Mises Wire

The Week in Review: September 3, 2016

EU tax

September 2nd is Hans-Hermann Hoppe’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Hans!

Brexit continues to look better and better. Not only has the British economy not collapsed, as was predicted by mainstream economic oracles, but the EU’s own actions continue to destroy the myth that it was primarily a free trade zone and not simply about political power. As Louis Rouanet wrote following the EU’s action against Apple this week:

It has now become clear that in many ways the European Union is a cartel of high-tax governments whose goal is to restrain tax competition. The EU’s supposedly free — this is, regulated — trade policy is none other than an excuse to homogenize the tax and regulatory regimes of the nation-states.

Of course, as Jeff Deist noted, the episode also highlights the hypocrisy of progressives, such as Apple CEO Tim Cook:

It’s a bit rich to hear Apple CEO Tim Cook suddenly become concerned over the “sovereignty of EU member states.” Cook, after all, is an outspoken progressive who presumably favors the kind of activist international tax and regulatory bodies exemplified by EU bureaucrats.

On Mises Weekends, Jeff is joined again by our friend Godfrey Bloom. The two discuss the aftermath of Brexit, the cultural divide between rural and urban voters in both the US and UK, and whether other EU-members will end up leaving the European Union as well.

Remote video URL

And in case you missed any of them, here are the articles featured this week on the Mises Wire:

image/svg+xml
Image Source: iStockphoto
Note: The views expressed on Mises.org are not necessarily those of the Mises Institute.
What is the Mises Institute?

The Mises Institute is a non-profit organization that exists to promote teaching and research in the Austrian School of economics, individual freedom, honest history, and international peace, in the tradition of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard. 

Non-political, non-partisan, and non-PC, we advocate a radical shift in the intellectual climate, away from statism and toward a private property order. We believe that our foundational ideas are of permanent value, and oppose all efforts at compromise, sellout, and amalgamation of these ideas with fashionable political, cultural, and social doctrines inimical to their spirit.

Become a Member
Mises Institute