SNB & CHF

Coal drove the development of a whole new way of cooking and a radically different diet. A menu based upon coal-fired food was the cuisine that accompanied industrialization. Food and fuel were intricately linked in a fossil fuel-burning age. Original Article: How Fossil Fuel Revolutionized Our Kitchens and Our Food [embedded content]...

In May this year, the Congressional Budget Office estimated outstanding US government debt next October to be $27,388 billion. By the end of the first quarter of the fiscal year, it will exceed $34,000 billion. It is soaring out of control, and perhaps it is not surprising that the CBO has not updated its forecasts with this debt uncertainty. The CBO also assumed that debt interest costs last year would be $663 billion, when it ended up being $980 billion 48% higher...

The year is ending with a significant level of optimism among investors, focusing on an expected string of rate cuts from the Fed and an estimated economic soft landing. However, a soft landing is a very rare event. Since 1975, there have been nine rate hike cycles, and seven of them ended in a recession. Why? We must understand that the concept of “landing” that the Federal Reserve repeats constantly is exactly that: a recession. A soft landing is a significant...

In this week's episode Mark explains the term "Greenwashing" and describes how Austrian economists might agree with the sentiment behind it. Are Austrian school economists against the environment? Mark thinks not and explains why.   Be sure to follow Minor Issues at Mises.org/MinorIssues. Get your free copy of Murray Rothbard's Anatomy of the State at Mises.org/IssuesFree. [embedded content]...

Review of Kathryn Tanner: Christianity and the New Spirit of Capitalism An old professor told our class decades ago to believe nothing from the popular press about economics and only half of what the financial press writes. I would add that if a theologian tries to teach you economics, hide your wallet and lock up your daughters! Kathryn Tanner’s Christianity and the New Spirit of Capitalism is a good example of such the tragic comedy produced by most theologians....

A hodgepodge of activism and legalistic negotiations characterized the 28th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (UNFCCC COP28), which concluded Wednesday, December 13, 2023. The resulting agreement, dubbed the “UAE Consensus,” includes the first-ever UN statement in the 27-year history of climate summits to call for the “transition away” from fossil fuels. In fact, it marks the first climate agreement to specifically refer to “fossil fuels” as the culprit behind...

Daniel Miller, founder and president of the Texas Nationalist Movement, joins Bob to discuss the exciting developments in the push for a referendum on Texas secession. Daniel explains the prospects and then answers common objections to the idea. Daniel Miller's Website: Mises.org/HAP426a Bob's Pamphlet on Texas Independence: Mises.org/HAP426b   Human Action Podcast listeners can get a free copy of Murray Rothbard's Anatomy of the State: Mises.org/HAPodFree...

As younger generations grow older and take on adult responsibilities, they will at some point struggle with the cost of housing. This year alone more than 582,000 people in the United States are without a home, with about three in ten people being part of families with children. Governments today have implemented various policies recommended by different schools of economic thought, predominantly that of the Keynesians, to address the issue of homelessness. Despite...

Between war weariness and the inability of the US government to pay war bills, reality is going to come to the fore even if Washington doesn't like it. Original Article: After Ukraine, Realpolitik Will Be the New Interventionist Status Quo [embedded content] Tags: Featured,newsletter

Diary of a Psychosis: How Public Health Disgraced Itself During Covid Mania. By Thomas E. Woods, Jr. Libertarian Institute, 2023. In the Foreword to this outstanding book, the eminent Stanford University physician Dr. Jay Bhattacharya makes an arresting claim. He says that people often make mistakes in recollecting the past because they confuse having intended to do something with actually having done it. That confusion is more likely to occur under emotional stress,...