Mises Daily

We have a government that cannot control its spending, and we have a national debt that cannot possibly be paid back.

Any student of money and banking recognizes the sophistry in saying that "the Fed does not pay with paper money."

Governments can perpetuate violence in war and against the civilian population every day, but when a private person does the same for political reasons, a struggle ensues to see which line of thinking will pay what price.

"The plan was to kill people, sir."

Transfer spending is the Godzilla that threatens to consume New York, Tokyo, Berlin, and nearly every other city on the planet.

Why did I feel as if I were teaching junior-high-school students in university, and why did nobody in authority seem to care?

There was no "irrational exuberance"; the exuberance was completely rational given the price signals at the time.

No, the bill can't be paid and won't be paid. That much should be obvious. But denying the obvious is a mental trait built into the structure of the system. The economic crisis of 2008 was really just the realization that the consumer-debt load at the time was unsustainable.

Thinking through the economics of big cities sheds light on general principles of free markets.