Edward Kellogg (economist)
Edward Kellogg was a businessman and economist. Influenced by his experience in the Panic of 1837, he became an early advocate of fiat money. His ideas later influenced the Greenback movement and the Populist Party.
Life and career
After a brief stint in business in Norwalk, he relocated to New York City and established Edward Kellogg & Co., a wholesale dry goods firm, which he operated until 1837. By that time, he was heavily invested in real estate in Brooklyn and moved his family there to facilitate the management of his properties. This, together with his financial studies, would occupy most of his time for the remainder of his life.Economic ideas
Following the Panic of 1837, he began to think about the monetary system and he believed it was faulted. He was especially concerned about interest, which could often reach usurious levels. His first proposal was that all paper money should be issued by the government. The government's notes would be low interest and backed by real estate. Simultaneously, the government would issue bonds that could be exchanged for the notes. This, he believed, would keep interest rates tied to actual economic growth. The notes could also be redeemed for gold or silver, twice yearly, and would be insured by a National Safety Fund.In 1843, Horace Greeley, editor of the New York Tribune, convinced Kellogg to publish his opinions. They were issued in tabloid form under the title "Usury: the Evil and Remedy". With a few additions and changes, it was reprinted the next year as a pamphlet, under the pseudonym Godek Gardwell, and renamed "Currency: the Evil and Remedy". In 1849, it was given the title "Labor and Other Capital" and published as a book. His daughter put out a new edition in 1861, and it was retitled again, as "A New Monetary System",