Peter Schiff vs Nouriel Roubini and Milton Friedman

I thought part of the issue was keeping interest rates artificially low....making money really cheap and in COMBINATION with the moral hazard set of up by government providing a backup for risky investments. Thus an asset bubble funded by cheap money and promoted by regulations taking away some of the consequences of risk taking the housing market. What do you think? I'm interested in other peoples opinions on this.

Ben Bernanke was quite clear about getting rid of the too big to fail idea. But allowing for some of the losses caused by fear to come back is not at all the same as a bubble.

I just got rid of all my american dollars :-)

You are correct: Friedman was explicit in his position that simply increasing the money supply would have prevented the Great Depression. But that does not mean Friedman is correct. The issue may be less the increase in money supply per se, but rather who the recipients of the increase are. Today, the individuals who were most reckless are the recipients while Mom and Dad got toasted and now are prevented from getting a meaningful interest rate on what's left. Where's their increase?

Well he actually was correct. The Great Depression was a deflationary spiral and an expansion of the money supply would have prevented it. Just like it did this time 'round. But mom and dad would have made a killing if they kept their money in stocks this year.

"Made a killing?" You've got to be a mutual fund salesman or some other kind of Wall Street shill. Mom & Dad didn't just start investing their hard earned money at the recent market bottoms. You can inflate the DOW to 20,000. . . and then people sell, and then you find out just how valuable that those stock certs are worth.

If they kept their money in they would have made a lot of their money back. But I guess you haven't noticed all the better than expected earnings reports lately. You'll probably say it's all stimulus but that's simply not the case.

No, there is no real debate.

Thank you for putting so much time into your well-crafted response. No, there is no real debate. Peter Schiff is wrong, his followers are morons and Milton Friedman's account of the Great Depression is correct.

Exactly, even if you don't believe it.