Peter Schiff - The Fed Unspun: The Other Side of the Story

"Ben Bernake fancies himself as a student of the Great Depression," says renowned investment broker, global strategist, author, and Austrian economist Peter Schiff, "but... if he were my student he would have gotten an F."
During a lecture entitled "The Fed Unspun: The Other Side of the Story", Schiff responded to Bernake's recent four-part college lecture series, rebutting many of the Federal Reserve Chairman's claims about the cause of the housing crisis, the role of the Federal Reserve, the value of the gold standard, and more.
Cosponsored by the FreedomWorks Foundation and hosted at Reason Foundation's DC office on March 29, 2012, the lecture was followed by a lively Q&A with the assembled audience, including students who attended Bernanke's George Washington University lectures.
Shot by Meredith Bragg and Jim Epstein. Edited by Swain. Additional help from Anthony Fisher.
Approximately 1 hour and 26 minutes long.
Go to Reason.tv for downloadable versions of this video and subscribe to Reason.tv's KZbin channel to receive automatic notification when new material goes live.

[@lcblahollywoodgrunt]

Peter has such a clear way of explaining economics in terms that everyone can understand. We need more people like him if we're going to fix this fucked up situation.

[@fountaincap]

I agree. I'm a big fan of Schiff so I've watched most of his videos and yet this particular video, though it's a couple of years old now, is sitll one of the clearest and best articulations of the case for Austrian economics and a refutation of the Fed. Good job, Reason and Schiff!

[@AcctistaZ]

7 years later nothing changed. It got worse

[@agent9184]

pretty sure we're not fixing this situation, like peter said, default or inflate. we can't default, we can only inflate. the solution? buy as much gold and silver and valuable physical assets as you can, be ready to depend on yourself for food and be ready to use valuable skills for income. prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

[@MidnightCrash]

BIGGEST REGRET? LISTENING TO SCHIFF ABOUT GOLD YEARS AGO. HE’S A FRAUD !!

[@bisonfan715]

God this is ominous listening to this in March 2021

[@michaelmonsoon3919]

Yes, they are intentionally tanking the dollar.

[@viirusiiseli]

and yet, they're still at 0,25% interest rates right now!

[@lenient1438]

"If Ben Bernanke was in charge in 1930's, who knows, we might still be in that depression"... lol.

[@Lassemalten]

"You can always count on Americans to do the right thing - after they've tried everything else." -Winston Churchill.

[@carbinepeepoo]

this gives me hope

[@yunggolem4687]

@@carbinepeepoo Might want to do some research on how much of a drunkard clown and Rothschild toady Churchill was before you take his word for anything.

[@JoseTorres-lz9gu]

@@yunggolem4687 ad hominem

[@yunggolem4687]

@@JoseTorres-lz9gu statement of facts

[@benjaminpettibone4254]

@@yunggolem4687 What’s weird or strange about your statement is that some of the most frequent abusers of alcohol have been extremely intelligent people from the many I have personally met. Not sure if the alcohol is some type of emotional release or what for them but it’s absolutely the truth. So please, please come up with a different excuse than that regarding Churchill. He is actually a very intelligent person from all accounts in history. He’s flawed like the rest of us including yourself.

[@zebratangozebra]

Gas costs the same today as it did in the 50's. Beautiful analogy that perfectly illustrates inflation of our currency. The price of gas hasn't increased the value of our money has decreased.

[@countrysamurai]

Peter is the man and brilliant doesn’t even begin to describe this prophet of all things economic. Love him and his dad Irwin! RIP

[@Aussie_Anarchist84]

This is a fantastic presentation. I've watched it a few times over the years. It should be mandatory viewing for anyone studying business/finance/politics/economics, and for any socialist authoritarian who believes greed and profits are to blame for societies problems.

[@SillyFaces2]

dumb. Austrian school is atheistic horseshit. Bernake school is too. Y'all are naive tools

[@ChicagoMike85]

@@magog6852 get out of here you anti s

[@be12]

@@SillyFaces2 Oh yes, it's a secret cabal of atheists /s

[@SillyFaces2]

@@be12 no, public. see wikimedia's dictatorship over their intelligent design & other fake articles. Maybe u worship Lenin too?

