Money

New York Times bestselling author Steve Forbes’s powerful call for a return to sound money—and why it’s our only hope for a true recovery and a healthy global economy

“Money clearly illustrates that sound money is an essential foundation for a free and prosperous society and that the Federal Reserve's current polices are a greater threat to the economic future of the U.S. than government deficit spending. This is an important book well worth reading.”
—John A. Allison, President and CEO, Cato Institute, and author of the New York Times bestselling The Financial Crisis and the Free Market Cure

“Few topics today are as misunderstood as the subject of money. Steve Forbes understands money better than most heads of state do, and in this provocative book he shares his vast knowledge and gives us sensible and time-tested recommendations for stopping future financial meltdowns.” --Lawrence Kudlow, CNBC Senior Contributor

“In this fascinating book, Steve Forbes makes the case for sound money and shows why a money system based on free trade—a system that allows the entrepreneurial dream to flourish—is not just good business; it also makes for a good society. Money is a rock-solid argument for the virtues of capitalism.” --John Mackey, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Whole Foods Market; coauthor of the New York Times bestselling Conscious Capitalism

Few topics are as misunderstood today as the subject of money. Since the U.S. abandoned a gold-linked dollar more than four decades ago, the world’s governments have slid into a dangerous ignorance of the fundamental monetary principles that guided the world’s most successful economies for centuries. Today’s wrong-headed monetary policies are now setting the stage for a new global economic and social catastrophe that could rival the recent financial crisis and even the horrors of the 1930s. Coauthored by Steve Forbes, one of the world’s leading experts on finance, Money shows you why that doesn’t need to happen—and how to prevent it.

After reading this entertaining and hugely well-informed book, you will know more about money than most people in the highest government positions today. Money explains why a return to sound money is absolutely essential if the U.S. and other nations are ever to overcome today’s problems. Stable money, Steve Forbes and Elizabeth Ames argue, is the only way to a true recovery and a stable and prosperous economy.

Today’s system of fluctuating “fiat” money, in which governments manipulate the value of the dollar and other currencies, has been responsible for the biggest economic failures of recent decades, including the 2008 financial crisis, from whose effects we continue to suffer. The Obama/Bernanke/Yellen Federal Reserve and its unstable dollar policies are accelerating our course toward disaster, the authors show, in numerous convincing examples. In Money, Forbes and Ames answer these crucial questions:

What is the difference between money and value?

What is real wealth?

How does sound money contribute to a well-functioning society?

How have our money policy errors led to the current problems in global financial markets?

What can we do now to reestablish the strength of the dollar and other currencies?

The authors argue that the most effective way to return to a sound money policy and a healthy economy is to put the dollar back on a gold standard, and they outline the several different forms a gold standard could take. They also share invaluable suggestions for how to preserve our wealth and where to invest our money.

Money is essential reading for anyone interested in this crucially important subject.

Steve Forbes is coauthor of the New York Times bestseller Power Ambition Glory and the Wall Street Journal bestseller How Capitalism Will Save Us. Forbes is Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of Forbes Media, which publishes Forbes magazine, with a circulation of nearly one million readers. Combined with Forbes Asia, Forbes Europe, and the company's licensee editions, the magazine reaches close to 6 million global readers. Forbes.com reaches 65 million unique monthly visitors; Forbes websites include Forbes.com, RealClearPolitics.com, RealClearMarkets.com, RealClearSports.com, and RealClearWorld.com.

Elizabeth Ames is a communications executive, speaker and author. She has written two previous books with Steve Forbes, How Capitalism Will Save Us and Freedom Manifesto.