Category Archive: 6b.) Mises.org

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From Discipline to No Discipline: The Sorry Evolution of Modern Banking

2023-05-03

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2023-05-03

Walter Bagehot, as Jim Grant writes, believed that bankers and central bankers should exhibit financial discipline. He would not recognize today's banking world. Original Article: "From Discipline to No Discipline: The Sorry Evolution of Modern Banking"

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Does GDP Present an Accurate Picture of the Economy? Not Likely

2023-05-03

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2023-05-03

To understand the economy, most financial experts and commentators rely upon gross domestic product (GDP). The GDP framework looks at the value of final goods and services produced during a particular time interval, usually a quarter or a year. This statistic is constructed with the view that consumption, not wealth production, drives an economy. Since consumer outlays are the largest part of the overall demand, it is assumed that consumer demand...

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Divide and Control: Central Bankers Blame the Victims

2023-05-03

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2023-05-03

The Central bankers of the world, apparently losing confidence that they can fix the inflation they created, are turning to Plan B: blame the people. So we fight each other. Last week the chief economist of the Bank of England, Huw Pill, said the quiet part out loud, that “British households and businesses need to accept they are poorer and stop seeking pay increases and pushing prices higher.” Note inflation in the UK is currently running...

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Endangering Washington’s Divine Right to Deceive

2023-05-02

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2023-05-02

Official Washington and its Court Media are up in arms that someone has told the truth via leaking government documents. They won't rest until he is punished severely. Original Article: "Endangering Washington's Divine Right to Deceive" This Audio Mises Wire is generously sponsored by Christopher Condon.

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How to Teach Austrian Economics to the Neighbor Kids

2023-05-02

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2023-05-02

A mom in the neighborhood recently made trouble. Macroeconomic trouble. Here is a way to spot such trouble, and how to help nurture the goodness in our economic way of life. A few months back her boy went door to door, confidently introducing himself, explaining his purpose, and handing us a detailed flier: “Twelve-year-old boy willing to work.” He was trying to earn money to go to sailing school. I was impressed. My wife was impressed. We told our...

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Congress Ignores Real Debt Ceiling Drama

2023-05-02

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2023-05-02

Last week the House passed legislation increasing the debt ceiling. The bill was supported by all but four Republicans. For some Republicans, this was the first time they had ever voted for a debt ceiling increase. Perhaps the reason they did so this time was because the legislation also promised to reduce federal spending by $4.5 trillion over the next decade. Most of those spending reductions are achieved by rolling back Fiscal Year spending to...

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Why Do Most Countries Have Their Own Currency? Governments Wanted It That Way.

2023-05-02

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2023-05-02

Even when currency is backed by gold, governments have many political reasons to pursue national, territorial currencies. Now there are hundreds of national currencies. It didn't have to be this way.  Original Article: "Why Do Most Countries Have Their Own Currency? Governments Wanted It That Way."

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Paying the Piper: Time to Clean Up the Latest Malinvestments

2023-05-02

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2023-05-02

The Austrian business cycle theory teaches us that low interest rates manipulated by the central bank lead to malinvestments, which are cleared when the central bank lets rates rise, reflecting a truer cost of capital. A real-time example is happening in the United States commercial office real estate market. Combine that with the government’s covid lockdowns, which forced employees to work from home. Now, employees never want to change out of...

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How the Woke Left Is Destroying Education

2023-05-01

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2023-05-01

Adherents of leftist dogma increasingly push the notion that teachers should be permitted to distract, confuse, or influence their students by discussing their personal beliefs, ideas, and private activities and choices in the classroom. Original Article: "How the Woke Left Is Destroying Education" This Audio Mises Wire is generously sponsored by Christopher Condon.

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Historical Effects of the Transatlantic Slave Trade

2023-05-01

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2023-05-01

Economists are becoming more appreciative of how historical episodes shape future events. The resurgence of history as an explanatory tool has led economists to publish a series of papers collectively known as the “Deep Roots” literature. These papers cover a wide range of topics, but Africa has been a strong focus due to its unique history of underdevelopment. Some trace Africa’s fortunes and misfortunes to the character of precolonial...

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Presidents Are Legally Immune for Their Most Dangerous Crimes

2023-05-01

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2023-05-01

Donald Trump legally pays hush money and prosecutors try to fashion a crime from it. However, if a president lies and thousands of people die, it is called foreign policy. Original Article: "Presidents Are Legally Immune for Their Most Dangerous Crimes" This Audio Mises Wire is generously sponsored by Christopher Condon.

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Charles Schwab and Other Big Banks May Be Secretly Insolvent

2023-05-01

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2023-05-01

The taming of monetary policy necessary to slow price inflation has triggered a corrective trend in the valuation of financial instruments. Many big banks in the United States have substantially increased their use of an accounting technique that allows them to avoid marking certain assets at their current market value, instead using the face value in their balance sheet calculations. This accounting technique consists of announcing that they...

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Property, Civilization, and Culture: Mises in Reno

2023-05-01

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2023-05-01

"The foundation of any and every civilization, including our own, is private ownership of the means of production. Whoever wishes to criticize modern civilization, therefore, begins with private property." — Ludwig von Mises Every day, more and more Americans are awakening to the reality that the institutions in control of this nation are failing them. From violence in the streets, inflation in our stores, increasing tyranny and...

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It Hurts to Pay for Strained China-USA Relations

2023-04-30

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2023-04-30

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?

2023-04-29

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2023-04-29

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

2023-04-29

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2023-04-29

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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Investing in Gold

2023-04-29

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2023-04-29

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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Rothbard: The Myth of Tax “Reform”

2023-04-29

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2023-04-29

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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Due Process or Transgender Protection on Campus?

2023-04-29

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2023-04-29

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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How the Dollar Became the World’s Top Global Currency

2023-04-28

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2023-04-28

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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