USA Today’s front page headline today really isn’t that far from mine: “Cutting back at the pump: Gas use drops as prices rise”. But USA Today writer James Healey’s economic insight doesn’t stop there... It looks like the supply curve slopes up! Fuel conservation might be short-lived. For one thing, prices are likely to drop. EIA says,
David Beito at the Liberty & Power Blog recommends the film The Pursuit of Happyness with Will Smith which is currently in the theatres. He writes: I hereby give Pursuit of Happyness a glowing endorsement. It is a compelling, energetic, and unabashed celebration of free markets, individual responsibility, and old-fashioned pluck. Based on a true
You would think that given how important commerce and entrepreneurship have been in America, there would be many films celebrating the entrepreneur. After several years of working on the film page and receiving hundreds of recommendations for films I had come up with a grand total of one on entrepreneurship: the wonderful Tucker . Thanks to an
In contrast to the doomsday scenarios that predict we will soon run out of various natural resources, George Reisman has pointed out that the entire planet is a big ball of chemicals that, with the right technology, can be used to meet human wants. “...for all practical purposes, [natural resources] are infinite.” This ain’t just theory folks. An
John Brätland’s article on “sustainable development” in the QJAE recently came online . I would like to use this as an opportunity not only to highlight this important article but also to point out some of the major Austrian work on environmental issues. Brätland’s article deals with the economic theory of intergenerational sustainability, more
I wondered what was up when the neighbor kids came by doing a government school fund raiser but couldn’t explain what the money was for. In this funny NYTimes op-ed Karen Karbo makes it all clear: ...in these belt-tightening times, selling stuff doesn’t just raise money for new uniforms for the marching band — it also keeps the computer lab up and
In Margaret Sanger’s Eugenic Legacy: The Control of Female Fertility feminist scholar Angela Franks presents the evidence that should revolutionize our view of the founder of Planned Parenthood. Far from being motivated by the liberation of women she was in fact a lifelong devotee of that dark 20th century phenomenon: eugenics. A review in
I’ve been waiting for an Austrian who actually understands the accounting legalities to explain all this but no one has, so consider this an invitation. Tech companies have been buffeted by a round of stock options scandals . The media coverage has been a bit confusing but the irregularities have something to do with backdating stock options to a
“Neither a borrower or a lender be.” This economic counsel comes from the Bard — known primarily as a dramatist — but also as a pretty shred businessman. Jim Wright, ex Speaker of the House, agrees. “Don’t borrow, don’t lend”, he says. And all you borrowers can heave a big sigh of relief. The former Speaker has joined your team, your debt is his
The US Mint is protecting you from the criminals who want to buy things with gold and silver, instead of the feds’ own handsome cupro-nickel and paper compositions.
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.
