The Censored Generation Incredulity. Astonishment. Disgust. Anger. It is these feelings—amongst others—that describe the general reaction to the revelations of the Twitter Files and other egregious episodes of Big Tech censorship of the electronic public square. The implicit deal with companies like Twitter, Facebook, Google, etc. is very simple: we will look at your ads if you give us a service for free. The deal did not include censorship. But what is society to...
Read More »Saudi Arabia’s Quandary: The End of the Petrodollar
As the Biden administration continues to inflate the dollar, other nations are questioning the existence of the petrodollar. Original Article: "Saudi Arabia’s Quandary: The End of the Petrodollar" This Audio Mises Wire is generously sponsored by Christopher Condon. [embedded content] Tags: Featured,newsletter
Read More »Fiscal Illusion and Entitlements
As the State of the Union address and subsequent pronouncements have made clear, American politics is in the firm grip of fiscal illusion. One example is President Biden’s bragging that “In the last two years, my administration has cut the deficit by more than $1.7 trillion—the largest deficit reduction in American history,” which implied that we should only look at a short run effect which had little, if anything, to do with the policies he adopted, in evaluating...
Read More »Money Supply Growth Went Negative for the Third Month in a Row, and Is Near a 35-Year Low
Money supply growth fell again in January, falling even further into negative territory after turning negative in November 2022 for the first time in twenty-eight years. January's drop continues a steep downward trend from the unprecedented highs experienced during much of the past two years. Since April 2021, money supply growth has slowed quickly, and since November, we've been seeing the money supply contract for the first time since the 1990s. The last time the...
Read More »The Attack of the Subversive Elites
We can be sure that the "natural elites" of which Hans Hoppe wrote are not among the Davos crowd. That group of "elites" has an agenda, and it is not liberty and free markets. Original Article: "The Attack of the Subversive Elites" This Audio Mises Wire is generously sponsored by Christopher Condon. [embedded content]...
Read More »A Permanent Wartime Economy
“Governments create money all the time. We do that for war.” “This whole notion that you run government like you run a household…is a complete myth”Economist Prof Mariana Mazzucato tells #Newsnight Government’s should address social issues through taxhttps://t.co/P0zxS1DNGF pic.twitter.com/I6NLtXgDqN— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) March 6, 2023This is the argument for more money printing, and perhaps unlimited money printing, recently advanced by Professor Mariana...
Read More »What Would Happen If American Elites Told the Truth?
What if America’s elite told the truth? It seems a ridiculous question to ask. It’s obvious to most of us here that our politicians, bureaucratic managers, and state-associated business leaders hardly ever tell the truth. What use is it for us to ask, “What if?” There seems to be a considerable amount of social pressure urging us to abandon our better judgment, not for the sake of reason, but for cooperation. If we don’t, the uncritical mob will label us “conspiracy...
Read More »Secession Is Inevitable. War to Prevent It Is Optional.
The answer lies not in doubling down on political unity, maintained through endless violence or threats of violence. Rather, the answer lies in peaceful separation. Original Article: "Secession Is Inevitable. War to Prevent It Is Optional." This Audio Mises Wire is generously sponsored by Christopher Condon. [embedded content]...
Read More »Odds Are Rising That the Fed Will Trigger the Next Bust
From March 17, 2022, to the end of January 2023, the US Federal Reserve (Fed) increased its federal funds rate from practically zero to 4.50–4.75 percent. The rise in lending rates came in response to skyrocketing consumer goods price inflation: US inflation rose from 2.5 percent in January 2022 to 9.1 percent in June. Notwithstanding inflation falling to 6.4 percent in January 2023, the Fed continues to signal to markets that it will continue to hike rates to bring...
Read More »Real Estate Markets Are Addicted to Easy Money
On Friday, residential real estate brokerage firm Redfin released new data on home prices, showing that prices fell 0.6 percent in February, year over year. According to Redfin's numbers, this was the first time that home prices actually fell since 2012. The year-over-year drop was pulled down by especially large declines in five markets: Austin (-11%), San Jose, California (-10.9%), Oakland (-10.4%), Sacramento (-7.7%), and Phoenix (-7.3%). According to Redfin, the...
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