Steve Hanke

“When the dollar goes down relative to other currencies, the price of wheat, corn, rice and oil all go up in dollar terms.”

“With the passing of Milton Friedman on November 16, 2006, we lost one of the great champions of free markets.”

“There is always the potential for a central bank to engage in discretionary monetary policy and to break the one-to-one link between changes in foreign reserves and changes in the money supply.”

“Let the market, not politicians, determine the flow of rice, oil and other commodities. Lower, more stable prices will ensue.”

“Although floating and fixed rates appear dissimilar, they are members of the same freemarket family. Both operate without exchange controls and are free-market mechanisms for balance-of-payment adjustments.”

“During the Greenspan-Bernanke era, the Fed has embraced the view that stability in the economy and stability in prices are mutually consistent. As long as inflation remains at or below its target level, the Fed's modus operandi is to panic at the sight of real or perceived economic trouble and provide emergency relief.”

“In Argentina, if the weather is bad, critics will blame it on the currency board.”

“During the last two centuries, there have been many deflations throughout the world. Almost all of them have been good ones precipitated by technological innovation, rising productivity, global capital flows, and sustained economic growth. If farm mechanization cuts the price of wheat, you get a rising living standard. This is good.”

“Contrary to what most people think, bank money is much more important than state money. In Greece, for example, bank money makes up 84.26% of the total money supply.”

“When I was operating as one of President Reagan's economic advisers, an early assignment was to analyze the federal government's landholdings and make recommendations about what to do with them. This was a big job. These lands are vast, covering an area six times that of France.”

“Government buffer-stock schemes are rife with politics, and instead of generating profits from buying low and selling high, they tend to generate losses.”

“With interest rates artificially low, consumers reduce savings in favor of consumption, and entrepreneurs increase their rates of investment spending.”

“The IMF is set up to deal with liquidity crises.”

“High mandated minimum wages will throw people out of work and onto the welfare rolls in cases where unemployment benefits exist. When it comes to welfare payments, they obey the laws of economics, too. Indeed, if something - like unemployment - is subsidized, more of it will be produced.”

“Trade balances are determined by national savings propensities, not exchange rates.”

“In April 2013, Nathaniel Popper of 'The New York Times' reported on Bitcoin in an article titled, 'Digital Money is Gaining Champions in the Real World'.”

“Since the end of the 1970s, free-market capitalism has been in, and socialism has been out.”

“Following its recognition as a state in 1832, Greece spent most of the remainder of the 19th century under the control of creditors. The pattern started with a default in 1832. In consequence, Greece's finances were put under French administration.”

“After the maxi yuan depreciation of 1994 and until 2005, exchange-rate fixity was the order of the day, with little movement in the CNY/USD rate.”

“Why is it so hard for the IMF and the U.S. government to understand that putting out the fire comes before fireproofing the building?”