Economic Policy

Federal flood insurance was created ostensibly to provide insurance to people who live in flood-prone areas. Not surprisingly, it subsidizes bad home-building decisions and wastes billions of dollars.

As the Biden administration ramps up new government spending—and budget deficits—to unheard-of peacetime levels, reality sets in. No economy and no currency can withstand this explosive assault for very long.

Modern prosperity is astonishing, but it can quickly disappear if our monetary unit fails. We need to keep up the fight for sound money.

Infamous hyperinflations like what hit Germany in 1923 did not begin as a flood. Instead, they started as smaller bouts of inflation initiated by governments that printed money to pay for deficit spending.

Bastiat reminded his readers that economic analysis involves not just what we see on the surface, but also the costs that are hidden from view.

Brian Albrecht joins Bob to discuss the work of this year's Nobel (Memorial) Prize Winner Claudia Goldin, with an emphasis on the male-female wage gap.

On yet another crusade, US authorities have sanctioned Chinese cotton imports. The sanctions won't change Chinese policies but they will create hardships for many.

Is a true populist US government on the horizon? Probably not.

In the wake of the Arab Oil Embargo of 50 years ago, Congress banned U.S. export sales of crude oil. The results were different than what government "experts" imagined.

Jonathan Newman rejoins Bob to explore more of the mechanics and political implications of the Fed's current state of insolvency.