Category Archive: 6b) Austrian Economics

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You Can’t Depend on the State to Maintain Public Order

2023-06-27

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2023-06-27

Crime is increasing in American cities, but don't count on police to protect you. The Defund the Police movement has less to do with that than most people think. Original Article: "You Can’t Depend on the State to Maintain Public Order"

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Daniel Ellsberg Was Right. So Are Assange and Snowden.

2023-06-27

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2023-06-27

Daniel Ellsberg died on June 16, and he remains one of the nation's most prominent whistleblowers who leaked secret government information to the public. Upon his death the general consensus among the writers of memorials for Ellsberg was that he was right to leak government secrets. As the editorial board at The Orange County Register recently put it, he was "a true American hero."  They're right about Ellsberg. During the Vietnam War,...

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The MMT-and-Bailey Fallacy

2023-06-27

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2023-06-27

One hears this kind of thing from modern monetary theory (MMT) advocates whenever their economic theories are attacked: “We say not spending constrained,” they grumble, “We don’t mean ‘now spend’.” However, what politicians hear is that they can have anything they really want because they can just print the money for it. “It’s a fact,” an MMTer might say. “Sovereign governments with their own currencies can never go bankrupt. They can always print...

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A Great Man Cannot Salvage a Bad Idea

2023-06-27

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2023-06-27

Einstein might have been one of history's most brilliant men, but even his great mind could not have made socialism work. Unfortunately, he wasn't smart enough to see that. Original Article: "A Great Man Cannot Salvage a Bad Idea"

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Do Boycotts Really Work? Another Look at the Bud Light Situation

2023-06-27

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2023-06-27

For the past ten weeks, American conservatives have been boycotting Bud Light in response to a beer can featuring transgender figure Dylan Mulvaney. Since then, sales of the beer have been plummeting. However, this week, a new benchmark has been passed: Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Bud Light is no longer the top-selling beer in the United States. Instead, it has been overtaken by Modelo, as the following graph from the Wall Street Journal shows: Source:...

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Radical Decentralization Was the Key to the West’s Rise to Wealth and Freedom

2023-06-27

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2023-06-27

It is not uncommon to encounter political theorists and pundits who insist that political centralization is a boon to economic growth. In both cases, it is claimed the presence of a unifying central regime—whether in Brussels or in Washington, DC, for example—is essential in ensuring the efficient and free flow of goods throughout a large jurisdiction. This, we are told, will greatly accelerate economic growth. In many ways, the model is the United...

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Yet Another Month of Questionable Federal Jobs Data as 310,000 Fewer People Report Having Jobs

2023-06-26

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2023-06-26

In 2023, self-employment has collapsed again with year-over-year self-employment growth dropping by 6.5 percent. That's the largest drop since December 2007, when the Great Recession officially began. Original Article: "Yet Another Month of Questionable Federal Jobs Data as 310,000 Fewer People Report Having Jobs"

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Myth #4: Every Time the Fed Tightens the Money Supply, Interest Rates Rise (Or Fall)

2023-06-26

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2023-06-26

Recorded by the Mises Institute in the mid-1980s, The Mises Report provided radio commentary from leading non-interventionists, economists, and political scientists. In this program, we present another part of "Ten Great Economic Myths". This material was prepared by Murray N. Rothbard. The financial press now knows enough economics to watch weekly money supply figures like hawks; but they inevitably interpret these figures in a...

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Is Social Justice the Progressive Equivalent of Rent-Seeking Behavior?

2023-06-26

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2023-06-26

The term “rent seeking” is a derogatory term that implies companies and people seek to take more than they earn. It hearkens to some Marxist ideology as well. However, especially when combined with regulatory capture and bureaucratic corruption, rent seeking is a valid concept. What happens when the shoe is on the other foot and people and organizations engage in rent seeking from a social justice perspective? Is it rent seeking or corruption for...

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A conversation with Prince Michael of Liechtenstein

2023-06-26

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2023-06-26

On November 15th, 2021, almost 20 months ago, I once again had the rare and delightful opportunity to have a conversation with Prince Michael. His insights, and especially his directness and unequivocal honesty, have frequently provided me with a lot of food for thought in the past. This interview was no different. His candid and unfiltered responses to a wide variety of questions and topics made this conversation as illuminating as it was...

