Mises Search

Earlier this week I returned a pair of indoor/outdoor heated slippers that I purchased online from a niche retailer as a Christmas present for my wife. The problem was that they resembled outdoor boots more than they did indoor slippers. As I started to search for the retailer’s policy on returns, I steeled myself for a time-consuming and costly

In its emergency announcement  on Sunday evening, the Fed assured us that it “is prepared to use its full range of tools to support the flow of credit to households and businesses and thereby promote its maximum employment and price stability goals.” The Fed put its (fiat) money where its mouth is by announcing a host of programs. It cut its

In the last decade or so there has been a concerted attempt by some economists associated more or less closely with the Austrian school to deny Rothbard’s central role in the modern revival of Austrian economics and to downplay his status as a leading proponent of the Misesian paradigm.  In response, I have provided what I believe to be compelling

Tyler Cowen, who is said to be “ known as one of the libertarian world’s deepest thinkers ,” recently wrote a blog post entitled “ What Libertarianism Has Become and Will Become — State Capacity Libertarianism .” There, Cowen asserts that libertarianism “is now pretty much hollowed out,” because it has not been able to address an idiosyncratic

As I write this, the DJIA has just closed down over 2,300 points or 9.99 percent and the S&P 500 is down 9.51 percent. This is the market’s largest daily decline since the crash of October 22, 1987. And this is despite the fact that the Fed announced a “liquidity” injection of over $1.2 trillion into credit markets via term repurchase operations

The founders of classical economics, namely David Hume (1711-1776), Adam Smith (1723-1790), and David Ricardo (1772-1823) and their British followers were fervent advocates of the principle of free trade between nations. Even more so were J.-B. Say (1767-1832), Frederic Bastiat (1801-1850) and their Continental disciples of the liberal school (who

The flood of obituaries that noted the passing of Paul Volcker (1927–2019) last week have almost all lauded his achievement as Fed chair (1979–1987) in reining in the double-digit inflation that ravaged the US economy during the 1970s.  Volcker was referred to as the “former Fed chairman who fought inflation” ( here );  “inflation tamer” and “a

If you are hungry for a productive diversion amidst the destructive government lockdown decrees and social distancing mandates, I highly recommend listening to this audio recording of Murray Rothbard’s talk “ On Milton Friedman .”  Recorded in 1970, it features Rothbard at the top of his game, delivering a comprehensive and penetrating critique of

Professor Peter Klein and I give an Austrian take on the economics of the shutdown in a discussion with Tom Woods .

Our rulers want us to ignore the tried and true adage that cash is king in a crisis. The FDIC has just  released a video exhorting people to keep their money in the banks. The spokesperson is the FDIC Chairman herself, Jelena McWilliams, who earnestly assures us: “Your money’s safe at the banks. The last thing you want to be doing is pulling your