Money Matters

From the esteemed Wall Street Journal, we have an Op-Ed by Brian Wesbury who is the chief economist at First Trust Advisors L.P.: Dow 14000 on Tap (subscription only.)

Full article can be found here.

Money doesn't just evaporate. For every debit, there must be a credit. The world is a closed system as far as the dollar is concerned.

Remedial economics, anyone?

An object is "worth" only as much as you can get in the marketplace.

Suppose today, the market values the shares of company XYZ at $10. Tomorrow, collectively, the market decides that it's only worth $1.

Poof! 90% of the asset disappeared like coke up a starlet's nose!

(I'm aware that short selling complicates this but the basic argument is utterly sound.)

This has nothing to do with fiat or non-fiat currencies. This is simply an artifact of how valuation of assets works.

Once again: something is only "worth" what somebody else will pay for it.

And this guy is the "Chief Economist" of an investment company? Has this guy ever seen a "currency crisis"?

More importantly, would you trust him to invest your money?

Here's his bio.

Brian Wesbury received an M.B.A. from Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management, and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Montana. He is a contributor to the editorial page at The Wall Street Journal, and is a regular co-host on CNBC's Squawk Box.

In 1995 and 1996, he served as Chief Economist for the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress.

He is also a member of the Academic Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

Yo dawgs! that's fucked up, y'all!