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My Long Journey to Rothbardian Sobriety

2023-06-24

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2023-06-24

Everything possible is done to prevent the fraud of the monetary system from being exposed to the masses who suffer from it. —Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), before the US House of Representatives, February 15, 2006 In the mid-sixties, having read about gold in Atlas Shrugged, I decided to find out something about inflation and wrote to the United States Treasury Department to request a brochure that purported to lay inflation out in terms anyone could...

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The Eurozone Falls into Recession as “Stimulus” Fails

2023-06-24

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2023-06-24

Investor sentiment is clearly bullish. The CNN Fear and Greed Index for June 18th, 2023, stood at 82, which signals “extreme greed”. This is a drastic optimistic move after closing at “greed” (56 over 100) a month before and “extreme fear” (17 over 100) only one year ago. However, in the same period, the Citi global economic surprise index has declined twelve points, with the euro area component collapsing 123 points. The US economic surprise index...

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The Carbon Capture Pipeline: The Latest Bridge to Nowhere

2023-06-24

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2023-06-24

The carbon capture pipeline is the result of the latest gift to rent-seeking “titans of industry” and interestingly, may be used on some existing projects that came to be, years ago, due to rent seeking. More on this below. As we’ve heard for years and years now, sometimes delivered in memorable ways, the continuing elevation of atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide, and other greenhouse gases, and the rising global temperatures that follow, is the...

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The Money Supply Keeps Falling After Its Biggest Drop Since the Great Depression

2023-06-24

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2023-06-24

Money supply growth fell again in April, plummeting further into negative territory after turning negative in November 2022 for the first time in twenty-eight years.  April's drop continues a steep downward trend from the unprecedented highs experienced during much of the past two years. Since April 2021, money supply growth has slowed quickly, and since November, we've been seeing the money supply repeatedly contract—year-over-year— for six months...

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Rich Country, Poor Country. Why the Differences?

2023-06-23

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2023-06-23

The scourge of poverty wounding citizens in the developing world has provoked much discussion in affluent countries. Quite unreasonably, rich countries have been indicted for inciting poverty in poor countries. Unfortunately, the assumption that prosperity stems from exploitation is still widely popular in academia and politics. However, the historical record casts serious doubt on this argument. Imperialism was the standard in the ancient world,...

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MMT Says Government Debt Makes Private Saving Possible

2023-06-23

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2023-06-23

Mises Institute Fellow Patrick Newman joins Bob to discuss a recent tweet from Stephanie Kelton, which argued that the government's "red ink makes our black ink possible." Patrick and Bob point out that these MMT tautologies are very misleading at best. Patrick also lays out the argument in his journal article, saying that MMT's debt monetization won't cause a boom-bust cycle, but will still reduce living standards....

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Deneen on Elitism

2023-06-23

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2023-06-23

Last week, I discussed the way in which Patrick Deneen misreads John Stuart Mill in his book Regime Change. I’d like to continue the assault on Regime Change this week by looking at an argument he makes against libertarianism. Libertarians, Deneen alleges, are elitists. They think that ordinary people need to be ruled by an elite class of experts. They favor restrictions on democracy in order to entrench laws about property rights that benefit the...

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Why Barbados Advanced Economically While Jamaica’s Growth Lagged

2023-06-23

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2023-06-23

Even though Barbados and Jamaica had more similarities than differences when they became independent of Great Britain, Barbados developed its economy much more quickly. Original Article: "Why Barbados Advanced Economically While Jamaica's Growth Lagged"

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Unleashing the Power of Greed: How the Free Market Propels Progress

2023-06-23

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2023-06-23

The free market system has faced its fair share of criticism, often being labeled as a breeding ground for greed and self-interest. However, let’s take a closer look and see how greed, when properly channeled and regulated within a free market framework, can actually bring about positive outcomes for society. One fascinating thought experiment that showcases the positive role of greed in the free market is Adam Smith’s concept of the “invisible...

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Why Governments Love Secrecy and Hate Whistleblowers

2023-06-22

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2023-06-22

Ryan and Tho take a look at the legacy of Daniel Ellsberg's heroic leak of the Pentagon Papers and the evils of government secrecy. Modern leakers like Snowden, Manning, and Assange do important work educating voters and making the state more accountable. New Radio Rothbard mugs are now available at the Mises Store. Get yours at Mises.org/RothMug  PROMO CODE: RothPod for 20% off

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