[@SillyFaces2]

@@magog6852 nope, Capitalism funds Socialism for self-interest profit. (See Wall Street 1904-1990 funding Lenin to Khodorovsky et al to massacre Christianity). Both Talmudic-Protestant manifestations of heresy / closet atheism. Your world-view is absurdly narrow. Keynes was a gay atheist eugenicist, and von Mises probably similar. Both of them manifestations of the same lineage from heresy-to-Talmudic-funded-Protestantism-to-Atheism. John 2:22 "Who does not believe in the Christ is a Liar"...affirmed in sociological empirical evidence.

[@stevewill3572]

Peter is right except for one thing: BEN BERNAKE DOES understand how the economy works, he just got paid to not share the information.

[@SillyFaces2]

same w Schiff himself. Austrian school is atheist horseshit that favors the golddiggers

[@harmanjotsingh4230]

@@SillyFaces2 tf

[@patbateman2088]

Someone has got to be wrong. And It definitely isn't Peter Schiff

[@horus4862]

How do you know? Have you tried to actually think for yourself? Give it a try

[@mikemeyer1888]

does the truth hurt ? because i dont see peter lying.

[@firstlast3507]

👍🏼

[@juanok2775]

How about now? We are still in the bubble and now is worst!

[@patbateman2088]

@Eddie Morra so true

[@madhatter3142006]

This is one of Peter's greatest speeches. This explains a lot of what is going on.

[@tanvirmundra]

Listening to Peter Schiff is like realizing one is living in a matrix

[@AustenJenius23]

Because of the great efforts of Ron Paul, we have a partial audit of the Fed and they now post the institution's minutes online.

[@phileagle9034]

I love this man he opened my eyes and i learned a lot from him..

[@Alock94]

"if were to come back in a few years and show this chart we'd have to bore a hole through the ceiling because that's where it would be" 😂😂😂

[@Silvertarian]

Peter Schiff: Gives 1 hour lecture Also Peter: Ok now try to prove me wrong

[@dawnclabaugh3598]

For years, we've NEEDED someone strong enough and honest enough (a real leader) to tell harsh truth(s). Of course, it always helps to have a populace that thinks, and questions.

[@major69420]

I love how Peter makes multiple great points with multiple great explanations on each of those great points on why we were better off without the fed and the questioners try to pick out 1 or 2 of those great explanations of the great points and discredit them..

[@choyshe]

"If you start flirting with inflation, it will end up marrying you." -- Otmar Emminger, Former President of the German Bundesbank

[@kaloryfer99999]

My right ear feels lonely.

[@Hannibal082]

Why?

[@camoronL]

Most of the sound is coming through the left side.

[@keesdenheijer7283]

@@camoronL Exactly the way it works in politics.

[@niupaidanui]

Kees den Heijer 😂

[@teranspecialist]

This is probably the best video that I have had the pleasure of watching for a long time.

[@joshuadurand]

I wish I was able to explain this info as quickly and as clearly as Mr. Schiff. Well done. Keep sharing the truth,

[@ralliart2000]

Schiff is a legend. So passionate that it's actually quite entertaining and funny to watch. Around the 45 minute mark: "if we were to wait a couple of years," referring to the consumer prices chart, "we'd have to bore a hole in the roof to show you were it would go." Lol...

[@oldtimeycabins]

This plays perfectly today! June 2021

[@nonyabiz9340]

He's become a better speaker over the last decade.

[@michellesgarden5695]

Watching the collapse today reminded me of watching this once before

[@jaimepanama]

hahaha that was actually me, I was that guy.. the reason I did that was almost a natural reaction for me, I was so excited to ask Peter a question that raised my hand too quickly without thinking what exactly I was going to ask him. Luckily, Peter took someone else's question. The Presentation was brilliant, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and also Peter is a great guy, very friendly.

