Monetary/Fiscal System

* I wonder occasionally about the natural history of money.
* Do all dollars come from the Federal Reserve as loans to big banks? Why?
* Can government create money? Why?
* By what mechanisms do dollars loaned by the Fed cease being owed back to the Fed, hence available for us to keep? What fraction of the money supply is owed to Fed and what are other fractions?
* Is there a relation between people's savings and government debt?
* Are savings in the money supply?
* What do profits do to the money supply?
* What are the roles of money supply and commodity scarcity in inflation?
* Compare the efficiency of supply-side and demand-side economic controls.
* What would be the harm of redistributing wealth from the top of the pyramid to the bottom? Consider effects on resource consumption, trade balance, immigration.