Mark Anderson
His commentary has been carried by such sites as AntiWar.com, WEBCommentary.com, Examiner.com, and OpEdNews.com.
Since 2000, he has been reading the great minds of the Austrian School of economics, such as Murray Rothbard, Henry Hazlitt, Ludwig von Mises, et al. Mark has been known to worship images of Murray Rothbard in the past. Well, not really, but Murray Rothbard is Mark's number #1 hero. He credits the VA with having led him to the Austrian School of economics, since it was dealing with the corrupt VA that served as the impetus for his political epiphany.
Articles by Mark Anderson
March 07, 2009
It was rather refreshing to watch Congressman Ron Paul in his questioning of former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker. The point that Congressman Paul was trying to make - a warning that I have been making for years - is that the post-Bretton Woods fiat dollar standard is over. It's gone. It's done. I ha...
January 30, 2009
There are a few Peter Schiff nay-sayers out there. They say that, since Schiff's portfolio retrenched in 2008, his investment advice is all wrong. I will concede that I believe Peter was wrong on mining equities, but this is relatively minor in terms of his abstract message and advice. Peter was wro...
January 13, 2009
Congresswoman Berkley, this is my first of a two-part open letter, in which I would like to bring up two issues (one in each letter). I raise these issues because I believe they have implications for present policy, and thus are not inconsequential.
Congresswoman, I remember reading this intervi...
December 27, 2008
As my readers know, I spend a great deal of time trying to expose problems. The usual refrain I hear is that, by "not promoting solutions," this is somehow inherently negative. But I would submit that discovering the problem is part of the solution.
That said, I would, however, be remiss if I...
December 12, 2008
The biggest threat to national security is the Congress and its spending orgy.
First, I would suggest that the purpose of security is to secure liberty. What difference does it make if the threat to your liberty comes from somebody who speaks a foreign tongue or your native tongue, a sporadic cr...
December 02, 2008
Ben Bernanke's persistence in fighting the effects of inflation with more inflation makes him the most dangerous man in the United States. He will accomplish what Osama bin Laden could only dream of: bringing America to her knees.
Inflating our way out of recession didn't work in the 1970s. It ...
November 27, 2008
The FDIC should be abolished, not expanded
One troubling thing I have noticed is the way Sheila Bair's plan has been contrasted with Hank Paulson's plan, creating the impression that Sheila Bair is some kind of savior. When one really understands economics, they should understand that the Delphi ...
November 26, 2008
The National Intelligence Center released a report entitled Global Trends 2025. In it are some germs of truth amalgamated with lies and ommissions.
The report suggests that the United States government will lose its dominance and hegemony. I certainly agree. What the report doesn't explain, howev...
November 19, 2008
I just got done watching Michael Moore on the Larry King show. He was on to discuss the economy. Why CNN would rather have Michael Moore than an economist on to discuss economics is anybody's guess. Perhaps no university-credentialed economist would be so candid in their lust for burying the free...
November 18, 2008
They all need to be reined in.
I am sitting here watching the House Committee on Financial Services asking Hank Paulson & Ben Bernanke questions. This is one of the most magnificent displays of stupidity and misfeasance I have witnessed in a long time.
Congress is now protesting the use of ...
November 17, 2008
I was just checking out the Fed's balance sheet. Pursuant to the latest figures - as of November 13, 2008 - the Fed's balance sheet stands at over $2.2 trillion.
Not too many weeks ago, I was alarmed at seeing the Fed's balance sheet at over $1.5 trillion, which was up from below $1 trillion not...
November 16, 2008
Under Paul Volcker's reign as Federal Reserve Chairman, interest rates were at record highs. Throughout the era of record-high interest rates, times were painful. Volcker's medicine has been perceived by laymen and economists alike as the cause of the pain. That view is a corollary of myopic, mai...
November 11, 2008
I just kicked off the Educating Ben Bernanke campaign. I am asking others - particularly fellow travelers of the Austrian School of economics - to join with me, by posting videos on YouTube with the tag "educating ben bernanke." In your video, share a good, economics-related book that refutes Keyn...
November 07, 2008
To readers: please distribute my open letter everywhere and anywhere. I would like somebody from the Obama administration to get this open letter.
Congratulations on your electoral victory, President-Elect Obama.
I must confess that I did not vote for you. I voted for the Libertarian ticket....
November 05, 2008
Rather than throwing more fiat money into the economy, which is the exact problem with the economy, politicians should be talking about things I discuss in this piece.
In my previous commentaries, I have written about our impending economic problems. Unfortunately, these problems are only going ...
