The concept of negative interest rates, already adopted in Japan, is now under serious consideration in Europe and the US. Here to make sense of this bizarre environment is Paul-Martin Foss, head of the Carl Menger Center and a regular contributor to mises.org. Paul-Martin explains how Mises and Rothbard understood the function of interest rates, as opposed to how central bankers use interest rates as a tool to stimulate aggregate demand. Can our economic problems really be fixed by forcing banks to make more uneconomic loans to already-insolvent borrowers? And can individuals be forced to spend money by punishing them for leaving it in the bank?