Todos conocemos la propuesta de competencia entre monedas formulada oportunamente por Hayek. ¿Qué piensan de una propuesta «second best», de bancos emitiendo billetes privados con reservas (fraccionarias) de moneda estatal (dólares en el caso de USA?)

http://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/competition-currency-potential-private-money

Privately issued money can benefit consumers in many ways, particularly in the areas of value stability and product variety. Decentralized currency production can benefit consumers by reducing inflation and increasing economic stability. Unlike a central bank, competing private banks must attract customers by providing innovative products, restricting the quantity of notes issued, and limiting the riskiness of their investing activities. Although the Federal Reserve currently has a de facto monopoly on the provision of currency in the United States, this was not always the case. Throughout most of U.S. history, private banks issued their own banknotes as currency. This practice continues today in a few countries and could be reinstituted in the United States with minimal changes to the banking system.

This paper examines two ways in which banks could potentially issue private money. First, U.S. banks could issue private notes redeemable for U.S. Federal Reserve notes. Considering that banks issuing private notes in Hong Kong, Scotland, and Northern Ireland earn hundreds of millions of dollars annually, it appears that U.S. banks may be missing an opportunity to earn billions of dollars in annual profits. Second, recent turmoil in the financial sector has increased demand for a stable alternative currency. Banks may be able to capture significant portions of the domestic and international currency markets with a private, commodity-based currency. Legislation clarifying the rights of private banks to issue currency could help clear the path toward a return to private money.

En este Policy Analysis Nr. 694 de Cato, Michael Tanner comenta el gasto en programas sociales a nivel nacional, por familia es de 44.500 dólares. Si se le suman los programas a nivel estatal y local la suma alcanza a 61.830 dólares por familia de tres personas.

El nivel de pobreza para , también, una familia de tres personas es de 18.530 dolares!!!

http://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/american-welfare-state-how-we-spend-nearly-$1-trillion-year-fighting-poverty-fail

On January 8, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson delivered a State of the Union address to Congress in which he declared an «unconditional war on poverty in America.» At the time, the poverty rate in America was around 19 percent and falling rapidly. This year, it is reported that the poverty rate is expected to be roughly 15.1 percent and climbing. Between then and now, the federal government spent roughly $12 trillion fighting poverty, and state and local governments added another $3 trillion. Yet the poverty rate never fell below 10.5 percent and is now at the highest level in nearly a decade. Clearly, we have been doing something wrong.

When most Americans think of welfare, they think of the cash benefit program known as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), formerly known as Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). But in reality TANF is only a tiny portion of a vast array of federal government social welfare programs designed to fight poverty. In fact, if one considers those programs that are means-tested (and therefore obviously targeted to low-income Americans) and programs whose legislative language specifically classifies them as anti-poverty programs, there are currently 126 separate federal government programs designed to fight poverty.