Governments that redistribute wealth and regulate our daily lives are inherently corrupt. We cheapen the word “corruption” when we reserve it for just a few politicians who break the arbitrary rules. This Audio Mises Wire is generously sponsored by Christopher Condon. Narrated by Millian Quinteros. Original Article: “Most Everything Governments Do Should Be Regarded as ‘Corrupt’“. You Might Also Like The...
Read More »Problems with Theories on the Black-White Wealth Gap
The wealth gap between white and black Americans is frequently discussed. Today it’s becoming popular to attribute disparities to black culture. Clearly all cultures are not equal, but can the subculture of some black American communities explain variations within the wealth gap? For instance, fifty people in an inner-city neighborhood may engage in maladaptive activities; however, their actions are atypical of the broader black community. Discussing this issue is...
Read More »If the US Adopts Eurozone Policies, the Jobs Recovery Will Suffer
The best social policy is one that supports job creation and rising wages. Entitlements do not make a society more prosperous, and ultimately drive it to stagnation. This Audio Mises Wire is generously sponsored by Christopher Condon. Narrated by Millian Quinteros. Original Article: “If the US Adopts Eurozone Policies, the Jobs Recovery Will Suffer“. You Might Also Like Walter Berns and the Cult of...
Read More »If We Want to Increase Demand in the Market, We Must First Increase Production
Following the ideas of John Maynard Keynes and Milton Friedman, many commentators associate economic growth with increases in the demand for goods and services. Both Keynes and Friedman held that the Great Depression of the 1930s was due to an insufficiency of aggregate demand and that thus the way to fix the problem was to boost aggregate demand. For Keynes, this could be achieved by having the federal government borrow more money and spend it when the private...
Read More »Explaining the Plan to Dismantle Schools and the Fed’s Alchemy
Bob reads from an article recently tweeted out by the NEA, which calls for an end to schooling as we know it in order to promote anti-racism. He then discusses what the Fed has been up to since the coronavirus panic began. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: The YouTube version of this episode (with lots of visuals). Karlyn Borysenko’s YouTube episode on the NEA tweet. Jamilah Pitts’ article on school transformation. Fed article talking about...
Read More »The Absurdity of Covid “Cases”
Today’s headlines announced Donald and Melania Trump “tested positive” for covid-19. Another claims nineteen thousand Amazon workers “got” covid-19 on the job. Both of these pseudostories are sure to ignite another absurd media frenzy. As always, the story keeps changing: Remember ventilators, flatten the curve, the next two weeks are crucial, etc.? Remember Nancy Pelosi in Chinatown back in February, urging everyone to visit? Remember Fauci dismissing masks as...
Read More »The 2020 Debate: A Breakdown
Ryan McMaken and Tho Bishop talk about Tuesday’s debate, why “the issues” don’t matter, and why the debate probably won’t change the minds of many voters. And be sure to follow Radio Rothbard at mises.org/RadioRothbard. You Might Also Like A Review of Stephanie Kelton’s The Deficit Myth The good news is that Stephanie Kelton has written a book on MMT that is very readable and will strike many readers as...
Read More »Rising Homicides This Year May Be Yet Another Side Effect of Covid Lockdowns
During Tuesday’s presidential debate, former vice president Biden attempted to paint Donald Trump as the bad-on-crime candidate when he claimed that crime had gone down during the Obama administration but increased during Trump’s term. Whether or not this is a plausible claim depends on how one looks at the data. And given that law enforcement and criminal prosecutions for street crime are generally a state and local matter, it’s unclear why any president ought to be...
Read More »If the US Adopts Eurozone Policies, the Jobs Recovery Will Suffer
The employment recovery in the United States is as impressive as the collapse due to the lockdowns. In April I wrote a column stating that “The U.S. Labor Market Can Heal Quickly,” and the improvement has been positive. Very few would have expected the unemployment rate to be at 8.4 percent in August after soaring to almost 15 percent in the middle of the pandemic. This means that the unemployment rate is in August 2020 lower than what analysts projected for the end...
Read More »Why “Taxing the Rich” Doesn’t Make Us Better Off
The complete confiscation of all private property is tantamount to the introduction of socialism. Therefore we do not have to deal with it in an analysis of the problems of interventionism. We are concerned here only with the partial confiscation of property. Such confiscation is today attempted primarily by taxation. The ideological motivations of such action are immaterial. The only question of interest to us is merely: What is sought by these measures and what is...
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