How an Economy Grows and Why It Crashes.

259 Pages·2010·18.46 MB·English

A N D WHY IT
CRASHE
S

A N D WHY IT
CRAS
E
H
S
PETER D. SCHIFF
ANDREW J. SCHIFF
Illustrations by Brendan Leach
John Wiley & Sons, Inc
Copyright © 2010 by Peter D. Schiff and Andrew J. Schiff. All rights reserved.
Illustrations © 2010 by Peter D. Schiff and Andrew J. Schiff. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
Based on Irwin Schiff ’s book, How an Economy Grows and Why It Doesn’t, which was
published by Freedom Books in 1985.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
ISBN 978-0-470-52670-5
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To my father Irwin Schiff and fathers
everywhere who tell stories to their sons, and to
my son Spencer and sons everywhere who pass
them on to subsequent generations.
—Peter
To Irwin for the logic, Ellen for the care and
support, Ethan for the enthusiasm, Eliza for
the wonder, and Paxton for the home (maybe
one day we’ll get the hearth).
—Andrew

CONTENTS
DISCLOSURE viii
AUTHOR’S NOTE ix
INTRODUCTION xi
CHAPTER 1 AN IDEA IS BORN 1
CHAPTER 2 SHARING THE WEALTH 13
CHAPTER 3 THE MANY USES OF CREDIT 27
CHAPTER 4 ECONOMIC EXPANSION 37
CHAPTER 5 PROSPERITY LOVES COMPANY 47
CHAPTER 6 PUT IT IN THE VAULT 63
CHAPTER 7 INFRASTRUCTURE AND TRADE 77
CHAPTER 8 A REPUBLIC IS BORN 91
CHAPTER 9 GOVERNMENT GETS CREATIVE 101
CHAPTER 10 SHRINKING FISH 119
CHAPTER 11 A LIFELINE FROM AFAR 129
CHAPTER 12 THE SERVICE SECTOR STEPS UP 141
CHAPTER 13 CLOSING THE FISH WINDOW 153
CHAPTER 14 THE HUT GLUT 161
CHAPTER 15 THE HUT RUT 177
CHAPTER 16 STEPPING ON THE GAS 193
CHAPTER 17 THE FISH HIT THE FAN 209
EPILOGUE 223
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 229
ABOUT THE AUTHORS 231
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR 233
vii
DISCLOSURE
In addition to being the president, Peter Schiff is also a
registered representative and owner of Euro Pacifi c Capital,
Inc. (Euro Pacifi c). In addition to his duties as director of
communications, Andrew Schiff is also a stock broker at the
fi rm. Euro Pacifi c is a FINRA registered Broker-Dealer and
a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation
(SIPC). This book has been prepared solely for informational
purposes, and it is not an offer to buy or sell, or a solicitation
to buy or sell, any security or instrument, or to participate in
any particular trading strategy.
viii