Utah Governor Spencer Cox has signed legislation explicitly empowering the state treasurer to protect state funds with an allocation to physical gold and silver.Sponsored by Rep. Ken Ivory, House Bill 348 permits – but does not require – the Treasurer to hold up to 10 percent of certain state reserve accounts in physical gold and silver to help secure state assets against the risks of inflation and financial turmoil and/or to achieve capital gains as measured in...
Read More »The False Consensus on Egalitarianism
The boundaries of contemporary public debate are artificially constrained by egalitarian values. Both progressive liberals and classical liberals are opposed to the more-outlandish versions of wokery, but many consider egalitarianism to be a good idea in principle as long as it is not taken “too far” by communist ideologues. The ongoing purge of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) schemes at universities in Republican states has closed offices and fired staff to...
Read More »Population
Tu ne cede malis, sed contra audentior ito Website powered by Mises Institute donors Mises Institute is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Contributions are tax-deductible to the full extent the law allows. Tax ID# 52-1263436 [embedded content] Tags: Featured,newsletter
Read More »It’s Economic Logic: Increasing the Minimum Wage Creates More Unemployment
Some economists believe that the increase in the minimum wage will boost unemployment, while other economists think otherwise. Hence, they believe that raising the minimum wage would raise the living standards of workers.For example, in a study conducted in the 1990s, economists David Card and Alan Krueger examined a minimum-wage rise in New Jersey by comparing fast-food restaurants there and in an adjacent part of Pennsylvania, finding no impact on employment. Other...
Read More »The Fraud Inherent in Fractional Reserve Banking
Suppose you bring a fur coat to a dry cleaner and later discover that the owner allowed his wife to wear it before cleaning it (an episode from Seinfeld). Or suppose you gave your car keys to a hotel valet and was told he lent your car to teenagers who took it for a joyride while you were sleeping at the hotel. You would not be too happy and for good reason. When you surrendered your clothes or your car keys, it was a bailment. You retained ownership and gave the...
Read More »Making the Case for Private Law and Defense From Scratch
Tu ne cede malis, sed contra audentior ito Website powered by Mises Institute donors Mises Institute is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Contributions are tax-deductible to the full extent the law allows. Tax ID# 52-1263436 [embedded content] Tags: Featured,newsletter
Read More »Pandemic Whiskey Boom Turns to Hangover
Yeah, the other night I laid sleeping And I woke from a terrible dream So I caught up my pal Jack Daniel's And his partner Jimmy Beam And we drank alone, yeah With nobody else Yeah, you know when I drink alone I prefer to be by myself ~George ThorogoodI poured hundreds of “Jack and Cokes” when I tended bar from the late 70’s to mid 80’s. It was beyond me how anyone could tell the difference between Jack Daniels Old No. 7 and anything else when mixed with coke or...
Read More »Need More Public Parking? Privatize It!
In its usual form, the case for privatizing public parking invokes the basic economic principles of supply and demand. This case is usually restricted to private parking lots and garages. For example, Walter Block discusses how market incentives can drive parking rates to rise to eliminate shortages here. A more radical proposal is the privatization of public parking altogether. A common form of public parking that libertarians can target for privatization is free...
Read More »It’s Time to End Squatter’s Rights
Last month, New York City homeowner Adele Andaloro was arrested after changing the locks on a house that had been seized by squatters. According to The New York Post: "Andaloro was charged with unlawful eviction because she had changed the locks and hadn’t provided a new key to the residents. The residents, however, are squatters.Fortunately, Andaloro's arrest was filmed and went viral, reviving an ongoing debate over squatters "rights," under which trespassers can...
Read More »When Proxy Wars Come Home
If we look long enough and hard enough, we might find an example of something in the US is not by the state, of the state and for the state. But it’s becoming more difficult.We live, if we live in the US, within a reverberating echo chamber of the bits of US foreign policy we can observe and understand. Those bits relate mainly to trade wars, monetary wars, and proxy wars. Each of these overtly externally directed “wars” echo in American streets and towns, across...
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