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Free Prices Now!
“Free Prices Now!” begins by asking why the human race is still so poor. How can it be that
billions still lack even enough to eat? It then provides the answer. A prosperous society is a
cooperative society. Cooperation in turn depends on trust. And trust requires honesty.
The most reliable barometer of economic honesty is to be found in prices. Honest prices, neither
manipulated nor controlled, provide both investors and consumers with reliable economic
signals. They are the foundation for a successful economy.
A corrupt economic system does not want honest prices, honest information, or honest results.
The truth may be unprofitable for powerful government leaders, private interests allied with
them, or economic “experts” whose careers have been devoted to price manipulations and
controls.
The US Federal Reserve and other central banks have created a system of “liar loans” and false
prices. Other parts of government have contributed as well. In effect, the regulators on whom we
depend have become dis-regulators.
Can it really be this simple, that economic prosperity and job growth depend on allowing
economic prices to tell the truth, free from the self-dealing and self-interested theories of
powerful special interests?
Yes.
Although Lewis takes us inside the complexities of the national economy and the Federal
Reserve, his lively and transparently clear writing style makes it easy for anyone to follow him.
billions still lack even enough to eat? It then provides the answer. A prosperous society is a
cooperative society. Cooperation in turn depends on trust. And trust requires honesty.
The most reliable barometer of economic honesty is to be found in prices. Honest prices, neither
manipulated nor controlled, provide both investors and consumers with reliable economic
signals. They are the foundation for a successful economy.
A corrupt economic system does not want honest prices, honest information, or honest results.
The truth may be unprofitable for powerful government leaders, private interests allied with
them, or economic “experts” whose careers have been devoted to price manipulations and
controls.
The US Federal Reserve and other central banks have created a system of “liar loans” and false
prices. Other parts of government have contributed as well. In effect, the regulators on whom we
depend have become dis-regulators.
Can it really be this simple, that economic prosperity and job growth depend on allowing
economic prices to tell the truth, free from the self-dealing and self-interested theories of
powerful special interests?
Yes.
Although Lewis takes us inside the complexities of the national economy and the Federal
Reserve, his lively and transparently clear writing style makes it easy for anyone to follow him.
- GenresEconomics
256 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2013
242 people want to read
About the author
Hunter Lewis
49 books19 followersRenowned investor and author Hunter Lewis has written eight books on the financial issues of America, providing real solutions to turn the economy around.
He is the former CEO of Cambridge Associates, a global investment firm he co-founded after graduating from Harvard University. The company’s clients represent three-quarters of higher education endowment assets in the United States as well as other nonprofit groups and high net worth individuals. Lewis has also served on boards and committees of 15 leading nonprofit organizations, including environmental, teaching, research and cultural groups, as well as the World Bank. Lewis runs the successful watchdog website AgainstCronyCapitalism.org with fellow writer and political consultant Nick Sorrentino.
Reviewers across the globe have noted Lewis’ unique economic insights, and he’s shared his expert opinion on national television programs including CBS’ Money Matters and NBC’s TODAY. His writings have appeared in the New York Times, The Times of London, Washington Post, The Atlantic, Forbes.com and other media. The Charlottesville, Va. author’s newest book releases, “Free Prices Now!: Fixing the Economy
by Abolishing the Fed” and “Crony Capitalism in America: 2008-2012,” hit bookshelves on
September 1, 2013.
He is the former CEO of Cambridge Associates, a global investment firm he co-founded after graduating from Harvard University. The company’s clients represent three-quarters of higher education endowment assets in the United States as well as other nonprofit groups and high net worth individuals. Lewis has also served on boards and committees of 15 leading nonprofit organizations, including environmental, teaching, research and cultural groups, as well as the World Bank. Lewis runs the successful watchdog website AgainstCronyCapitalism.org with fellow writer and political consultant Nick Sorrentino.