[@viddid]

Thanks Peter, your knowledge of the TRUE state of how economies are manipulated is extremely enlightening and also extremely interesting.

[@ThenewmanX1]

GREAT LECTURE, even if I'm listening to it 11 years later.

[@avdb9016]

This is a fine performance, somewhat of a classic.

[@lenient1438]

Just 7 min in and I already feel this will be one of the best lectures. Thanks!!

[@peapod8]

Government thinks business needs its help when help is hurt. And we keep letting them do it.

[@recoveringheart]

I have watched each and every one of Schiff's videos and some of them multiple times

[@soapbxprod]

I LOVE ReasonTV! Nick, you rule man. Mr. Schiff, you are the best ever. You speak truth to power, fearlessly. Thank you.

[@GOBIAS.INDUSTRIES.]

It looks like Ben Bernake and all 36 of his friends came to give a thumbs down to this gem of a video...

[@OffTheBeatenPath_]

I give the Fed and 'A' for brainwashing. FREEDOM!

[@bigpapi2658]

Many are suffering the “steak price is too high “ now. Just look at the grocery store. The display steaks are thin. Hamburger is getting pretty high too.

[@eyecoin]

This prophetic video will go down in history just like the Peter Schiff Mortgage Bankers speech from 2006 that predicted the specifics of 2008 real estate crash in the US.

[@trevor9546]

Peter Schiff is awesome.

[@thoughtsauce7225]

Crazy how relevant this is now more than ever.

[@th3giv3r]

I found that if you're listening through headphones, pull the jack out of the input slightly and it splits the signal (albeit slightly muted).

[@evanr00]

Well, not enough people even know exactly what the FED is, and the more people that talk about it, the better.

[@beitopod]

Peter is the best. I had the chance to finally meet him in Scottsdale in Jan. 12' to a standing room only crowd. His firm Euro Pacific Capital, has been my brokerage firm now for almost 4 years. I feel I have learned from the best over these 4 years of listening to his talks, radio shows and blogs.

[@soulforged789]

Lol Bernanke's slides look like they were made by a middle schooler. The Great Depression one was priceless haha, and this guy is the freaking Federal Reserve Chairman??

[@Bitts8142]

Nice presentation which thoroughly demolishes Bernanke and the Fed. What's sad is people still believe that we need the government to spend even more to get out of this hole we are in.

[@Cokie907]

When it comes to finance, this guy is a prophet.

[@U47ik8jKT]

2nd Falsehood -- @ around 4:40 -- the reserve system. While the Fed was created in 1913, all through the latter part of the 19th Century the banking system relied on a structure of correspondent relationships -- big banks supported medium-sized banks, medium-sized supported small banks, and the really big New York banks, like JP Morgan sat on top of this correspondent structure. Even the big New York banks were formed into an association to support one another during a Panic. The banking system (any banking system) works on credit -- creating credit instruments (loans, mortagages, etc.). So banks operate on leverage. Reserves protect that exposure to leverage. The Fed can interject itself to play a role; or, as in the 19th Century, the correspondent relationships will provide some of that protection through their reserves.

[@nickk9187]

We agree that strong labor and middle class is a staple of this country, but we must not lose track of where this came from

[@samking4179]

if people would simply understand the difference between a Title 26, U.S.C. "excise tax" vs. a direct tax the world would be a much better place ... for everyone.

[@WoopyGoldbergsHair]

I think the inconsistencies on the macro side of things become less relevant if one sees markets being more Austrian. In the analysis of markets and policy, and for those who wish to acknowledge Austrian principles, the volatility doesn't cause so much of a panic. This is because, I believe that fundamentally, Austrian economics puts focus on individualism rather than stability of the market as a whole. Although there are instabilities, it allows for the eventual growth of more stable businesses

[@horus4862]

Peter Schiff should have played the Wolf of Wall Street instead of Leonardo di Caprio

[@NightwatchRebel]

then the movie would be called the bear of wall street

[@Camx001]

Libertarians are the only people who will go to a speech just to argue with the speaker lmao

[@FromCamo]

Everything he has said in this video from 9 years ago is more relevant today and all blossoming to its purest extent in front of our eyes.