November 01, 2008
There is a video clip - posted below - that is circulating around the internet, being advertised as Steve Forbes' "heroic" stand against the Federal Reserve. One little problem: it isn't a stand against the Fed, but for the Fed.
As you can see, Forbes starts out by correctly faulting the Fed...
November 01, 2008
To survive, man must find sustenance. Man feeds himself, builds shelter, and produces clothing. In order to sustain life, wealth must be replenished. Wealth is replenished with capital: i.e., the use of land, labor, and capital goods. Capital goods are goods that do not satisfy immediate demands, bu...
October 28, 2008
So is Joseph Stiglitz, Paul Krugman, Nouriel Roubini, Henry Paulson, Bush, McCain, Obama, and every member of Congress.
I have heard proposals for a $200 billion fiscal stimulus plan, a $300 billion plan, and even as much as $500 billion by Nouriel Roubini. Come on. It's time for the U.S. to ge...
October 28, 2008
Polticians, central planners, and mainstream economists get everything backwards
As I explained in this 2006 commentary, prevailing economic orthodoxy inverts the trade cycle. What we are living through today bears witness to that.
Inflation does not mitigate a balance-of-payments deficit, bu...
October 17, 2008
Photo by Shawn Thew/EPA file
I just got done reading this Q&A with Ben Bernanke. In it, Bernanke wastes no time blaming a lack of Fed intervention as the cause of the Great Depression. Bernanke also conflates Roosevelt's homicide of the gold standard with "pressure relief." You know, like a ma...
October 12, 2008
Photo by Shawn Thew/EPA file
Please tell me, Ben, that your efforts to flood the loan market with liquidity and keep interest rates artificially low are only in response to pre-election political pressure, and that you will change course after the November elections.
Although I am very pessimi...
October 10, 2008
With the impending bankruptcy of the United States, you would think Congress might curtail spending and bring U.S. troops home from the rest of the world. As if trying to hasten the day, the promiscuous spenders that members of Congress are, the spending orgy gets bigger.
What is Congress waitin...
October 10, 2008
Because of the instability in the capital markets, this causes a shift towards more "stable" assets (e.g., Treasury bills and notes). I put stable in quotation marks, because given the reckless fiscal policy of U.S. politicians, there is nothing stable about Treasuries.
What this represents is a ...
October 08, 2008
Photo of Paulson & Bernanke by Shawn Thew/EPA file
This piece out of the Associated Press concedes that the bailout package won't work right away. Why? Because, it is argued, in order for banks to start lending to purchase homes again, housing prices must rise. Sadly, this thinking is typical ...
September 27, 2008
The economic illiteracy of politicians and their proxy media never ceases to amaze me. In case you are unaware, Georgia is amongst a few Southeastern states suffering from a gas shortage, with runs on gas stations. Many gas stations around the Atlanta area have no gas. As usual, the free market a...
September 24, 2008
Conventional wisdom is placing blame everywhere for economic problems other than where it ought to be. Blaming speculators, short-sellers, greedy businessmen, etc., seems to be very popular. Blaming the real cause, which is the Federal Reserve system, would threaten the source of power for both ma...
August 07, 2008
Mark Anderson on the real anthrax crimes of Ft. Detrick.
July 16, 2008
Bob Barr is more than a "spoiler." He represents a real choice.
February 29, 2008
My open letter to Congresswoman Shelley Berkley
January 28, 2008
Florida should support Ron Paul. Everybody should support Ron Paul.
January 11, 2008
John McCain has earned the reputation as a "maverick," per what members of the Establishment tell us. But objectively, John McCain is indistinguishable from any other political hack, and he proved that in the Republican debate last night.
"I'm telling you, it's [Iraq war surge] succeeding. And t...
December 20, 2007
I have been meaning to write this note of thanks to Tucker Carlson for a long time. Readers are free to post this note from me to Tucker Carlson everywhere and anywhere, providing a link back to this page.
Dear Tucker:
I appreciate your objectivity and fairness in covering Ron Paul. Given the...
December 19, 2007
Dear Dr. Ron Paul:
The precarious condition our country is in compels me to write this letter to you, Dr. Paul. I am writing this letter to urge you in the strongest possible sense to guard against the temptation of trading away principle for power.
Having gained traction and momentum, electi...
November 29, 2007
After watching Ron Paul in the last debate, it should become much more self-evident that Ron Paul is the last sane man in the GOP. In particular, I liked the exchanges between John McCain and Ron Paul, and then Tom Tancredo and Ron Paul.
Apparently, the simple logic behind Ron Paul's argument ag...