Reviewers across the globe have noted Lewis’ unique economic insights, and he’s shared his expert opinion on national television programs including CBS’ Money Matters and NBC’s TODAY. His writings have appeared in the New York Times, The Times of London, Washington Post, The Atlantic, Forbes.com and other media. The Charlottesville, Va. author’s newest book releases, “Free Prices Now!: Fixing the Economy
by Abolishing the Fed” and “Crony Capitalism in America: 2008-2012,” hit bookshelves on
September 1, 2013.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 9, 2013
Drawing upon the great economic minds of Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich von Hayek, Wilhelm
Ropke, Murray Rothbard, Henry Hazlitt, Frederic Bastiat, Guido Jorg Hulsmann, Jesus Huerta
de Soto, Marc Faber Ron Paul and Milton Friedman, Hunter Lewis's latest book, Free Prices
Now! Fixing the Economy and Abolishing the Fed, explains, with great clarity, how the
unholy alliance between governments and central bankers/planners have, throughout history
and today, resorted to the printing press of fiat money creation as a panacea to "fix" the
economy's ills that has only led to its sickness in the destruction of wealth, the
distortion of prices, and the creation of booms and busts by following the erroneous
dogmatic philosophies of John Maynard Keynes of fiscal tax and spend government policies
and the black magic monetary sorcery of monetarism through the inherently bankrupt
fractional reserve central banking system, ($10.00 lent for every $1.00 in demand deposit
form and $33.00 lent out for every $1.00 in time deposit form) by its creation of fictional
fiat money, created out of thin air, backed by nothing but a piece of paper and ink and a
promise to pay on demand as practised by not only the Federal Reserve but indeed all
central banks throughout the world. Hunter Lewis's, Free Prices Now! Fixing the Economy and Abolishing the Fed, demonstrates how governments and central bankers/planners' implementation of these mis-guided keynesian policies has, will continue, and ultimately destroy our economy over time and has created a mafia like crony capitalist/fascist/corporatist/elitist system in which we all suffer today as a consequence. I highly recommend the purchase of this book along with its companion, Crony Capitalism in America 2008 to 2012 as great tools for dinner table conversations to not only awaken family and friends but also to destroy and evicerate any arguments to the contrary; to not only become aware of the shenanigans of the corporate/government/central banking elite and their distortion of supply and demand through their manipulation of prices through monetary policy and not based on consumer demand, producer supply but also to enhance one's own understanding of not only of what is going on economically today, but also as an intellectual weapon of knowledge of truth against the destructive mechanisms of fraudulent central banking practices that create the boom/bust economy and how a gold/commodity standard money or a free unregulated system ofcompeting currencies and free pricing based on a 100% reserve banking system backed by savings/gold/silver can allieviate and indeed eliminate the economic misery we have to endure at the hands of governments, their central banks and their parasitic crony capitalist, government boot licking, blood sucking, vampiric like, corporate interests and put the world on an economically sustainable and continually growing econonomic path of real economic
growth of falling, not rising prices, rising not falling real incomes/standard of living
of the average worker that unregulated/free market regulated prices based on consumer choice, a true capitalist system of equality before the law, respect of individual rights, freedom of trade and contract and property of unregulated laissez-faire consumer directed capitalism has brought about whenever and wherever it has been allowed to flourish unhampered. Looking at examples throughout history and today, we see how economies such as Pre and post war of Yankee agression, (wrongly referred to civil war), America, up until 1914, and economies such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand, although not completely capitalistic, devoid of all government economic regulations, but indeed"freer" in a relative sense, happen to be the wealthiest most prosperous nations on earth with the