Money supply growth fell again in June, remaining deep in negative territory after turning negative in November 2022 for the first time in twenty-eight years. June'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 repeatedly contract—year-over-year— for six months in a row. The last time the...
Read More »Liberalism and Peace
Recorded at the 2003 Supporters Summit: Prosperty, War, and Depression. Ralph Raico discusses how from Jefferson to Madison, and on to Bastiat, Molinari, and Spencer, the "classical" liberals routinely denounced war as the enemy of freedom, prudence, and natural rights. Instead, militarism and imperialism have long been the domain of the enemies of private property and other apologists for the state. (32:19) [embedded content]...
Read More »States Can Curb Federal Power through “Soft Secession”
The use of interstate compacts by US states shows that the states don't need the federal government to dictate or manage interstate relations. Original Article: "States Can Curb Federal Power through "Soft Secession"" [embedded content] Tags: Featured,newsletter
Read More »Breaking Free: How Open Protocols Foster Entrepreneurship, Spontaneous Order, and Individual Sovereignty
In the dynamic and ever-evolving digital landscape, open protocols have emerged as a powerful force, challenging closed-source models and reshaping industries. Beyond their technical merits, open protocols embody fundamental economic principles that foster innovation, competition, decentralized decision-making, and even censorship resistance. By embracing open protocols, societies can harness the creative energies of individuals and entrepreneurs, empowering them to...
Read More »“Greed” Didn’t Kill the Pac-12. Entrepreneurial Failure Did
For college football fans, it’s already been a wild August week before the first kickoff. Reminiscent of the Europe of old, and, hopefully, the America of the future, the collegiate athletic landscape in the last several years has witnessed a massive redrawing conference kingdom borders. The most powerful empires are the SEC and the Big Ten, with the former adding the Universities of Texas and Oklahoma and the latter pursuing manifest destiny in the West with the...
Read More »Egalitarianism as a Revolt against Safety
Some residents of St. Louis, fed up with the nonprotection from the city's police, have hired private security to deal with the problem. The egalitarian Left, of course, doesn't like that. Original Article: "Egalitarianism as a Revolt against Safety" [embedded content] Tags: Featured,newsletter
Read More »Risk Appetites Squashed by Weak Chinese Imports/Exports and Moody’s Downgrade of 10 US Banks
Overview: The combination of falling Chinese imports and exports, Moody's downgrade of ten US small and medium-sized banks is serving to squash risk appetites. Equities are weak, but bond markets are strong despite the surprise tax on Italian banks announced yesterday and the kick-off of the US $103 bln refunding today. Outside of Japan and Australia, Asia Pacific equity markets were lower led by a 1.8% drop in the Hang Seng and a nearly 2.2% loss of the mainland...
Read More »Shrinkflation and Skimpflation Are Eating Our Lunch
Government statistics on inflation in the food sector have failed to account for skimpflation and shrinkflation. Original Article: "Shrinkflation and Skimpflation Are Eating Our Lunch" [embedded content] Tags: Featured,newsletter
Read More »How Conscription Ended Fifty Years Ago
United States military conscription, or the draft, ended on January 27, 1973, with the winding down of the Vietnam War. The draft law was due to expire at the end of June 1971. But US President Richard Nixon decided it needed to continue and asked Congress to approve a two-year extension. In March 1973, 1974, and 1975, the Selective Service assigned draft priority numbers for all men born in 1954, 1955, and 1956, in case the draft was extended—but it never was. Nixon...
Read More »The United States vs. Donald J. Trump
Trump is essentially being prosecuted for questioning the outcome of an election, and federal paranoia about protecting its own aura of legitimacy is entering a new highly aggressive phase. Original Article: "The United States vs. Donald J. Trump" [embedded content] Tags: Featured,newsletter
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