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A Reliable Account of the Great Depression
For his U.S. economic history class at UNLV, Murray Rothbard gave us the assignment to write a 10-page paper. The paper could be on …
The American Story… Abroad
In 1881, Dakota Territory had never sold a bushel of wheat to anybody outside of Dakota. Six years later, it sold 62 million bushels. …
Bankruptcy: The Glorious New Beginning
You remember when Hostess declared bankruptcy last November? There were outcries that the iconic snack pastry would be gone forever. Speculators began to stockpile …
Smart People Share
For young people facing terrible job prospects and a generally bad economic environment going forward, starting a business sounds very appealing. It has advantages …
How Business “Recesses” Itself
There’s a jewelry store in town with a long tradition, a devoted client list, and a good record of solid profitability. But during the …
Keynesian Policies Are a Flop
World unemployment is on the verge of breaking new records. This trend will continue until 2017. That’s the news from the International Labour Organization …
The Marginal Rule of Wicksteed
Finally, my obsession comes to an end. For a full week, I’ve thought about not much else besides the economic concept of “marginal utility.” …
Marginal Steps Toward a Better Life
I’m at dinner and the hostess serves me pie for dessert. I gobble it up. Then the hostess says, “Would you like another piece?” …
The Uses and Abuses of Social Media
That headline probably seems strange coming from me. I’ve been a champion of social media, and my book A Beautiful Anarchy has a chapter …
Government Will Lose the War on Piracy
It began as a skirmish. Then it was a battle. It became a war. Now it is a bloody conflict that is global in …
The Dangers of Mortgage Debt
In 2008, the American dream of homeownership turned into an incredible nightmare for millions. The government had been subsidizing this stuff for nearly a …
The Coxeyites, the Bankers, and the Political Class
In 1894, a scraggly band of misfits made their way from Ohio to Washington, D.C. They had a plan to present to the political …
What the Labor Pool Collapse Means
Where have all the workers gone? One of the most bizarre happenings in our current economic environment has been the surprising collapse of the …
Aaron Swartz, Hero and Martyr
My apologies for the sad tone of this piece, but a hero has fallen and we need to pay him tribute — and make …
AIG Is Right: Sue the Bastards
AIG, the mega-insurer that was bailed out by the government in 2008, wants to sue the government. People’s automatic reaction: How terribly ungrateful! The …
Progress, Despite Every Attempt to Stop It
The typical libertarian sees the world’s glass of water as half-empty. No wonder people avoid freedom lovers. While they tend to be smart and …
The Great Robbery of Wage-Earners
If you think of American wage-earners as swimmers, they were mostly underwater after 2008. Then last year, wages increased a bit. It was only …
The Failure of Common Knowledge
It takes a shockingly long time for the masses of people to pick up on new realities. This is especially true if the new …
India’s Gold Mania
Less than 1% of the world’s gold is mined in India. The rest comes from somewhere else. Still, India can’t get enough. It is …
The Man the Keynesians Fear
The great battle since 2008 has pitted the ghosts of F.A. Hayek against John Maynard Keynes. Team Keynes dictated the policies we know too …
Markets Stagnate Until They Clear
What the home and mortgage market needs — and it will not recover until then — is a rebooting to current values. To do …
The Meaning of GPS
I am one of those people who has a seriously deficient sense of direction. In other words, I feel lost most of the time. …
The New Year’s First Heist
The high priests of the civic religion are very worried that people no longer seem to trust government. The law stands discredited. Once-hallowed institutions …
Inflationary Illusions in Real Estate
Real estate, and the careers that depend upon it, is a boom-bust business in the age of inflation. The illusion of wealth is everywhere..until …