Mises Search

Journal of Commerce Guest Opinion July 28, 1998 Gouging for oil bucks Sometimes it seems that government agencies will try anything to increase their funding, even if that means violating contracts. Such is the case with a recent edict from a government agency called the Minerals Management Service. In January 1997, the U.S. Department of the

The field in economics called Industrial Organization is the very foundation of antitrust activity by government. And if you thought antitrust action was little more than one business using government to smash its competitors, The Economist (May 2, 1998) is here to correct you. According to this publication, it’s true that antitrust investigators

Gasoline prices are zooming (45% over last year) and drivers are worried that this may affect their summer vacation plans, while truckers marched on Washington D.C. protesting high diesel costs. Pursuing votes, presidential candidates are scrambling to provide political solutions for the doubling of heating oil prices in New Hampshire in the last

Since the early 1970s, landowners have been at the mercy of federal regulators wielding their power over private property deemed to be wetlands. But there’s also some good news: Federal wetland policies have suffered setbacks from court decisions limiting regulatory overreach. And a case now in appeal to the Supreme Court could provide the relief

Eight years of government expansion and political corruption was enough. The good news is that the Clinton-Gore era is coming to a close, and all their political appointees in government are starting to pack their bags. For those who love liberty, however, the bad news is that fundamental freedoms will continue to be at risk. Nothing in the

Hardly a day goes by when I don’t read something crazy on the subject of international trade, from pundits who blame it for America’s economic and social woes, to those who think trade can only thrive in the context of treaties and war. In truth, international trade is nothing more than an extension of the idea of exchange itself: that all people

With gas prices exceeding $2 per gallon, an alarmed American public is prone to believe scary predictions about a future without gas. And so into this hyper-charge environment will step a number of commentators who claim to marshall all the data to show that we must dramatically change our lives. For example: “Civilization as we know it will come

When teaching economics I sometimes find it beneficial to use government budget data to apply the lessons of economics to our current political circumstances. The students tend to be surprised at the size of our government, the amount of tax revenues that we “pay,” and the amount of government debt. The following numbers get the point across. We,

Food and energy prices are soaring. Inflation is squeezing consumers and roiling financial markets. Official pronouncements are failing to ease inflation fears. In the first seven months of this year we have already seen an inflation rate of 3.4 percent according to the consumer price index. If prices rise at this pace for the next five months,

Consumer Price Index numbers have recently been reported and the federal government assures us that they have inflation under control. Nothing to worry about, go about your business. In a recent article I explained how government officials can report a low inflation rate  by including only particular prices in their price level estimates. Price