What was once a center stage, winning issue for Reagan-type Republicans now fails to strike a responsive chord with the electorate. As if to advertise the tax issue’s demise, the GOP recently coupled a minuscule tax reduction with an increase in the minimum wage. Pundits offer various reasons for the demise. One is the healthy economy. The
In a U.S. presidential election where about 100 million votes are likely to be cast, what is the probability that your vote will be decisive in determining the outcome? Like it or not, the probability is pretty small---zero for all practical purposes. The probability hurdle is twofold. First, the presidential vote tally in your state would have
Throughout this past winter, Indiana grocery stores have heralded the availability of fresh Chilean fruit. “Direct from Chile,” proclaimed the ads. The same is no doubt true for other states. Astronomers and geographers will tell us that we can eat Chilean fruit in January because the earth is tilted as it orbits the sun. The tilt means growing
Haiti and the Dominican Republic share a Caribbean island. Haiti occupies the western portion, the Dominican Republic the eastern. An aerial photograph of the border between the two countries reveals a stark contrast (our favorite appeared in the November 1987 National Geographic ). To wit, the Dominican Republic is heavily forested; Haiti, once
Statists—those who advocate concentration of economic power in centralized government—salivate like Pavlov’s dogs at the mention of economic difficulties, real or imagined. Statists of a left-liberal bent are usually louder than their counterparts on the right. Nevertheless, when the economic difficulty “bell” rings, all begin repeating the mantra
Thirty-six years as an economics professor has left my office walls lined with overflowing bookshelves. Included on my shelves are the 1974, 1978, 1981, and 1985 membership directories for the American Economic Association (AEA). Dated membership directories, even for flagship organizations like this one, figure to be irrelevant. Not in this case,
The Chinese “yellow peril” was the late nineteenth century menace. And today, horrors, the Chinese and Indians are selling Americans things like computer software at bargain basement prices. In fact, when it comes to overall U.S. living standards, there is nothing special about outsourcing software technology. All that matters in this case is
“Make a Difference Day” (also known as the “National Day of Doing Good”) was on October 23. I confess to not knowing about the “day” until it was over. Nor did I know that it’s been an annual event on the fourth Saturday in October since 1992. USA Weekend magazine, a Gannett Co., Inc. entity, and Points of Light Foundation co-sponsor the event. I
Late in 2001 and early in 2002, America’s economic mercantilists (who tend to ascribe domestic economic difficulties to all things foreign) were complaining about cheap foreign steel in the U.S. economy. No sooner had the Bush administration slapped higher tariffs on foreign steel than the mercantilists started spinning sky-is-falling tales about
It’s often a heartbreaking story. It’s also a repeating story. Details change, but the essentials remain the same. What is it? It’s people on parole and probation committing yet more crimes. Thousands each year. Those foisting these parolees and probationers on us pollute our social environment just as owners of poison-spewing factories pollute
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.