least amount of poverty and unemployment. The lifting of 100's of millions of people in so called "communist China" since 1978 and formerly bureacratic India being lifted from a state of abject poverty to being middle class within a generation due to "freer" pricing and the market economy. I must digress a bit, these economies do have central banking as well. Imagine if the scourage of socialism and central banking had never reared its ugly head and we had Laissez-faire capitalism based on gold as money with 100% reserve backed banking throughout the world? Would we still be underemployed working 40 hours/week or more, or more like properly employed with our skill set and working only 16 hours per week? Would we be living in apartments and substandard housing or mansions? One can only speculate but if 100's of millions can be lifted out of abject poverty and into the middle class within a generation as we have witnessed with India an China with reduced bureaucratic controls on prices as opposed to completely free, one has to wonder. In contrast to the most prosperous, most inventive and freest country in human history, being America, or some now spell, Amerika, has unfortunately succumbed to the evils of cronyism, socialism and over bureacratization over the eroneous fears of fake, state sponsored/manufactured terrorism, appears to be destined to be one of the poorest, most corrupt and oppressive socialist societies should she continue on her state sponsored interventionist/socialist/crony capitalist/communist/fascistic/terroristic fear promoting path. Being a business owner for 10 years and having experienced cronyism being used against me, as an investor having witnessed and endured the crashes and boom/bust turmoil over the years as a result of central banking practices by the Bank of Canada and the Federal Reserve, I am no longer willing to invest in companies or industries other than precious metals (Kryptonite to central bankers) anymore due to knowing the game is rigged by the central banks and not through a true free market of free exchange between buyer and seller and due my extensive, and addictive and never ending pursuit, I might add of knowing the truth of what really may have happened, education over the past 14 years of studying of the Austrian School of Economics through the writings, studying and researching the great works of the great economic authors and minds of Mises, Rothbard, Paul, Ropke, Hulsman, Hayek, Rand, Friedman, ( not Austrian, Chicago School); Smith, (Classical School); Senholz, Hazlitt, Bastiat, Hulsmann, Huerta de Soto, Hoppe, Reisman, Higgs, DiLorenzo, Chodorov, Cantillion, Block, Menger, Erhardt, Flynn, Garret, Gordon, Jouvenel, Lefevre, Lewis,Machlup, Nock, Rockwell, Spooner, Sumner, Schumpeter, Tannehill, Thornton, TUcker, Turgot, Wicksell, Schiff and woods and many others and to the false and distorted pricing signals central banking and Keynesianism brings about, the witnessing of the devastating effects that easy cheap money does to the lives of everyone who borrows money with my 5 year experience as a credit analyst, the Austrian business cycle theory, Free Prices Now! Fixing the Economy and Abolishing the Fed, along with its companion, Crony Capitalism in America, 2008-2012 are great additions to not only to one's library, but also to one's knowledge and understanding of the great economic crises of our times, past and future. Having this knowledge makes one realize that his/her business/investing failures or successes may or may not have been the result of his/her own efforts but something else, something way beyond his/her control and that being state intervention through regulation/tarrifs/favoritism/environmentalism and taxation or the scourages of central banking policies.Hunter Lewis's latest book, Free Prices Now! Fixing the Economy and Abolishing the Fed, is a great guideline to one's understanding of the AUstrian business cycle theory formulated my Mises and Hayek and the Austrian School of economics and how it appies to our time but also as a predictor of times to come by the observations of actions of government regulations and central bank policies today. A great way to prepare and to predict for the future is a solid understanding of what is going on in the present to predict what will happen in the future and Hunter Lewis's book Free Prices Now! Fixing the Economy and Abolishing the Fed does just that.
