A few years ago, March 2000 in fact , I came across an e-mail that was impossibly dumb. It called for a “Gas-Out.” The idea was to boycott gasoline for a few days. This action would drive the price of gas down, and at the same time, it would show “Big Oil” that if they tried to raise prices again, we’d hurt them. The increase in gas prices have
When economic times are good, people pay very little attention to the work of economists. Only when an economy experiences a downturn do people come to economists asking how this latest disaster happened and how do we get out of it. Unfortunately, the economist tends to speak in a cryptic language using references to things like the NAIRU, the
Oh joy, oh joy! It has finally arrived! You wouldn’t believe how excited I was to receive a letter from the Social Security Administration. In the letter, they dutifully showed me how much taxable income I have ever made. (Is it me, or is there something really creepy about that?) They showed me how much I have paid in taxes and how much my
The Austrian theory of the business cycle has been gaining attention in the popular press and in political circles since the onset of the most recent recession (December 2007). While the artificial boom and subsequent malinvestments fit the Austrian theory, the question in the popular press is, “Which economic policy is the best to alleviate the
After much thought on this topic, I have decided that the best way to deal with the more than $14.3 trillion national debt is through partial repudiation. Why? It is not an easy story to tell without some context, but I will try my best to be clear. Each year after my daughter’s birthday in May, the family heads to the beach for a week of sun and
Presented at the Austrian Scholars Conference 2008. Abstract : This paper examines whether intellectual property rights are possible under a libertarian system. It considers the arguments of Murray Rothbard and Stephan Kinsella. Rothbard has developed one of the most complete systems of rights in his Ethics of Liberty , and Kinsella has become a
If one reads the headlines you might think that since the yield curve has inverted, the economy is in a recession, Trump will be swept from office and then the Progressives’ goals are right around the corner. Not so fast! While much of that may still happen, we are not there yet. While some on the Left (see Bill Maher ) may be openly hoping for
We have been locked down for weeks. Classes have been canceled. Only essential activities are allowed. Although there is much to cover and analyze, I want to focus on the economics of the situation. To understate it, the situation today is simply not good. The COVID-19 crisis has caused the world to lock down the population, which essentially
¿Alguien accionó recientemente un interruptor? Parece como si el wokeísmo, el Gran Reinicio, ASG, DEI, y un surtido de otras posiciones radicales de izquierda, acabaran de tomar el control. Está presente en el cine, los medios de comunicación, los deportes, las finanzas, el comercio minorista e incluso en la industria cervecera. Sin embargo, no es
Si se leen los titulares se podría pensar que como la curva de rendimiento se ha invertido, la economía está en recesión, Trump será barrido del cargo y entonces los objetivos de los progresistas están a la vuelta de la esquina. ¡No tan rápido! Aunque gran parte de esto todavía puede suceder, aún no hemos llegado a ese punto. Mientras que algunos
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.