208. Principles of Economics: A discussion with Brian Demint

In this episode Saifedean talks to libertarian author and comedian Dominic Frisby about the history of taxation, the rise of Bitcoin and whether we are moving towards a more or less statist world. They cover the story of how Dominic first found out about Bitcoin in December 2010, how voluntary taxation worked in ancient Greece, the rise of digital nomads, and whether land value tax represents the “least bad tax”. Links National Debt Clock of the United States: https://www.usdebtclock.org/Domi...

24 Touko 20211h 24min

In this episode Saifedean talks to regular seminar attendees about Elon Musk’s recent bitcoin comments, and what they teach us about him & his business empire. Saifedean compares Elon Musk to John D. Rockefeller – both the richest men in the world in their eras – and discusses the extent to which their innovations have had an impact on the lives of everyday people, to give us an idea of how fiat alters society. To become the richest man in the world, Rockefeller built the modern industria...

20 Touko 20211h 2min

In this episode Saifedean talks to Rahim Taghizadegan, the president of the Free Private Cities Foundation, and one of the few Austrian School economists still operating in Austria. They discuss the history of the Austrian School, the problems of modern fiat academia and why Rahim sees Bitcoin as an essential part of the monetary infrastructure that would support Free Private Cities. Resources The Raven of Zurich: The Memoirs of Felix Somary: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Raven-Zurich-Memoi...

17 Touko 20211h 59min

In today’s seminar Saifedean talks to regular attendees about whether increasing a nation’s exports should be seen as a desirable policy goal, and why countries that devalue their currencies don’t necessarily export more. The discussion focusses on the post-war experience of Germany and Switzerland and how these countries grew prosperous through maintenance of a strong currency. Books referenced during the discussion include: Gold Wars: The Battle Against Sound Money as Seen From a Swiss Pers...

12 Touko 202159min

In this podcast Saifedean and Lyn discuss Bitcoin and trends taking place in the macroeconomy. Lyn starts by giving her view on the investment case for Bitcoin, PlanB’s Stock to Flow model, and whether Bitcoin can be characterized as a Ponzi scheme. They then move on to discuss global macroeconomic conditions and why Bitcoin represents a more attractive investment in a world where fiat currency supply expansion is accelerating. They touch on long-term debt cycles, 1970s stagflation, CBDCs and...

9 Touko 20211h 45min

Described by Jordan Peterson as "frighteningly smart", Allen Farrington is a member of saifedean.com who has written some excellent essays on bitcoin, and also spent an enormous amount of time studying the work of various fiat intellectuals, so you don't have to. He joins us for a deep dive into why fiat intellectuals have such a hard time understanding bitcoin, why it triggers them so much, and whether there is anything important or profound in the ramblings of angry fiaters like George Selg...

4 Touko 20212h 54min

Saifedean and seminar regular Peter Young discuss what price indeces such as CPI tell us about inflation. They discuss whether ageing demographics lead to inflation or deflation, whether inflation measurements are even theoretically possible, and the historical failure of central bank attempts to manage the economy based on price index data. Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a S...

1 Touko 20211h 12min

Experienced high-yield credit trader Greg Foss joins Saifedean Ammous for a discussion on why bond investors should own Bitcoin. They talk about why Bitcoin represents insurance against sovereign debt defaults, how Greg’s values Bitcoin using data from the Credit Default Swap markets, and why those same markets suggest that Canada’s official credit rating is too high. Greg makes reference to: This table showing the implied default risk of different countries based on CDC markets: http://www.w...

28 Huhti 20212h 4min