The zero interest rate trap

[Charles Mackay]

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_.../KA22Dj03.html

[LargoWinch]

Re: The zero interest rate trap

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_.../KA22Dj03.html

For more on the author:

http://www.henryckliu.com/

[Slimprofits]

Re: The zero interest rate trap

If a country as rich and successful as Britain could default in 1934 (in a period when economically it was doing much better than the United States, having superior economic management)

Is this true?

[c1ue]

Re: The zero interest rate trap

You've got to be careful reading Henry - he does a lot of assumptive close reasoning which isn't necessarily an accepted understanding of the event.

For example:

In the agricultural South, the labor shortage problem was solved by the institution of slavery.

Slavery existed before and after the American revolution.

Agrarian slavery was not industrial until the commonplace adoption of the cotton gin. The cotton gin was patented in 1793, so there was likely at least 20 years between the formation of the United States and the full "blossoming" of the agrarian South.

In fact I believe the slave trade was even outlawed in one or more American colonies post Revolution, but of course this was changed once it became highly profitable.

[BadJuju]

Re: The zero interest rate trap

Agrarian slavery was not industrial until the commonplace adoption of the cotton gin. The cotton gin was patented in 1793, so there was likely at least 20 years between the formation of the United States and the full "blossoming" of the agrarian South.

In fact I believe the slave trade was even outlawed in one or more American colonies post Revolution, but of course this was changed once it became highly profitable.

Indeed! Slavery was not really used to a major extent until around the 1800s; however, debt-peonage was commonplace before then, which is a form of slavery in and of itself.