[@Silvertarian]

These problems originated with the "always listen to your elders" and "don't question authority" generations.

[@BEforSirius]

To those who question "well yeah limited government and all but what about social safety nets for the losers of capitalism" and to that I answer "that's what saving is for". The choice, to save or not, is true freedom, and with freedom comes responsibility. Or free money? No responsibility.

[@eatright909]

Why does is this perfectly applicable today? 😳😳😳😳😳

[@patrickt873]

This is just a brilliant speech on the truth. The Fed makes money cheap. People use the cheap money on risky investment and create a bubble. Bubble break and Fed print more money. Problem just repeat. No cure

[@chadjones4255]

Only lenders of money and holders of debt dislike deflation. Unfortunately, that means bankers and government, so we're screwed.

[@lowpross11]

Thank You for this post !! Appreciate it !! Keep Stacking !!

[@romanmir01]

You CAN listen to Schiff's radio, every program is done free in real time and it can be downloaded for free for one day after it is posted, you only have to buy membership to get old programs or if you want to see video.

[@patrickt873]

Outstanding..thank you Peter

[@Rothbardo]

Exactly, but you forgot to add the part about Bernake being wrong consistently about everything he's forecasted throughouthis entire career.

[@markuzick]

That was a very educational lecture, but I noticed at the end of the Q&A, probably because of time pressure, Peter Schiff answers a comment from the BLS guy by conflating price inflation with monetary inflation. He knows better than to do that as they have strong correlation but are distinct concepts.

[@vikingvista]

"Assuming the Fed could maintain inflation at 2.0%, what would be the negative consequences?" Monetary inflation is necessarily always a redistribution of wealth to those closest and from those furthest from the central bank. This redistribution effect is, afterall, why counterfeiters exist. In the case of inflation, wealth is taken from those who are rewarded for their production, and given to the political class. It is a tax disproportionately hitting those least involved with government.

[@hduanestoltzfus]

thanks for the education

[@Jaycephus01]

We had a modified gold standard during the GD, which was further modified during the GD, plus the Fed contracted the money supply at the beginning, which ALL economists agree is 'deflation', leading to price deflation. There was some price inflation during the whole GD period, but there was mostly massive price deflation, not inflation. It's not enough to SAY you are on a GS, while at the same time inflating the money supply. That is what led us to close the gold window.

[@Commentthat]

The world is about to change drastically!

[@JasonSmith-eo2hu]

competition isnt existing in todays market because of government intervention, we follow keynes in society which unforttumatly creates monopolies

[@nthperson]

The historian Frederick Lewis Allen explained much in his book 'Only Yesterday' published in the early 1930s. What Allen understood that most economists somehow fail to see is that the main driver of our boom-to-bust economic experience is our dysfunctional land markets. Actions by government and the central bank have exacerbated but have not caused recessions and depressions. A number of economists who have focused on "land market cycles" go back to the insights of Adam Smith and Henry George who saw that the privatization of the rent of land (i.e., of assets created by nature, not by us) acts as an enormous stress on economic activity. The result is to encourage the hoarding of land and land speculation. When fueled by easy access to credit the stress is that much greater. And, yes, the Federal Reserve by its actions made matters worse. After the crash of 2007 the Fed has set the stage for yet another land market surge and crash. The next one will be that much worse because the so-called recovery has been extremely uneven and has not helped many people below the top 10 percent.

[@parnelijones5462]

Edward Dodson The Federal Govt owns almost half of the US in the west, just 4% of NY. They hoard. The rest you can buy and use.

