Bob McCarty Writes

I’m not an economist, but I do share an interest in the health of this nation’s economy.  When I saw the chart above, produced by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, I couldn’t help but notice the blue line near the right margin of the chart.  Going straight up, the line signals a sizable increase in the nation’s money supply.

Hmm?  An increase in the nation’s money supply occurred at the same time as the federal government began doling out billions — possibly trillions — of dollars to banks, insurance companies, automakers and others under the auspices of the so-called economic stimulus package (a.k.a., “bailout”)?  In other words, the federal government printed money like it was going out of style with nothing to back it up.

How are people reacting to information like that shown in the chart?  In a comment about this chart where it appeared on the Western Standard blog, one reader said, “Not sure what to make of this, but apparently more than a few people ‘are’ getting ready.” He also left a link to this video about record gun sales.

Editor’s Note: If you’re interested, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis has also produced a school curriculum about The Great Depression.