Ropke, Murray Rothbard, Henry Hazlitt, Frederic Bastiat, Guido Jorg Hulsmann, Jesus Huerta
de Soto, Marc Faber Ron Paul and Milton Friedman, Hunter Lewis's latest book, Free Prices
Now! Fixing the Economy and Abolishing the Fed, explains, with great clarity, how the
unholy alliance between governments and central bankers/planners have, throughout history
and today, resorted to the printing press of fiat money creation as a panacea to "fix" the
economy's ills that has only led to its sickness in the destruction of wealth, the
distortion of prices, and the creation of booms and busts by following the erroneous
dogmatic philosophies of John Maynard Keynes of fiscal tax and spend government policies
and the black magic monetary sorcery of monetarism through the inherently bankrupt
fractional reserve central banking system, ($10.00 lent for every $1.00 in demand deposit
form and $33.00 lent out for every $1.00 in time deposit form) by its creation of fictional
fiat money, created out of thin air, backed by nothing but a piece of paper and ink and a
promise to pay on demand as practised by not only the Federal Reserve but indeed all
central banks throughout the world. Hunter Lewis's, Free Prices Now! Fixing the Economy and Abolishing the Fed, demonstrates how governments and central bankers/planners' implementation of these mis-guided keynesian policies has, will continue, and ultimately destroy our economy over time and has created a mafia like crony capitalist/fascist/corporatist/elitist system in which we all suffer today as a consequence. I highly recommend the purchase of this book along with its companion, Crony Capitalism in America 2008 to 2012 as great tools for dinner table conversations to not only awaken family and friends but also to destroy and evicerate any arguments to the contrary; to not only become aware of the shenanigans of the corporate/government/central banking elite and their distortion of supply and demand through their manipulation of prices through monetary policy and not based on consumer demand, producer supply but also to enhance one's own understanding of not only of what is going on economically today, but also as an intellectual weapon of knowledge of truth against the destructive mechanisms of fraudulent central banking practices that create the boom/bust economy and how a gold/commodity standard money or a free unregulated system ofcompeting currencies and free pricing based on a 100% reserve banking system backed by savings/gold/silver can allieviate and indeed eliminate the economic misery we have to endure at the hands of governments, their central banks and their parasitic crony capitalist, government boot licking, blood sucking, vampiric like, corporate interests and put the world on an economically sustainable and continually growing econonomic path of real economic
growth of falling, not rising prices, rising not falling real incomes/standard of living
of the average worker that unregulated/free market regulated prices based on consumer choice, a true capitalist system of equality before the law, respect of individual rights, freedom of trade and contract and property of unregulated laissez-faire consumer directed capitalism has brought about whenever and wherever it has been allowed to flourish unhampered. Looking at examples throughout history and today, we see how economies such as Pre and post war of Yankee agression, (wrongly referred to civil war), America, up until 1914, and economies such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand, although not completely capitalistic, devoid of all government economic regulations, but indeed"freer" in a relative sense, happen to be the wealthiest most prosperous nations on earth with the least amount of poverty and unemployment. The lifting of 100's of millions of people in so called "communist China" since 1978 and formerly bureacratic India being lifted from a state of abject poverty to being middle class within a generation due to "freer" pricing and the market economy. I must digress a bit, these economies do have central banking as well. Imagine if the scourage of socialism and central banking had never reared its ugly head and we had Laissez-faire capitalism based on gold as money with 100% reserve backed banking throughout the world? Would we still be underemployed working 40 hours/week or more, or more like properly employed with our skill set and working only 16 hours per week? Would we be living in apartments and substandard housing or mansions? One can only speculate but if 100's of millions can be lifted out of abject poverty and into the middle class within a generation as we have witnessed with India an China with reduced bureaucratic controls on prices as opposed to completely free, one has to wonder. In contrast to the most prosperous, most inventive and freest country in human history, being America, or some now spell, Amerika, has unfortunately succumbed to the evils of cronyism, socialism and over bureacratization over the eroneous fears of fake, state sponsored/manufactured terrorism, appears to be destined to be one of the poorest, most corrupt and oppressive socialist societies should she continue on her state sponsored interventionist/socialist/crony capitalist/communist/fascistic/terroristic fear promoting path. Being a business owner for 10 years and having experienced cronyism being used against me, as an investor