[@nthperson]

Parneli Jones Our history and the emphasis on states rights is complicated by the fact that only the first 13 states were, for a time, sovereign nations. They were united only loosely under the Articles of Confederation. When independence from Britain was won on the battlefield, these 13 nations acquired a vast unsettled territory. The middle of what became part of the United States was acquired by purchase. Texans fought a war against Mexico to become a sovereign nation, then chose to join the United States. And, the remainder of the territory was taken from Mexico by force. The Federal government retained control over much of this vast territory, keeping it (ostensibly) in trust for the entire nation. Perhaps new arrangements are needed to more effectively manage these lands and the resources they hold. Neither the state governments nor the Federal government have done a very good job of managing the public domain in the interest of us as citizens. So, where do we turn for real stewardship?

[@parnelijones5462]

Edward Dodson 3% of Mexico`s population was in the area we "stole". I guess you think the US owns the fucking moon, since we planted a flag? If you want the land "managed" by the people, you need to let the people fucking OWN it. I live in a house. Its private land. A house is something people need.

[@nthperson]

Parneli Jones Actually, I hold the view that no person, no group of persons, no entity or organization can claim exclusive ownership of any portion of the planet. Access to the earth and the resources provided by nature are (or ought to be) the birthright of all persons equally. We need laws to protect our legitimate private property (e.g., our homes and other things we possess). We also need laws that prevent a few among us from controlling huge parts of the globe, putting fences up and preventing others from entering or using the land in order to survive. In short, we need laws that prevent monopolies of all sorts. And, as Winston Churchill declared in the early 20th century, "land monopoly is the mother of all monopolies."

[@parnelijones5462]

Edward Dodson Oh, I must be confused. I didnt know all the homes and land under them were a monopoly. I was under the impression that I have owned homes, and others too. How many is a monopoly? 10 million? 100 million? My boys wernt born with home ownership. Everything was already owned! Boo, fucking hoo. Nothing left to own! Oh my! Horrors! They own 6 homes between them now. BUT! Everything was owned by monopoly!

[@DexterHaven]

The rumor was Bernanke sat in back with a bad toupee and sunglasses taking notes...

[@nickk9187]

Right ok. See my understanding comes from Murray Rothbard. The reason Glass-Stegall was in a way necessary was because the government decided to insure all of the depositors deposits up to about 250k I believe, which essentially is in implicit bailout guarantee for the depositor's respective bank. Insuring deposits is the problem more than Glass-Stegall is the solution because of theses banks were exposed to competition and forced to stand on their own 2 feet, no such guarantee would be needed

[@dillonshanebanis]

Great video, I've been waiting for Reason to go after the Fed.

[@vikingvista]

They do want a healthy economy and a happy population. But they think the way to achieve that is through central planning. Their motives are only bad to the extent that they are willing to bully others into compliance with their schemes (and of course they are very willing to do that), but broadly speaking they want a roughly similar overall result as most of us for the economy. In other words, it isn't so much broader motives that are the problem, but rather their means and their hubris.

[@publicanimal]

53:48 I didn't think that Peter could possibly top any of his previous analogies! The obesity analogy was excellent

[@tothemax01]

Where do you find these historical price index charts?

[@scamlordscamlord1229]

Watching this in 2021

[@pipepulla]

Apparently 2022 feds learned nothing but how to kick the can further.

[@alphamindz7609]

You gotta be on your toes and speak quickly to keep up with Peter. If you start dragging your words or take too long to think he’s already got 5 thoughts flooding his brain and he’s gonna cut you off and finish his point lol.

[@nlitement]

One major issue I have with the gold standard: being the monetary base, how is the gold supply supposed to be able to keep up with economic growth? If it doesn't do that, since all the gold held in reserves must represent all purchasable output more or less, for each cycle of growth an ounce of gold will be redeemable for more and more real wealth, in other words, it will become more expensive in real terms, which will severely hinder its non-monetary uses like in industry or jewelry.

[@dillonshanebanis]

The inflation during the Great Depression was not because of the gold standard, it was because of the excess credit that the Fed dispersed into the market. The founders mistake with the bi-metallic standard is that they set the ratio of silver to gold at 16:1 when the market value was actually like 16 and 1/2:1; my point being, the government should get out of money. You cannot predict the value of anything. The only perfect monetary system is one that is free from government intervention.

