Mises Search

One of the enduring myths about Washington, D.C., is that the political classes can be--or at least want to be--educated about economic matters. Individuals and foundations have sunk millions of dollars into “think tanks” and seminars, all in hopes of teaching basic concepts of economics to those who are in positions of political leadership.  Lest

One of the enduring myths of the “Third Way” welfare state is that a nation as a whole can have a high standard of living--even if no one really has to work--as long as government transfers massive amounts of wealth from those who are well off to those who are less well off.  For the past four decades, we have been inundated with news stories,

It is a truism in U.S. political economy that whenever a government agency fails miserably, Congress invariably will reward it with more money, power, and discretion.  The horror of September 11, for example, came in large part because all of the major players, from the terrorists to the security agents to the pilots, were operating under Federal

One of the justifications for socialism and interventionism has been that some commodities simply are “too important to leave to the market.” Thus, the New York Times,  certainly no friend to free markets, recently editorialized about California and the Enron affair:  It is Washington’s duty to find out why (electricity markets melted down in

With the passing of John Gotti , the former “head” of the Gambino crime family, we have been treated to a series of media stories, some of which condemn the Teflon Don and others versed in a grudging admiration for this character. These stories have managed to miss nearly every lesson this violent man’s life had to show us. Gotti was by all

As others may also attest, I have never viewed flying as particularly pleasant, and a recent cross-country trip I took with my family did nothing to change my thinking. It is difficult enough to fly alone or with a spouse these days, but three small children--and all of our luggage--tend to multiply that misery. Even in the best of times, flying

While the view that all society must be egalitarian is evident nearly everywhere, perhaps it is no more prevalent in the business world than in how we regulate capital markets. As Ilana Mercer has written , the law requires information to be socialized. If one party knows more than others regarding information about a particular firm or industry,

The argument may be tired and hackneyed, but advocates never grow weary of presenting the same scenario, which goes as follows: Free markets are desirable, and unnecessary government regulation may stifle business growth, but we are living in a period of the Big Exception. Today, markets are in trouble, betrayed by the very practitioners of

One of the enduring myths about government is the notion that successful governments are those entities that “provide prosperity” for those who are governed. The real issues involve who receives the blame for causing the calamity--and who benefits from it. Thus, Herbert Hoover is identified (correctly) with causing the Great Depression, while

Regular readers of this website know that the various writers who have recently appeared have not been kind to the economic “program” (if one can call it that) which has come forth from the George W. Bush administration. As the markets continue to wallow in bear territory, and as consumer--and, more important, investor--confidence falls, writers