In response to the government-created “energy crises” that we have experienced in the past few years (more on the their “crisis” nature later), Congress, the courts, and the executive branch of the US government are united in their belief that energy futures must be administered futures. Whatever pretense the Republican administration has given to
The horrific bridge collapse in Minnesota has brought its share of news and commentary, much of it predictable. For example, the New York Times, which is relentless in its insistence that society is improved only through the growth of state power, wrote what essentially is a front-page editorial calling for higher taxes in Minnesota: MINNEAPOLIS,
In February, 2001, I saw the end of the credit-filled boom , as the stock market went bust, and predicted recessionary times, which soon followed. It seems, however, that Washington, D.C., is one great big toga party, and if it is true that Blutarsky of “Animal House” became Senator Blutarsky (as the film’s credits tell us at the end), perhaps
As the wildfires in California and elsewhere burn forests, homes, and businesses, and as a Katrina-sized evacuation continues, environmentalists and the media are making new claims : these disasters are the results of global warming. According to a recent “60 Minutes” broadcast and new claims on CNN, global warming is causing these newest
I recently heard a radio interview with a prominent economist who was defending Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s moves to shore up the markets on Wall Street. Bernanke, the economist said with emphasis, had spent years studying the “mistakes” of the Fed during the Great Depression and was not going to repeat the “errors” that the Fed
A recent poll taken by CNN found that US drivers fear the possibilities of shortages more than they fear higher prices: A CNN/Opinion Research poll released Tuesday shows that 55% of those surveyed are more worried about long lines at gas stations and rationing than about the high prices that drivers have paid in recent months. The poll shows 40%
In a recent column, Paul Krugman tries to explain the “Bush bust.” Instead of clear, cogent economic theory, we are fed a mass of contradictory ideas, a bit of political partisanship, and explanations that simply make no sense. When one attempts to apply economic theory in order to explain certain events, one is reminded of Carl Menger’s dictum:
As a long-time critic of the part-time economist and full-time political partisan Paul Krugman, I would be remiss if I did not give him at least some credit for being able to point out the obvious: Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme really is a prototype for the modern US economy. Yes, Krugman is right, but, alas, I am also required to add that a
The lead story of the March 9, 2009, edition of Newsweek says it all: “Stop Saving Now!” Writer Daniel Gross declares, For our $14 trillion economy to recover and thrive, hoarders must open their wallets and become consumers, and businesses must once again be willing to roll the dice. Nobody is advocating a return to the debt-fueled days of
All of us who warmly remember Animal House can recall the scene at the end in which the band is trying to walk through the wall at the end of the alley, having been led there by one of the pranksters from Delta House. Obviously, like the rest of the movie, this moment is an absurdity, but nonetheless I can think of no better way to describe Paul
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.
