The Cobden Centre is putting plans together for a documentary the economics of the global debt bubble. We already have members of Parliament, bankers, economists, academics and think tank experts who will contribute.
Steve Baker MP, the longest-serving member of Parliament on the Treasury Select Committee, kindly offered this testimonial:
“I am delighted to accept your invitation to be part of this documentary. The Cobden Centre’s efforts to educate the public on what could be the most important subject of the day post-Covid are to be applauded and I very much hope that high-profile figures take part.”
We have been considering ideas for this for a few years, but the time is now right to bring these ideas into the mainstream. For the last generation, each recession has been responded to with lower and lower interest rates, creating larger and larger debt bubbles. We are now, unfortunately, reaching the denouement of this process. We have given speeches and seminars on this at the Bank of England, OECD headquarters and in the European Parliament among other venues.
Friedrich von Hayek won the Nobel Prize for positing that when central banks set interest rates they distort the economy rather than “stimulating” it. Interest rates should be set by the free market, like other prices, rather than by committees of bureaucrats at central banks. The folly of our current system of zero percent interest rates has produced a debt bubble — as Hayek’s economic thinking would predict — that is unprecedented. In 2007, when the bubble began to burst, global aggregate debt was around $150tn. Since then, with zero per cent interest rates and QE, it has ballooned to $275tn. The documentary will outline how the global monetary system works and how central bank policy has contributed to creating the largest debt bubble in human history.
The Cobden Centre has previously organised acclaimed events on economics and emerging technologies, including the 5 day long Blockchain Summit in the European Parliament – we had the IMF, World Bank, United Nations, OECD and Europol among others attending, the first of its kind in the world. We may have the opportunity to touch on these issues in the documentary, too.
When the next bubble bursts, will it be too large for central banks to manage? The documentary we are working on will outline the fatal flaws in our current system that have brought about these regrettable circumstances.
If you would like to take part, please email me directly at max@cobdencentre.org
For press enquiries please contact rachel@cobdencentre.org
