Monthly Archive: April 2023

It Hurts to Pay for Strained China-USA Relations

American politicians are beating war drums. They forget that bad relations are costly in many ways. Original Article: "It Hurts to Pay for Strained China-USA Relations" This Audio Mises Wire is generously sponsored by Christopher Condon.

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Why Do Banks Still Fail?

Despite all of the supposed safeguards to prevent bank failures, banks still fail. Perhaps the so-called safeguards are causing much of the trouble. Original Article: "Why Do Banks Still Fail?" This Audio Mises Wire is generously sponsored by Christopher Condon.

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Do We Need a “National Divorce”? It’s Not a New Idea

We are hearing calls both from right and left for an amicable national divorce. In truth, the states were never "hitched" in the first place, at least not by any plausible definition of marriage. Original Article: "Do We Need a "National Divorce"? It's Not a New Idea" This Audio Mises Wire is generously sponsored by Christopher Condon.

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May 2023 Monthly

May will feature likely rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, and the Bank of England. The banking stress that erupted in March appears contained, though one regional bank's dramatic loss of deposits saw it rekindle at the end of April. What makes the May rate hikes important is that the derivatives markets are confident (again) this is the last hike for the Fed. The swaps market anticipates two more hikes from the BOE and...

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Investing in Gold

Mark discusses something bigger than the Disney layoffs: the Wall Street Journal's April 25 frontpage article on investing in gold. It would seem that the recent rise of the price of gold is the result of tired, dumb, and disillusioned crypto currency investors throwing in the towel to "chase shiny new object—gold." Mark explains that the rational reasons for investing in gold loom larger than the entire Magic Kingdom! Be sure to...

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Due Process or Transgender Protection on Campus?

College campuses have long been battlegrounds between due process for those accused of sexual misconduct (innocent until proven guilty) and legal privileges for alleged victims who many automatically believe (guilty until proven innocent). The front line is Title IX, the 1972 federal law designed to curb sex discrimination in schools. President Joe Biden’s Department of Education (DOE) wants to add gender identity to the mix. The players in this...

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Rothbard: The Myth of Tax “Reform”

Everyone will agree that the American tax system is a mess. Taxes are far too high, and the patchwork system is so complicated that even IRS officials don’t understand it. Hence the evident need for some sort of dramatic, even drastic, reform. As often happens, a group of dedicated and determined reformers has arisen to satisfy that need. But before we embrace this new gospel, we should heed the old maxim about jumping from the frying pan into the...

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How the Dollar Became the World’s Top Global Currency

In March 2009, in the midst of recession, then Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner was pressed to respond on the question of whether or not another currency—possibly the IMF’s special drawing rights (SDRs)—might displace the US dollar as the dominant global reserve currency. Geithner responded that he’s open to more use of SDRs but then felt the need to clarify with “The dollar remains the world’s dominant reserve currency and I think that’s likely...

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The Great Reset and the Grand Refusal

Recorded in Birmingham, Alabama on April 22, 2023. From the Mises Institute's recent event in Birmingham, Alabama dedicated to the global threat of "The Great Reset".

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Mises Meetup Opelika

Join Mises Club Opelika for their second meeting at Botanic in Opelika. The Meetup will take place Saturday, June 24.  There is no registration fee, but attendance will be limited due to space.  Please contact Ed Kerns to reserve your spot or if you have any questions, [email protected].

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Equality Requires State Violence

Although equality and "equity" are modern buzzwords, the only way to reach such a social nirvana is through violent means. Do we really want to go there? Original Article: "Equality Requires State Violence" This Audio Mises Wire is generously sponsored by Christopher Condon.

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The Environmentalist Revolt against Humanity.

The Revolt against Humanity: Imagining a Future without Usby Adam KirschColumbia Global Reports, 2023; 100 pp. Aristotle says in book 1 of the Nicomachean Ethics that “happiness, therefore, being found to be something final and self-sufficient, is the End at which all actions aim.” The Greek word eudaimonia, “happiness” in this edition, is often translated as “flourishing.” Isn’t it obviously true that you want your life to flourish? Of course, all...

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The Economics of Space Travel

Are NASA contracts propping up the private space industry? Or are Government regulations stifling the private space race? Dr. Eli Dourado, Senior Research Fellow with the Center for Growth and Opportunity at Utah State University, joins Bob to discuss the recent "successful failure" of the exploded SpaceX launch and the differences between government and privately funded space travel. Dr. Dourado on NASA contracting private companies to...

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No, the Financial Crisis Is Not Over

As markets settle down after the last set of bank failures, political elites claim the crisis is behind us. But it is not over, not by a long shot. Original Article: "No, the Financial Crisis Is Not Over" This Audio Mises Wire is generously sponsored by Christopher Condon.

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Neither Red nor Blue, but Free

The human tendency to kill what one fears asserted itself on April 4, 2023, as a Manhattan district attorney called Donald Trump into his office to issue a vague threat. What crime Trump was being charged with is known only to Alvin Bragg, but the rest of the world is left playing a guessing game. Trump supporters are rallying everyone with a heartbeat to support their candidate. It’s survival time. Even a few Trump haters are finding a way to...

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Yen Slumps on Cautious BOJ

Overview:  The market took a dovish message away from the Bank of Japan and sent the dollar above JPY136, its best level since March 10 and spurred a sharp rally in JGBs. Japanese equities led the rally among the Asia Pacific markets. Europe has not been able to follow suit. It disappointed with Q1 GDP (0.1% rather than 0.2%). The Stoxx 600 is of about 0.3%, leaving it off about 1.3% this week, its first weekly loss since the middle of March. US...

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An American Originalist

Scalia: Rise to Greatness, 1936–1986by James RosenRegnery Publishing, 2023496 pages James Rosen, who has written biographies of John Mitchell and Dick Cheney, and was for many years a reporter for Fox News, is a neoconservative and Reagan Republican. He has found an ideal biographical subject in Antonin Scalia, a Reagan Republican, who served for thirty years on the Supreme Court. The volume under review, the first of two, covers the time from...

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Quantitative Easing to Infinity and Beyond

On Sunday morning, March 12, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told CBS there would be no bailouts. Later in the day the Fed declared quantitative easing to infinity and beyond. What’s going on? Quite simply, the Fed is willing to overpay for debt (again). They call it the Bank Term Funding Program (BTFP), and as far as one can tell, its dollar value is limitless. The term sheet reads: Program: To provide liquidity to U.S. depository institutions,...

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The Road to a Single Fiat World Currency

What if the world’s states were to come together and create a single world currency? From a purely economic point of view, there would be significant advantages if every nation didn’t operate with its own money but with the same currency. Not only for an individual economy, but for the world economy as a whole, the optimal number of currencies is one. Let’s take a look. The decisive factor is how this single world currency comes about, and who...

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It’s Not Paranoid to Worry about a Central Bank Digital Currency

Contrary to Krugman, DeSantis and others warning about a CBDC aren’t being paranoid: they are simply drawing the obvious conclusions from history. Original Article: "It’s Not Paranoid to Worry about a Central Bank Digital Currency" This Audio Mises Wire is generously sponsored by Christopher Condon.

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