Mises Search

Interesting data and argument in the long  Economist survey/story “ Flying on one engine .” “Since 1995 almost 60% of the cumulative growth in world output has come from America, nearly twice America’s share of world GDP... America’s disproportionate contribution to global growth reflects an extraordinary rise in American spending. Domestic demand

Writing in the  Wall Street Journal , Arnold Schwarzenegger says that the “two people who have most profoundly impacted my thinking on economics are Milton Friedman and Adam Smith.” The bulk of his piece is devoted to making the case for cutting taxes and regulations, in order to to attract new business to California. But right at the end of his

In 1922, long before large-scale medical socialism in the US, Mises made  the following critique : “By weakening or completely destroying the will to be well and able to work, social insurance creates illness and inability to work; it produces the habit of complaining—which is in itself a neurosis—and neuroses of other kinds. In short, it is an

LRC this morning links to a Telegraph story revealing that  giant avocados from South Africa, large enough to make two pounds of guacamole, are going on sale in Britain. Will Americans be allowed to buy them? The USDA  severely restricts imports from Mexico. Wal-Mart was  fined a civil penalty of $45,000 for inadvertantly selling Mexican avocados.

The New York Times runs  a fascinating piece on the introduction of a new colored $20 bill. “The Bureau of Engraving and Printing will spend $33 million on advertising, marketing and education programs to promote the new bill, and it has hired a public relations firm and, in a first, a product placement firm and one of Hollywood’s top talent

Writing about airport troubles invites correpondents to tell their own stories: Last August 13th, while going through security at Newark airport, everyone was required to remove their shoes and put them through the scanner. Given that I knew - from previous experience -  my own shoes had metal in them, I was prepared to do that anyway. My wife,

Labor “Union” Day brings out the worst in politicians, of course, but Bush may just mean what  he is reported by Reuters to have said : “Feeling political heat over lost manufacturing jobs, U.S. President George W. Bush marked Labor Day on Monday with the promise he will work to ensure nations attracting U.S. factories overseas have fair trade

More letters about  The Creation of a Bureaucrat: I have refused to fly since they have started these humiliating searches. In the 50s and early 60s I flew all over the country armed. Never questioned, never had a problem. I am an EX federal officer, fully trained. Am currently licensed to carry concealed firearms in 25 of the 50 states. There are

From the  American Forces Press Services comes news of continuing progress in the campaign to round up enemies of the occupation authority: “the 101st detained an individual for making counterfeit Iraqi dinar. The unit, according to a CENTCOM release, found rolls of magnetic security bands, three sheets of 10,000 Iraqi dinar, an automatic number

From MSNBC comes this interesting analsysis, which puts far too little emphasis on the mandatory aspect of European job benefits: “According to a recent Expedia.com study on U.S. vacation habits, Americans were allowed an average of 16 vacation days in 2002, but most only took 14 days off, handing back more than $21 billion in unused vacation days