...This used to be a very obscure debate. Some free market economists (like the great Steve Forbes and the late Jude Wanniski) have held that gold prices can be used to predict future inflation, but some (such as Art Laffer and Larry Kudlow) do not. I started writing about this topic in 2004, but I got a very negative reaction from many people with whom I usually agree on the big issues. I decided to tread lightly and focus most of my attention on the questions on which my friends and I agree. The problem is that this obscure question about economic growth, inflation and gold prices has now moved to center stage. In the annals of economic history, it’s what 2007 will have been about...
