Courtesy of Mish.
Congratulations go to Forbes columnist John Tamny and editor of Real Clear Markets for producing the “Idiot’s Guide to Austrian Economics‘.
Ironically, that is not exactly what Tamny set out to do. The actual title of Tamny’s article is “The Closing Of The Austrian School’s Economic Mind“.
Point by Point Look
Tamny: “It’s well known that some Austrians have a major problem with ‘fractional reserve banking’ whereby banks pay for liabilities (deposits) by virtue of turning those liabilities into assets (interest paying loans). Instead, they borrow money from depositors seeking a return on their savings, and who don’t need access to their savings right away, only to lend the money borrowed to individuals who do need it right away. The profits come from borrowing at one rate of interest, then lending longer term at a higher rate.”
Mish: With that single paragraph Tamny proves he does not understand AE or fractional reserve lending. In fact, he makes it clear he is clueless as to where the money banks lend even come from. AE has no beef against lending. Rather, AE does object to money being created out of thin air for lending.
I don’t care, nor does AE care if 100% of deposits are lent out, as long as three conditions are met: 1) Money is not created into existence by the loan 2) Money is not lent out for terms longer than the bank has access to the money 3) Depositors who lend money to the banks for interest are the ones who pay the price should there be a default on the loans.
In regards to point number three, it should be implicitly understood that the higher the interest banks pay for deposits, the greater the risk the banks (and depositors) must take to achieve that return. If it blows up, depositors, not innocent bystanders should pay the price.
Tamny: “Banks aren’t in business, nor could they remain in business if they simply warehoused money.”
Mish: Is there a need for warehousing? Even if the answer is no (which it isn’t), Tamny clearly fails to understand AE does not preclude lending. AE only precludes fraudulent lending.
Tamny: To many Austrians, this non-coerced act of exchange between consenting individuals is a fraud, and needs to be treated as such by the state. The Austrians want government to restrain what they deem a violation of property rights.
Mish: No! The problem of property rights comes into play multiple ways. Let’s go through some examples.
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