Federal Reserve

Austrian economists refute 11 supposed myths about the Federal Reserve. It really is that bad.

The real consequence of QEIII:

"Rather than going on for eternity, this third round of QE is only hastening the day when there is a flight of confidence from the dollar and US Treasuries. This will cause a sharp rise in market interest rates and surging consumer prices across America. If you think $4 a gallon gas is bad, wait till you see it going up by 25¢ or more per week.
At this point, the Fed Chairman will have a choice to make: keep printing, which will push the dollar into uncontrollable hyperinflation, or begin tightening, which will bankrupt the US government and banking system."

Gold and silver look good in either scenario.

"As we've seen in cases like Argentina's in the '90s and Hungary's in the '40s, when the banking system freezes, hard assets trade at a premium. Gold and silver coins may be at a disadvantage in terms of convenience in an era of credit cards and Paypal, but what happens when those funds are no longer available? Already, regulations and lower profit margins have driven banks to add fees to debit card transactions. Not to mention that every digital transaction is traceable by the tax authorities.
If everyone starts to carry rolls of cash everywhere, it's not a big leap to carry coins. A silver coin the size of a dime is currently worth about $3.50. Two could buy you lunch.
While I believe a tightening and national default would put the US on the road to recovery, the transition period will be messy. Bread lines, rampant foreclosures, and a spike in crime are likely results. In this situation, gold and silver may be the only things people can count on. In fact, they are likely to not only hold their value, but dramatically appreciate as millions of people flood the metals market and the dollar economy deleverages. In plain English: maybe it will only take one of those dime-sized silver coins to buy lunch. Maybe that coin will buy lunch for you and a friend."

It's going to be painful.

Succinct history of central banking in the US. Every effort ended in disaster, but none so big as the one we're looking at.

"Today, most of the First World is in the midst of an economic crisis that has been caused by debt. That debt has been the product of bankers and governments working together.
History shows us that the present situation is not an accident. It is the repetition of a very successful method by which bankers, with the complicity of governments, create boom-and-bust cycles; cycles that, whilst damaging for nearly all citizens of a country, are very profitable for those who create the cycles.
If we are to watch the evening news, there are, daily, politicians and pundits offering "solutions" – "Provide quantitative easing," "tax the one percent," or simply, "kick the can down the road." Through endless debate, viewers are encouraged to believe that somehow, the government and the directors of the banks and the Chairman of the Federal Reserve will come up with a solution to the problem.
However, a brief read of the history above suggests that there will be no "solution," as no solution is intended by those who have created the problem. The entire concept is to periodically hang the depositor out to dry. (It's not done to be purposely unkind; it's done because it's so very profitable.)" 

That's right. They're evil, not stupid.