A provocatively controversial alternative to a leading orthodoxy that should find room on the bookshelves of policymakers...
Rickards (The Death of Money: The Coming Collapse of the International Monetary System, 2014, etc.) advises investors to “simply get some gold.”
Though some analysts may keep their silence, gold has never been out of the picture. The author argues that the shiny metal has been playing a shadow role ever since Richard Nixon officially ended its monetary function in August 1971. Leaning on the reputation of John Maynard Keynes, who was certainly no gold bug, to substantiate his case, Rickards asserts that the Federal Reserve, which is responsible for monetary policy and inflation management, is still dependent on the market value of the gold holdings on its balance sheet. Gold's function, writes the author, ought to be understood by anybody seeking insight into the workings of the world's monetary system and its relation to their personal financial assets. “Because the gold is held on the Fed’s balance sheet at only about $11 billion,” writes Rickards, “this mark-to-market gain gives the Fed a hidden asset of more than $300 billion.” Thus, confidence in the world's money and its top currency, the U.S. dollar, still depends on an underlying function for gold. This will become much more significant when the unresolved issues of the 2008 financial crisis erupt anew as a full-blown international monetary crisis. Then, gold will assume its proper function, helping to restore order amid financial excess. The institutional vehicle at that time, whenever it may be, will be the directors of the International Monetary Fund. The world's largest gold reserve holders and accumulators are among its leading members. Rickards strongly recommends that the physical metal be a part of anyone's portfolio of assets. He warns against financial and stock market paper substitutes, as the metal itself will be the best hedge when crisis returns.
A provocatively controversial alternative to a leading orthodoxy that should find room on the bookshelves of policymakers and investors.Pub Date: April 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-101-98076-7
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Portfolio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016
A readable, persuasive argument that our ways of doing business will have to change if we are to prosper—or even survive.
A well-constructed critique of an economic system that, by the author’s account, is a driver of the world’s destruction.
Harvard Business School professor Henderson vigorously questions the bromide that “management’s only duty is to maximize shareholder value,” a notion advanced by Milton Friedman and accepted uncritically in business schools ever since. By that logic, writes the author, there is no reason why corporations should not fish out the oceans, raise drug prices, militate against public education (since it costs tax money), and otherwise behave ruinously and anti-socially. Many do, even though an alternative theory of business organization argues that corporations and society should enjoy a symbiotic relationship of mutual benefit, which includes corporate investment in what economists call public goods. Given that the history of humankind is “the story of our increasing ability to cooperate at larger and larger scales,” one would hope that in the face of environmental degradation and other threats, we might adopt the symbiotic model rather than the winner-take-all one. Problems abound, of course, including that of the “free rider,” the corporation that takes the benefits from collaborative agreements but does none of the work. Henderson examines case studies such as a large food company that emphasized environmentally responsible production and in turn built “purpose-led, sustainable living brands” and otherwise led the way in increasing shareholder value by reducing risk while building demand. The author argues that the “short-termism” that dominates corporate thinking needs to be adjusted to a longer view even though the larger problem might be better characterized as “failure of information.” Henderson closes with a set of prescriptions for bringing a more equitable economics to the personal level, one that, among other things, asks us to step outside routine—eat less meat, drive less—and become active in forcing corporations (and politicians) to be better citizens.
A readable, persuasive argument that our ways of doing business will have to change if we are to prosper—or even survive.Pub Date: May 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5417-3015-1
Page Count: 336
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
A welcome contribution from a newcomer who provides both a different view and balance in addressing one of the country's...
A fresh, provocative analysis of the debate on education and employment.
Up-and-coming economist Moretti (Economics/Univ. of California, Berkeley) takes issue with the “[w]idespread misconception…that the problem of inequality in the United States is all about the gap between the top one percent and the remaining 99 percent.” The most important aspect of inequality today, he writes, is the widening gap between the 45 million workers with college degrees and the 80 million without—a difference he claims affects every area of peoples' lives. The college-educated part of the population underpins the growth of America's economy of innovation in life sciences, information technology, media and other areas of globally leading research work. Moretti studies the relationship among geographic concentration, innovation and workplace education levels to identify the direct and indirect benefits. He shows that this clustering favors the promotion of self-feeding processes of growth, directly affecting wage levels, both in the innovative industries as well as the sectors that service them. Indirect benefits also accrue from knowledge and other spillovers, which accompany clustering in innovation hubs. Moretti presents research-based evidence supporting his view that the public and private economic benefits of education and research are such that increased federal subsidies would more than pay for themselves. The author fears the development of geographic segregation and Balkanization along education lines if these issues of long-term economic benefits are left inadequately addressed.
A welcome contribution from a newcomer who provides both a different view and balance in addressing one of the country's more profound problems.Pub Date: May 5, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-547-75011-8
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Review Posted Online: April 3, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2012
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