On December 21, 1789, just as France was in the very early days of its chaotic revolution, the country’s brand new “Constituent Assembly” passed a desperate decree aimed at preventing economic disaster.
France was already on the brink of financial ruin; the national debt was so large that the annual interest payments were more than the government’s entire tax revenue!
Politicians knew that default was imminent, and they needed to figure out a way to raise cash. Quickly.
So they hatched a new version of a very old idea: create lots and lots of paper money.
Continue reading “The Fed will do something about inflation when they’re damn well ready…”
