A Cato Institute associate has declared the development of the covid-19 vaccines to be a free-market “triumph.” The only thing that has triumphed in this sorry episode has been the rapid growth of coercive government power.
Original Article: Contra CATO: COVID-19 Vaccinations Are Not a Free Market Victory

While Ibrahim Kendi’s infamous antiracism center at Boston University implodes, the doctrines espoused by the center continue to present false social narratives.
Original Article: Kendi’s Critical Race Theory Is a Failed Marxist Doctrine

Oliver Anthony’s popular song, "Rich Men North of Richmond," describes the parasitic world of the Beltway. One hopes people understand the damage the political classes have done.
Original Article: The Parasitic Rich Men North of Richmond

In light of Nobel Prizes being given to two researchers of mRNA covid-19 vaccinations, beltway establishments like that of the Cato Institute have lauded praises onto the decision. To Cato, as evidenced by a blog post by Ian Vásquez, the production of these vaccines was a “victory of globalization!” Whilst it certainly required a vast scale of global resources and networking, it was hardly what one could consider a free market victory. The development of these vaccines was done so by plundered resources, granted legal immunity, and captured market positions.
One aspect lost by the English Cato blog is that of Vásquez’s defense, or rather the lack thereof, of the funding of this research. Rather than discuss where the funding for research in covid-19 vaccinations truly came from, he

Ibram X. Kendi, the controversial author of How to Be an Antiracist, has been revealed as not only a hustler of horrid ideas but also a poor businessman. Kendi was appointed the head and founder of Boston University’s Center for Antiracist Research in 2020 following the aptly named “summer of love,” which saw riots in most major cities over calls for “racial justice.”
Now, Boston University is committing mass layoffs of employees, as the Center has lost the $43 million that was donated to it at its opening. There have also been several complaints about management practices. The Center is laying off much of its staff as it switches to a new model that it hopes will keep it alive. It is another profound case of fiat academia being inefficient and unproductive, as well as peddling half-baked

Seemingly coming out of nowhere was the song “Rich Men North of Richmond,” by singer-songwriter Oliver Anthony. Overnight, the laments of one man from Appalachia over the state of the American economy and government spread like wildfire.
In “Rich Men North of Richmond” Anthony decries the declining value of the US dollar, the lack of accountability for those on Jeffrey Epstein’s client list, and the use of taxpayer dollars to fund obesity through food stamps amidst high taxation. Whilst one could deconstruct the individual issues pointed at by Anthony, it can best be understood by the song title and the chorus:
Livin’ in the new world
With an old soul
These rich men north of Richmond
Lord knows they all just wanna have total control
Wanna know what you think, wanna know what you do
And

The argument over trade is one that has been foisted back onto America by the likes of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. While most hold to the notion that Adam Smith ended the debate on trade policy in the 1770s, the issue has always been a prominent one in American history. The Hamiltonian Whigs and Lincoln Republicans have long stood opposed to the Jacksonian Democrats and their policy of laissez-faire capitalism. Perhaps the one shining light of the neoconservative and neoliberal world order was lip service to the idea of free trade across borders, even if that was not quite true. The rise of Trump—as a rejection of this neoliberal order—was not only a rejection of the foreign policy failures of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, but it was also a resurrection of Hamiltonian protectionism.

The Biden administration is unleashing the USDA on small farmers, attempting to regulate them out of business. This is done to protect not the public’s health, but politically connected agriculture interests.
Original Article: "The USDA’s War on Small Farms"

We should not just be concerned about problems in the American banking system, but also about the proliferation of Eurodollars.

Original Article: "Eurodollars as a Fractional Reserve Market"

Most students in America are introduced to the writings of Upton Sinclair. While they aren’t shown his incredible cover-up of the Holodomor or his other Soviet apologisms, they are presented with his most famous work: The Jungle. This work tells the tale of Sinclair’s investigation into the wretched working conditions of the meat-packers of its age. Between lost limbs and failed inspections, Sinclair writes about the meat being contaminated and barbarously prepared.
This tale is meant to show the supposed failures of laissez-faire capitalism, with its disregard for workers and health. Readers are supposed to walk away with a firm belief in the need for the regulation of these firms. Hurrah! Here comes the mighty state to provide safety to the masses that would otherwise be made sick by

While FedNow seems benign, there is the larger problem of the entire banking system itself being built on a foundation of sand. FedNow can only make that problem worse.

Original Article: "FedNow Isn’t a CBDC, but It Is Dangerous"

Austrian economics properly understands the ability of commercial banks to create money by mismatching their depositor liabilities with their issuing of money substitutes (i.e., the creation of credit). One possible place for further exploration is the role that nonbank or foreign financial institutions play in the creation of credit and the broader implications on business-cycle creation.
Let us take the dollar as an example. Say Deutsche Bank operates a branch in the United States. This branch, according to the Federal Reserve’s Regulation D, would be subject to the Fed’s reserve requirements. However, a London branch of Deutsche Bank would not be subject to such a regulation on its US dollar holdings. Similarly, a market mutual fund, acting as a creditor, is not subject to the reserve

Starting in July, the Federal Reserve will be rolling out a new payment service dubbed “FedNow.” Among many on the dissident side of politics, there is a growing worry that this new service may be a trojan horse for a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
The concern is a valid one. A CBDC, depending on how it is implemented, could eliminate the privacy allowed by a cash system, allow the freezing of accounts with greater ease, and open the door to social credit scores for individuals. One asks, is the fear of FedNow truly justified? Or is it a risk for another reason?
To analyze whether FedNow is a trojan horse for a CBDC, one must first understand what a CBDC would be in function. A CBDC, as defined by the Federal Reserve itself, would be “money that is a liability of the central bank.”