The affordability crisis is upon us. Housing, food, you name it, life is becoming expensive. The government blames business, but perhaps government officials should look in the mirror.
Original Article: How Inflationary Money Causes the Affordability Crisis

I was recently in a room presenting to a group of about thirty. At one point, one of my fellow presenters said, “In my opinion, that is why this area of the country has lost so many jobs.” I held my tongue but couldn’t help but think, “Nobody cares about your so-called economic opinion.” Economics is based on the science of human action. We can, with certainty, deduce certain causes and effects. Your opinion on something is akin to saying, “In my opinion, Pluto is not a planet.” It’s irrelevant.
The Austrian school of economics, characterized by its focus on individual actions and praxeology, tends to view subjective opinions about the economy quite differently than other economic schools. From the Austrian perspective, the emphasis is predominantly placed on individual choice, subjective

Affordable living is the topic of the day. Not only in the world of Mises.org but in everyday life. While inflation has fallen to some degree, it remains high and understated. While many people dislike inflation and know intuitively it is robbing them of their wealth, I would like to point out a few ways in which this is happening more than they realize.
One of the better-known reasons for the understatement of inflation is the definitional changes that take place over time. Price inflation is commonly measured by indices that aggregate the overall price level in an economy. When what is included in the definition changes, the comparability of current prices to past prices is literally comparing apples and oranges. As those of us who are skeptical of state power know, the adjustments tend

Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society.
Taxes are the price we pay for civilization.
I like to pay taxes. With them I buy civilization.
—Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
During tax season, many people try to provide you with practical ways to lower your tax bill and mitigate your exposure to both tax payments and reporting. Instead of repeating such advice, I would rather discuss the role of taxes in society or, in particular, why we don’t need taxes.
Almost everyone recognizes that paying taxes causes psychological harm along with other negative effects. However, it is commonly said that despite all the drawbacks, taxes are the price we pay to live in a civilized society, which is what the sign in front of the Internal Revenue Service building in Washington, DC, proclaims.