Category Archive: 6b) Austrian Economics

There Is No Moral Right to Strike

Americans are in a time of rising labor unrest and activism, including multiple unionization campaigns, regulatory and legal changes to make it easier for unionization efforts to succeed, the “Fight for $15” minimum wage agitation, and the Hollywood writer’s strike. However, such discussions and campaigns seldom approach the issues involved from a moral perspective, beyond the implicit presumption that trying to force others to give you a raise...

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The Bud Light Boycott and Clueless Corporate Executives

In perhaps one of the most unexpected and sudden shifts in consumer demand in recent years, sales of Bud Light have now fallen sizably for six weeks in a row, with no end in sight. The New York Post reported on Monday that "Sales of the US’s No. 1 beer were down 24.6% for the week ended May 13 compared to a year ago — slightly worse than the 23.6% dip they suffered a week earlier."  But it's not just Bud Light. Sentiment has turned...

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Did Tucker’s Last Major Guest Lead to His Firing?

Tucker Carlson has rankled the ruling elites for many years. But was his interview with Robert Kennedy Jr. a bridge too far? Original Article: "Did Tucker's Last Major Guest Lead to His Firing?"

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Review: Orwell’s The Road to Wigan Pier

George Orwell’s The Road to Wigan Pier is a book for which I kept hearing recommendations. I was told that it contained biting criticisms of socialism and was a valuable source of antiauthoritarian thought. What I found, instead, was a snobbish text that ineffectually denounces snobbery, an erudite-sounding text that lacks any philosophical or economic depth, and a persistent veil of ignorance over and presumption in favor of state intervention for...

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The Fed Is Overindebted, Isn’t It?

By any conventional measures of finance, the Federal Reserve has negative equity. In the long run, cooking the books only puts off the day of reckoning. Original Article: "The Fed Is Overindebted, Isn’t It?"

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The Woke Cartel and Twitter’s New CEO

On May 12, 2023, Elon Musk announced that Linda Yaccarino, the now former chairman of global advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal, would become the new CEO of Twitter. Musk’s appointment of Yaccarino followed an advertiser exodus that caused Twitter’s ad revenue to plummet by more than 60 percent from October 2022 through January 25, 2022, from around $127 million to just over $48 million. According to Pathmatics, by Sensor Tower, more than...

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Property Rights, Civilization, and Their Enemies

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 censorship, and absolute buffoonery on public display in halls of political power. The ruling class is getting richer while most of us suffer, and new generations are becoming increasingly warped by the dangerous ideologies of the left....

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The Men Who Made the West

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 censorship, and absolute buffoonery on public display in halls of political power. The ruling class is getting richer while most of us suffer, and new generations are becoming increasingly warped by the dangerous ideologies of the left....

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The Duke Lacrosse Case: How a Lie Became Official Campus Policy

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 censorship, and absolute buffoonery on public display in halls of political power. The ruling class is getting richer while most of us suffer, and new generations are becoming increasingly warped by the dangerous ideologies of the left....

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The Decline of America

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 censorship, and absolute buffoonery on public display in halls of political power. The ruling class is getting richer while most of us suffer, and new generations are becoming increasingly warped by the dangerous ideologies of the left....

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Was Japanese Colonialism the Engine of Later Prosperity for Korea and Taiwan? Probably Not

While Japan made some technological transfers to these places, prosperity came to them later, with the advent of free-market economies. Original Article: "Was Japanese Colonialism the Engine of Later Prosperity for Korea and Taiwan? Probably Not"

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Three Lies They’re Telling You about the Debt Ceiling

Negotiations over increasing the federal debt ceiling continue in Washington. As has occurred several times over the past twenty years, Republicans and Democrats are presently using increases in the debt ceiling as a bargaining chip in negotiating how federal tax dollars will be spent. Most of this is theater. We know how these negotiations always end: the debt ceiling is always increased, massive amounts of new federal debt are incurred, and...

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How Markets Self-Corrected during the 1819 and 1919–21 Recessions

As the first signs of an economic tempest move through the United States—an alarming increase in bank failures, a surge in unemployment claims, and a troubling decline in retail sales—we find ourselves perched on the edge of a deep recession. Staring into this uncertain abyss, the self-designated guardians of our financial destiny, the Federal Reserve and the US government, are confronted with a monumental task. When the recession bells toll, how...

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Argentina Sleepwalks into Hyperinflation (Yet Again)

A century ago, Argentina was one of the world's wealthiest nations and the Argentine peso rivaled the dollar. Today, Argentina is famous for periodic hyperinflation. Original Article: "Argentina Sleepwalks into Hyperinflation (Yet Again)"

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Taking Notes out of Rothbard’s Taiwan Playbook

Writing pseudonymously in a series of articles for Faith and Freedom in the 1950s, Murray Rothbard took on the question of whether or not the United States should defend Formosa (Taiwan) from attack by mainland China. While his conclusions will surprise no one familiar with his work (that war is the health of the state, that individuals concerned with the fate of Taiwan should do as they will privately, but that their lives and property are not for...

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Washington Has No Moral Authority to Ban Guns

Another mass shooting, another call for gun control. However, when it comes to mass killings, Washington sets the sorry example. Original Article: "Washington Has No Moral Authority to Ban Guns"

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Committing Domestic Violence against Men . . . Just for a Giggle

Decades ago, Hollywood brought the neglected problem of domestic violence (DV) against women into the spotlight and helped to create cultural change. Today, Hollywood encourages people to dismiss or laugh at the neglected problem of DV against men. After all, the man must have had it coming; either that or he is too weak to stand up for himself and so deserves no sympathy. A general acceptance of women beating up men continues. A recent episode...

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Shedding Light on the Law of Unintended Consequences

It is the right of the consumer, not the regime, to determine what lighting sources work best for them. Original Article: "Shedding Light on the Law of Unintended Consequences"

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The Drug War: An Irrational Crusade

It’s been over five decades since the war on drugs began in the United States, and billions of dollars coerced from taxpayers have been spent on this frivolous operation. The General Accounting Office’s report found that the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program did not deter youth from drug abuse. How exactly has this war benefited taxpayers when drug use has increased, and more potent drugs are being consumed? Even the diabolical Charles...

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Is Social Justice Just? A Review

Modern Western culture is dominated by demands for "social justice." But how does one even define this term, and does social justice even produce justice in the end? Original Article: "Is Social Justice Just? A Review"

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