having witnessed and endured the crashes and boom/bust turmoil over the years as a result of central banking practices by the Bank of Canada and the Federal Reserve, I am no longer willing to invest in companies or industries other than precious metals (Kryptonite to central bankers) anymore due to knowing the game is rigged by the central banks and not through a true free market of free exchange between buyer and seller and due my extensive, and addictive and never ending pursuit, I might add of knowing the truth of what really may have happened, education over the past 14 years of studying of the Austrian School of Economics through the writings, studying and researching the great works of the great economic authors and minds of Mises, Rothbard, Paul, Ropke, Hulsman, Hayek, Rand, Friedman, ( not Austrian, Chicago School); Smith, (Classical School); Senholz, Hazlitt, Bastiat, Hulsmann, Huerta de Soto, Hoppe, Reisman, Higgs, DiLorenzo, Chodorov, Cantillion, Block, Menger, Erhardt, Flynn, Garret, Gordon, Jouvenel, Lefevre, Lewis,Machlup, Nock, Rockwell, Spooner, Sumner, Schumpeter, Tannehill, Thornton, TUcker, Turgot, Wicksell, Schiff and woods and many others and to the false and distorted pricing signals central banking and Keynesianism brings about, the witnessing of the devastating effects that easy cheap money does to the lives of everyone who borrows money with my 5 year experience as a credit analyst, the Austrian business cycle theory, Free Prices Now! Fixing the Economy and Abolishing the Fed, along with its companion, Crony Capitalism in America, 2008-2012 are great additions to not only to one's library, but also to one's knowledge and understanding of the great economic crises of our times, past and future. Having this knowledge makes one realize that his/her business/investing failures or successes may or may not have been the result of his/her own efforts but something else, something way beyond his/her control and that being state intervention through regulation/tarrifs/favoritism/environmentalism and taxation or the scourages of central banking policies.Hunter Lewis's latest book, Free Prices Now! Fixing the Economy and Abolishing the Fed, is a great guideline to one's understanding of the AUstrian business cycle theory formulated my Mises and Hayek and the Austrian School of economics and how it appies to our time but also as a predictor of times to come by the observations of actions of government regulations and central bank policies today. A great way to prepare and to predict for the future is a solid understanding of what is going on in the present to predict what will happen in the future and Hunter Lewis's book Free Prices Now! Fixing the Economy and Abolishing the Fed does just that.
August 17, 2018
Oh my god is this abysmal. This book is a market fundamentalist miraculously conceiving of a new business cycle theory that is in no way connected to ABCT . I’m convinced he didn’t read a single word from Mises before writing this. The first part is a simplified version of Hayek on free markets which is brief so I won’t say anything about it but the second part is the writer straight out pulling stuff from his ass. I’m pretty sure he only wrote the second part by listening to media pundits and somehow reducing it to something less than that.
TL;DR Don’t touch this book
TL;DR Don’t touch this book
February 19, 2021
зах зээл бол юу ховор,юу элбэг байгааг нээдэг зүйл. харин үүнийг үнээр дамжуулан мэдэж авдаг.
October 23, 2013
This, simple to read book, is pure gold. I can not wait to read it's companion book titled, "Crony Capitalism"
Here, Lewis shows us that true capitalism is not only the best economic model for any society, it is the only model. In America we have never truly tried pure capitalism. Because of Government intervention our economy always suffers. Inflation, higher taxes, government corruption - that is the norm in today’s America.
The author’s premise is that free prices (without government intervention) are not only an indicator of the health of our economy, it is it's very life blood. Prices show us what jobs are important, what products are no longer needed, what the future holds.
When we have government intervention, whether it is through printing money, raising / lowering interest rates, or capping prices, we have a group of men and women who think they know better that the collective desires of the rest of the country.
How can a few elected and unelected officials have enough knowledge to guide the economy with all of it's intricacies? They can not. All they do is make things worse. But they are too arrogant to admit that they can not even balance their own check books, let alone the government budget. The unintended consistences of their policies cost us billions more in taxes and inflation than if they would have just stayed on permanent vacation and let the free market work.
The reason I personally do not believe it is a government conspiracy is that I do not believe there is enough intelligence in Washington to pull off a conspiracy. Their ignorance, not their intelligence, is the cause of this mess.
Back to the book review. This is one awesome book. I would like to buy a few extra copies just to give out to friends - both Democrats and Republicans.
I highly recommend this book to everyone breathing. I can rap up this review in three words - READ IT NOW!
I give it 5 out of 5 stars.