[@nickk9187]

I saw your comment despite the removal. We agree on some points, but disagree on many. You just ignore that the 19th century, which was the greatest time for American investment, was done without any govt subsidy at all. Not only did the Industrial Revolution literally make us the most wealthy nation ever, but it create such production, that we were pulling people out of poverty left and right lol. We created the middle class, its a by-product of private investment, not the other way around.

[@kmelfina]

alright in Schiff's defense *despite his fast pace talking* he's at least one of the few Austrians to predict the Housing Bubble in 2006 or so. No one else did, and even if he has some bachelor's and not a Phd like all these other economists (well the mainstream answer is always favored because it gives politicians power) many respect him. Though at times I just wish he gave his guests some time to talk during debates like the whole Occupy fiasco.

[@ManyPeregrine81]

Thanks Reasontv, for redeeming yourself.,

[@vikingvista]

Since Hoover was obviously not Austrian in his policies, and was only 7 months President at the crash, no. His failure to veto the SH tariffs was only the most immediate cause of a crash that was building for about six years. But his unprecedented interventionism, continued by FDR, are what made the recession so uniquely long (10-15 yrs instead of the usual 1-4 yrs).

[@TheScyy]

Awesome lecture. I was waiting for Schiff to talk about Bernanke's ridiculous collage propaganda.

[@dddmmm21]

Fantastic!

[@jfjeffries]

Do you have a source for that stat?

[@romanmir01]

0. Can't be printed by politicians 1. Rare, but not too rare 2. Easy to test (chemically, with ultrasound for thick bars) 3. Easily recognizable 4. Has no major industrial use 5. Does not change over time, drop it in the ocean, recover it centuries later and it's the same 6. Easy to work with (easy to split, melt, mint coins, etc) 7. Stable, it does not explode, it's not a poison, not radioactive, not a gas, does not corrode, does not decay radioactively 8. People like it, it looks nice

[@patrickdurst3495]

Peter Schiff 2020!

[@YatomAri]

Why is the audio messed up? =/ It's constantly changing from left to right and back again...

[@jamescc2010]

One must do own research and have actual business to really understand economic and finance. Study history and current events and trends are very important. Peter gave very detailed broad about the Fed, and past/present/ future USA economics.

[@HerrHayek]

Great explanation, but I'd like to hear his explanation of why the housing bubble, which began in the mid- to late-1990s, didn't bust after the Fed raised rates in the early 2000s?

[@Jalreal]

He should've have gone into how the FED closed its doors at the onset of the bank runs instead of loaning emergency money (its primary function, in my opinion) to cause the recession to descend into the great depression. And he's also wrong about the "prosperity created by the free market" in the 19th century; most people were crushingly poor and monopolies ran the gov't and global markets. Other than that, great lecture, he nailed the housing crisis.

[@RossTheBoss28]

You know that his radio show is free, right? You can listen to it for free live, listen to the looping broadcast from the previous show for free, and even download it for your listening device for free. The only think that costs money is watching it or listening to the archives.

[@SunsetSheen]

35k views? This should be mandatory viewing for everyone in this country. This country is going to hell in a hand basket.

[@nickk9187]

You ignore the fact, that the 19th century by any standard was the greatest economic time in our history. Through the Industrial Revolution, we were producing on such a mass level that we were pulling people out of poverty left and right. This private investment and mass production, created the middle class, not the other way around. This economic miracle was done with ZERO GOVT SUBSIDY, in fact, government was tiny.

[@tacitus7]

He was pretty good with these young men and women.

[@simongl1985]

I was thinking of exactly that same thing, people would rather watch ghangam style vids. The funny part is that because most people would rather occupy their minds with ghangam style and not pressing issues like shown in this vid, they will find themselves being screwed, GANGBANG STYLE

[@reefpirate]

Mostly through legislation authored and pushed by Ron Paul... But there is still a lot of information that is not available about their activities.

[@outforbeer]

I don't understand the argument ppl often use that we will run out of gold if we go back to the gold standard

[@chiyerano]

Plus, in response to one of the questions asked towards the end, there is such a thing as international trade.