| >The latter half of the 19th century up to WW1 was the USA's longest sustained period of high growth and high economic mobility. That would be the post WW2 years, not the latter half of the 19th century. As bsder stated, you seem to be painting a rosy picture of a period of American history where exploitation (including child labor) was both rampant and vicious and robber baron power was approaching its peak. >According to the likes of Paul Krugman Americans should have been eating dirt and living in caves by 1913 According to Ron Paul we have been perpetually just about to experience hyperinflation since circa 1985. Paul Krugman's record is hardly spotless, but he is at least not making intentionally wrong predictions in order to service the needs of the ultrawealthy. >Except even then, government intervention in money fixed a certain price ratio of gold and silver. When that ratio no longer reflected the real market prices, chaos predictably appeared in the banking system This is backwards. The chaos was caused by that gold standard. Financial panics were inordinately common and severe during the latter half of the 19th century. Much more so than they were after 1977. |