I received this book, free of charge, from AC2 Books and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Here, Lewis shows us that true capitalism is not only the best economic model for any society, it is the only model. In America we have never truly tried pure capitalism. Because of Government intervention our economy always suffers. Inflation, higher taxes, government corruption - that is the norm in today’s America.
The author’s premise is that free prices (without government intervention) are not only an indicator of the health of our economy, it is it's very life blood. Prices show us what jobs are important, what products are no longer needed, what the future holds.
When we have government intervention, whether it is through printing money, raising / lowering interest rates, or capping prices, we have a group of men and women who think they know better that the collective desires of the rest of the country.
How can a few elected and unelected officials have enough knowledge to guide the economy with all of it's intricacies? They can not. All they do is make things worse. But they are too arrogant to admit that they can not even balance their own check books, let alone the government budget. The unintended consistences of their policies cost us billions more in taxes and inflation than if they would have just stayed on permanent vacation and let the free market work.
The reason I personally do not believe it is a government conspiracy is that I do not believe there is enough intelligence in Washington to pull off a conspiracy. Their ignorance, not their intelligence, is the cause of this mess.
Back to the book review. This is one awesome book. I would like to buy a few extra copies just to give out to friends - both Democrats and Republicans.
I highly recommend this book to everyone breathing. I can rap up this review in three words - READ IT NOW!
I give it 5 out of 5 stars.
I received this book, free of charge, from AC2 Books and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
September 2, 2013
Simply put, this book is an education.
If you’re someone who doesn’t put too much thought into the economy and the pivotal decisions our economic leaders are making, then this book is a definite MUST READ! It will open your eyes and give you real food for thought.
It’s no secret that most, if not all, Governments are wrought with corruption and greed, but Lewis sheds light on some of the finer details and the ramifications that affect the masses, as well as the importance of the consumer’s right and role in bringing about economic freedom.
Although this book is filled with plenty of economic and financial jargon that may be a bit too much for some readers, the message is loud and clear.
Free Prices. Breathe new life into our economy.
Right now there is a vicious circle that sees the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. Imagine if that could be changed. Well it can, and it’s not that difficult to achieve. One of the most powerful things I took from this book is that the free price system will unleash an honest and trustworthy economy, where corruption cannot breed.
All I can say is, why has this not happened as yet? Why do we still find ourselves in economic slumps? Why do we give all the power to Government and Reserve Banks?
This is a book that everyone, no matter what your financial status is, needs to read. People tend to turn a blind eye and I think it’s due to a certain level of ignorance on our part, although it’s not exactly due to any fault of our own. It’s our right to be informed; however, we’re often kept in the dark. Lewis gives a brilliant account of the injustices that have rocked our economy, and it’s time we stood up and took notice.
If you’re someone who doesn’t put too much thought into the economy and the pivotal decisions our economic leaders are making, then this book is a definite MUST READ! It will open your eyes and give you real food for thought.
It’s no secret that most, if not all, Governments are wrought with corruption and greed, but Lewis sheds light on some of the finer details and the ramifications that affect the masses, as well as the importance of the consumer’s right and role in bringing about economic freedom.
Although this book is filled with plenty of economic and financial jargon that may be a bit too much for some readers, the message is loud and clear.
Free Prices. Breathe new life into our economy.
Right now there is a vicious circle that sees the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. Imagine if that could be changed. Well it can, and it’s not that difficult to achieve. One of the most powerful things I took from this book is that the free price system will unleash an honest and trustworthy economy, where corruption cannot breed.
All I can say is, why has this not happened as yet? Why do we still find ourselves in economic slumps? Why do we give all the power to Government and Reserve Banks?
This is a book that everyone, no matter what your financial status is, needs to read. People tend to turn a blind eye and I think it’s due to a certain level of ignorance on our part, although it’s not exactly due to any fault of our own. It’s our right to be informed; however, we’re often kept in the dark. Lewis gives a brilliant account of the injustices that have rocked our economy, and it’s time we stood up and took notice.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews