The Wonders of Inflation

If there is one thing that’s worse than inflation, its deflation. It grinds the economy to a standstill because you wait to buy and can’t pay off debts (which increase regardless of interest rates). This often results in political extremism or revolution, like the Chartist rebellion of the 1840s, in England.

Only a few months after catastrophic inflationary fears because of oil prices tripling, we now have the threat of deflation. With an economy that is is recession and no more interest to cut, there are no more monetary weapons available except to print money and stimulate inflation.

The euphemism for this is ‘quantitative easing’. What it means is: print money but do it very carefully, in case you end up getting runaway inflation. In which case, to put it plainly, you are fucked.

When this film was made, inflation wasn’t such a dirty word that expressions such as quantitative easing were needed and it actually extols the virtues of diluting the value of money. Because of this frankness, its worth watching now.

America came off OK in the 30s, Germany did not. Germany ended up with hyper-inflation and it created political extremism. In the United States government sponsored home building and mortgages created a home ownership democracy that stalled the emergence of communism. This time, it is the home ownership democracy that was the root cause of failure.

When I watch this film, a nasty though comes to mind. What if the oil spike returned as the economy eased, and we were still printing money?

via

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Claude Francois – spot the cover game

I’m in Paris for a month, because my wife is plotting a move here. Which is a poor excuse to include these two clips of ‘so bad its good, actually possibly just good’ French singer, Claude Francois, who supposedly died while changing a light bulb in the bath.

Both these songs have well known English versions: Sinatra’s My Way and the Four Seasons’ Oh What a Night.

The video for Cette Annee La is possibly the nadir of French style. The glamorous dancing girls appear to be wearing builders’ vests and Jockey Y-Fronts.

The quiz question is: which of Francois’ versions is a cover and which is the original?

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Matthew Collings, This is Modern Art

If Robert Hughes is the grand statesman of art criticism, Matthew Collings represents the best of a newer generation. This is the first part of his BAFTA award winning series.

Running time: 50 mins.

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Nassim Taleb (Black Swan) Interview

Charlie Rose interviews Nassim Taleb who famously compared investment bankers to turkeys. Taleb is best known for his book about the importance of seemingly impossible but inevitable events such as Black Swan sightings after the discovery of Australia, where they exist.

A turkey gets fed very well, until it gets slaughtered. Right up to turkey killing day, turkey analysts and advisors would recommend investing in relationships with farmers to feed and shelter them. So it has been with bankers from the 80s till now.

Rose asks Taleb for a balanced view of how bad the economy will really get, compared to the extreme doomsayers such as Nouriel Roubini, who correctly predicted each step of this ‘great recession’ and who worried Rose’s viewers by saying that it meant the end of American empire.

Taleb’s reply is that it will be worse than Roubini thinks. At which point there is an audible thud as Charlie Rose slams his hands on the desk, aghast.

Full interview, running time: 20 mins.

Via Calculated Risk

1 comment business, interviews

Robert Hughes, American Visions

Robert Hughes’, epic journey through American Art. A must see.
American Visions makes it onto the ‘Smashing List‘.

Running time, approx. 7 hours (in 42 parts).

Playlist URL

3 comments art, the smashing list

The Protestant Revolution

Although they are, perhaps, less ridiculous than Catholics, the problem with Protestants is that they take things way too seriously.

Tristram Hunt examines the Protestant cult in this first part of a mammoth series aired in 2007.

Running time, part 1: 1 hour.

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Ape Man

Trying to find out about our ancestors. Don’t be put off by the self-hypnosis hokum at the beginning.

First in a 5 part series. Running time 45 mins.

1 comment history

John Berger, Ways of Seeing

It has been 20 years since I read the John Berger book: “Ways of Seeing”, which was based on the classic, BAFTA award winning, series of the same name, made in 1972. Until now I hadn’t seen the original, which is a must see for TV connoisseurs. Here is episode 1.

The series deconstructed traditional paintings by reverse engineering the known methods used by advertisers to create their own compelling imagery. Of further interest is how this is a worthy example of an intellectual process that became subsumed within politically driven academia with prior agendas.

Thank you to James who recommended this classic piece of television.

Part 2 of 4 of Episode 1
Part 3 of 4 of Episode 1
Part 4 of 4 of Episode 1

Total running time, episode 1: 30 mins.

(I have added a tag called “the smashing list”, where I’ll be adding my picks of the all time greatest TV programs – Ways of Seeing makes the list)

6 comments art, smashing telly top 10 documentaries, the smashing list

Niall Ferguson, the Ascent of Money

Unfortunately nobody has uploaded the excellent UK Channel 4 documentary version of Niall Ferguson’s timely book about the history of money, but this conversation is a good taster. Have a look out for the series of the same name.

Running time: 1 hour.

11 comments business, interviews

Wonderland: The End of the World Bus Tour

A group of Palinesque evangelical Protestants traipse around Israel, which they want preserved so that it can be destroyed by God.

via: Trois Vitesse

running time 40 minutes

5 comments religion, world