Mises Search

In a recent article on “energy” problems in the United States, Time Magazine has managed to do what U.S. journalists have been doing for the last three decades when writing about matters of natural resources: displaying a wealth of factual knowledge while simultaneously demonstrating a profusion of economic ignorance. The magazine’s latest foray

In a recent article  dealing with trade and job losses, I questioned the terminology of “exporting jobs,” noting that goods are exported, not jobs, since they are not economic goods. While the points I made were technically correct, something else needs to be added to the mix, that being the importation and exportation of capital. Indeed, in the

Ever since he started writing his semi-weekly column for the New York Times, Paul Krugman has been a lightning rod of sorts. The Princeton University faculty member has become the Times’ resident “expert” on economic issues, and he usually fails to disappoint, at least if creating controversy constitutes success. I admit to being a regular reader

While they may not be able to solve many of the problems they create, the political classes of this country have proven they are still adept at causing crises—and then blaming others for the results. With gasoline prices rising to their highest levels in years, and then falling again after Labor Day, it was inevitable that the politicians would

The revelation that journalists working for ABC News successfully smuggled in 15 pounds of depleted uranium from Indonesia (to highlight gaps in U.S. government security procedures) caused a huge stir both in government and in journalism itself. In fact, some factions in the U.S. Department of Justice would like to prosecute the journalists,

Given the toxic legal climate in the United States for business in general, it should have surprised no one that a federal judge has ruled that families who lost loved ones in the September 11 attacks can sue United Airlines, American Airlines, Boeing and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. That the plaintiffs and their lawyers are not

In the aftermath of the U.S. Senate’s failure to pass an “energy bill” for the coming year, the usual punditry has befallen us. From the demands that the bill goes in the “wrong direction” because it does not emphasize “alternative” energy sources, as well as increase the subsidies for mass transit to the Washington Post’s demands that Congress

Last month, my wife decided to get flu shot for our children, but when she saw the long lines that stretched around whole city blocks, she decided that even if a flu shot were important, nothing could justify subjecting young children to waiting for hours. We may try later – or we may not try at all and just hope we remain healthy this winter.

I have a friend serving time in the federal prison camp near Cumberland, Maryland, and I visit him whenever possible. (Like many other federal prisoners, he should not be incarcerated at all, but that is material for another story at another time.) During my last visit, we were discussing prison medical care, or the lack thereof. “Bill,” he said,

The Martha verdict appears quite popular with the political classes and the vaunted “man on the street,” not to mention the nation’s mainstream journalists.  The post-trial comments of one juror, Chappell Hartridge (Juror Number Eight), say it all: “Maybe this is a victory for the little guys who lose money thanks to these kinds of transactions.