Some may remember all that talk about a "V-shaped recovery" last year. That was back when we were being assured that just a few weeks of lockdowns was going to bring the economy roaring back. Clearly, that never happened.
Thankfully for the American right, there is another alternative to the neoconservatism of William Buckley, the neoliberalism of Milton Friedman, and the paleo-progressivism of Teddy Roosevelt: the libertarian populism of Murray Rothbard.
Here's a likely reason the Fed has chosen to hide its data on government deposits: the explosion of Treasury deposits at the fed “fuels … suggestions that the Fed is directly financing the government [and] foster[s] uncertainty about central bank independence.”
Rothbard recognized that money and exchange could not develop without first establishing private property. So Rothbard also recognized that it was important to develope theories of how private property might come about.
We asked some of our writers and scholars to talk about why Rothbard is worth remembering. Here's what they had to say.
In January, money supply growth hit a new all-time high, rising slightly above September 2020's previous high, and remaining well above growth levels that one year ago would have been considered unthinkable.
Think of Minneapolis and Portland and then apply that model nationwide. Then you have an idea where progressive radicals want to take us.
The answer lies in audacious economic reforms that favor markets and entrepreneurs: liquidate bad investments, let deflation happen, cut government spending, cut taxes, let wages fall.
Much of the harm is disguised by focusing on forecasts of higher aggregate income for the poor. Individuals, on the other hand, are another story.
If grocery stores were run like public schools, they'd still be in the midst of an extended covid lockdown. Fortunately, though, we have a (mostly) privatized system, with vouchers for low-income shoppers. A similar system for schools would be a far saner choice than what we have now.
