Mises Dailies

Obamacare is a Devastating Tax on the Working Class

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:12:00 -0600

Depending on the specific plan and other variables such as location, the healthcare plan amounts to a direct labor tax of approximately $300 per month for an individual, or nearly $700 for family coverage.

Securitization and Fractional-Reserve Banking

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:12:00 -0600

Securitization has provided banks with an alternative source of liquidity, different from open-market operations, It has become a tool for spreading the illusion of savings-driven economic growth and for creating the economic cycle.

How the Fed Helped Pay for World War I

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:04:00 -0600

Just as kings debased coins to help pay for their wars, the Fed used inflation to help pay for US participation in World War I. It did so by creating and issuing dollars in return for government debt.

Mozart Was a Red

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:20:00 -0600

Rothbard was lighthearted and outgoing, whereas Rand's circle was stern and serious. They had strict views on music and religion, whereas Murray was broad in his outlook on these matters.

The Triumph of Socialism

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:08:00 -0600

Do you think ideas don't matter, that what people believe about themselves and their world has no real consequence? If so, the following will not bug you in the slightest.

A Free-Market Operative in the Bowels of Bureaucracy

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:08:00 -0600

Even the most conscientious bureaucrat, and there are many, cannot achieve efficient results. How does he know what is best for individual members of society?

Should We Believe the GDP?

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:12:00 -0600

Just because the government crunched numbers and the result came out positive means we are all better off? None of the 15.7 million unemployed Americans is thinking the recession (Great or otherwise) is over.

Menger the Revolutionary

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:08:00 -0600

To comprehend Menger's achievement, one must understand the context into which it fits. It was Menger who elaborated the logical foundations of marginal-utility theory and it was his Principles specifically that served as the basic text.

Inflation and Deflation

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:08:00 -0600

If one looks at the catastrophic consequences of the great paper-money inflations, one must admit that the expensiveness of gold production is the minor evil.

The Candlemakers' Petition

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 02:08:00 -0600

You are on the right road. You reject abstract theories, and have little consideration for cheapness and plenty. Your chief care is the interest of the producer.

A Petition from Producers of Everything Connected with Healthcare

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 02:08:00 -0600

Your so-called free public services are not only costly, they typically cost more than what could be provided privately. We in the private sector must survive by keeping costs low relative to revenue. You do not face this burden.

The Dead Zone: The Implicit Marginal Tax Rate

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 02:08:00 -0600

Everywhere, the government's desire to be generous to the poor is destroying the positive incentives to work and to save that are so necessary for a well-functioning economy.

Transformation of the American Right

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:20:00 -0600

The promise of laissez-faire performs the same function for the Right as the promise of unlimited abundance under communism did for Stalin: the promise of a future utopia to make current sacrifices worthwhile.

Freaking Out over Global Warming

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:12:00 -0600

Levitt and Dubner raise an interesting possibility that deserves careful scrutiny, not ridicule. An immediate and drastic reductions in carbon emissions is not the only way to address climate change.

A Path To Runaway US Inflation

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:08:00 -0600

Housing prices have been propped up, banks and auto companies have been bailed out, regulations have been increased, debt covenants have been violated, unemployment insurance has been extended.

Classical Natural Law and Libertarian Theory

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:16:00 -0600

Murray N. Rothbard, the most important exponent of the radical libertarian school, is right when he rejects the historicism and relativism of legal realism and when — for the same reasons — he criticizes Hayek and Leoni.

Cultivating Sound Ideas

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:12:00 -0600

Rockwell argues that one of the worst errors of free-market intellectuals is their discussion of liberty as just another policy option for politicians and bureaucrats to consider how, when, and where freedom is to be permitted.

Can Capitalism Survive?

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:16:00 -0600

Capitalism, by providing a previously unknown standard of living, actually undermines its own support, essentially by performing its tasks too well, so that the origin of prosperity is overlooked by its greatest beneficiaries.

Will Preventive Care Control Costs?

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:12:00 -0600

American patients are not homogeneous mannequins smoothly distributed over one or two physical variables along a bell curve or any other type of graph. Each individual consumer is unique.

The Notion of Neutral Money

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:09:00 -0600

The notion of a neutral money is no less contradictory than that of a money of stable purchasing power. Money without a driving force of its own would not, as people assume, be a perfect money; it would not be money at all.

A Penchant for Controlling Others

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:08:00 -0600

There are times when texting is safe. There are times when it is not safe. The only ones who can really know the difference are the people behind the wheel.

Obama and the Aqueduct

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:08:00 -0600

It's just a matter of time before renewed calls for a Works Progress Administration (WPA) or other Depression-era-like programs are trotted out again with the idea of Uncle Sam putting people back to work.

Why We Have Rights

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:07:00 -0600

Rights are the means by which we can reasonably predict human behavior. Without predictability, the existence of higher life forms would be impossible.

Common Objections to Capitalism

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:06:00 -0600

A lot of people object to what they call "capitalism," but their objections hold little or no water once they are examined critically. Let's consider some of the most common objections in turn.

The Austrians versus the Mainstream Potter and His Wheel

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 01:03:32 -0600

Capital is not some mass that can be modified free form. If an entrepreneur wants to change the current structure of capital, he will wield dynamite and dozer, not water and wheel.

The Broken Window

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 01:03:24 -0600

What if someone says that it is a good thing to break windows; it causes money to circulate; the encouragement of industry in general will be the result of it? That theory accounts only for what is seen.

Entrepreneurs: The Real "Peace Prize" Winners

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 01:03:20 -0600

The true promoters of peace need attention, for they will never likely receive such ostentatious recognition for their noble efforts. They take risks in a world of uncertainty, and save or borrow capital to start a business.

Halloween and its Candy Economy

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 01:03:54 -0500

The true magic of Halloween is the transforming effect of free exchange, the chance to derive mutual benefit from the difference in tastes between individuals.

A Live Blog From Salamanca

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:03:36 -0500

The live blog from Salamanca, Spain, has been a popular feature of the Mises blog. It was my "job" to do this in Salamanca during the Supporter's Summit this year, but it ended up being a joy, and much easier than I expected.

The Gold Standard and the Great Depression

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:02:58 -0500

Remember that "abandoning gold" isn't akin to shaving one's mustache. When a country dropped a peg, it effectively ripped off every investor who had been holding assets denominated in it.