Investor and author Doug Casey recently wrote that most economists “are political apologists masquerading as economists.” He says they are like witch doctors pretending to be neurosurgeons. They “prescribe the way they would like the world to work and tailor theories to help politicians demonstrate the virtue and necessity of their quest for more power.” The discipline of economics, says Casey, “has been turned into the handmaiden of government in order to give...
Read More »How Would US States Actually Declare Bankruptcy?
Stephen Anderson, in his Mises Wire essays of February 1 (“Are Bankruptcies of Some US States in the Future?”) and February 23 (“US States Have a Long History of Defaulting”), worries that some US states may be on the precipice of bankruptcy. While a potential problem—especially in light of high debt levels among federal government, businesses, and consumers—possible state bankruptcies and defaults must be clarified before we conclude that state bankruptcies lie...
Read More »Private REITs Hide Commercial Real Estate Distress While Begging for Bailouts
During the most recent commercial real estate bubble, two things happened in tandem. First, due to the Federal Reserve’s zero interest rate policy, savers were unable to invest their cash at a decent rate of return. Second, prices of illiquid assets inflated in an extreme manner, riding on cheap debt and the rush of investors stretching for yield on their capital.Such was the state of capital markets for several years, as the Obama, Trump, and Biden regimes—along...
Read More »The Folly of Federal Reserve Stabilization Policy: Part II 1985-2023
Many economists think the Federal Reserve can use Phillips Curve tradeoffs between inflation and unemployment to guide Fed macro stabilization policy. Inflationary Fed policies may act as a monetary stimulus, to regulate unemployment. Data from 1948 to 1985 indicates that the Phillips Curve doesn’t actually exist. Does the data since 1985 reveal stable Phillips Curve tradeoffs- estimates of the effects of inflation on unemployment that may guide...
Read More »Sound Individualism vs Toxic Collectivism
Share this article Part II of II by Claudio Grass, Switzerland When it comes to the State, however, and all its ministries, branches and institutions, a very different set of rules seems to apply – a much more lenient, flexible and liberal one. For example, the core pledge of security, protection and stability has yet to be fulfilled: no government has ever delivered on any of these promises socially, economically, geopolitically, or monetarily for any...
Read More »Narrowly Mixed Dollar to Start the Big Week for Europe and North America
Overview: The dollar is narrowly mixed against the G10 currencies to begin the week that features a Bank of Canada and ECB meetings, US jobs data, Federal Reserve Chair Powell's two-day testimony before Congress, and US President Biden's State of the Union address. Most emerging market currencies are firmer. The Turkish lira is a notable exception. Higher than expected took a toll, knocking it down by around 0.5%. On the other hand, the Malaysian ringgit is up...
Read More »Elon’s Boring Line of Bull
Something’s rotten under the Las Vegas Convention Center and it turns out it’s a chemical sludge with the “consistency of a milkshake,” reports Bloomberg Businessweek. This sludge is a byproduct of Elon Musk’s Boring Company tunneling from the Las Vegas Convention Center to the Encore and Westgate hotels. These tunnels don’t feature rapid transit but instead individual Teslas ferrying carloads of convention goers at just 40 mph. Workers are being burned by the sludge...
Read More »To the European Union: Don’t Tread on Us
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 »No, “Science” Has Not Proven Mises Wrong on Socialism
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 »The War of 1812 and the Panic of 1819: The Unholy Alliance between Government and Banking
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
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