit $11,000 in gold with my friendly local banker. He says that if I agree to leave the gold in his vault for a year, he will lend $10,000 in banking script to a local merchant who will pay back the loan with interest to the banker. (I get free checking!) A year later I remove my deposit from the vault. That is non-fractional banking. But why can't the banker make THREE $10,000 loans for a year based on the same deposit? It should work. The economist, Adam Smith, said that a bank could capitalize at a rate of 5 to 1 and remain safe. This assumes there will not be a run on the bank. (For popular examples, see the movie, It's a Wonderful Life, and Mary Poppins. Links to clips are below.) Fractional banking can also be abused. In 1809, a bank in Rhode Island used a $45 deposit to make $800,000 in loans. This is fraud, but why isn't it fraud to make $30,000 in loans on an $11,000 deposit? Andrew Jackson would never allow his picture to appear on a Federal Note that could not be exchanged at face value for silver or gold. His picture on the $20 is an implied endorsement, and taking it off of the bill seems like the right thing to do. [7] [8] [5]
Fractional banking looks unethical so let's compare it to non-fractional banking. Let's say I deposit $11,000 in gold with my friendly local banker. He says that if I agree to leave the gold in his vault for a year, he will lend $10,000 in banking script to a local merchant who will pay back the loan with interest to the banker. (I get free checking!) A year later I remove my deposit from the vault. That is non-fractional banking. But why can't the banker make THREE $10,000 loans for a year based on the same deposit? It should work. The economist, Adam Smith, said that a bank could capitalize at a rate of 5 to 1 and remain safe. This assumes there will not be a run on the bank. (For popular examples, see the movie, It's a Wonderful Life, and Mary Poppins. Links to clips are below.) Fractional banking can also be abused. In 1809, a bank in Rhode Island used a $45 deposit to make $800,000 in loans. This is fraud, but why isn't it fraud to make $30,000 in loans on an $11,000 deposit? Andrew Jackson would never allow his picture to appear on a Federal Note that could not be exchanged at face value for silver or gold. His picture on the $20 is an implied endorsement, and taking it off of the bill seems like the right thing to do. [7] [8] [5]
In Other News
- The stethoscope is invented by two children and a French doctor. A Paris doctor notices two children communicating with each other using a long wooden tube and a pin to make scratching noises. He adapts a wooden tube to diagnose the heart condition of a woman without having to place his ear directly against her chest. [11] [13] [14]
- The Stirling Engine is invented. You have to see it to believe it. It works on the temperature difference from the top of the cylinder to the bottom in order to move a piston. I've seen a few potential applications, but if it has been around for 200 years, I suspect all the applications are limited ones. [15]
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