The national debt is approaching $40 trillion. The size of the national debt raises several pertinent questions. At what point will growth in the national debt cause a financial crisis and national bankruptcy? How can such a crisis be averted? Can we rely on politicians to act soon enough to avert this crisis?
Most commentators are of the view that what prevents the attainment of price stability is the deviation of the policy interest rate, such as the federal funds rate, from the neutral interest rate, also known as the natural interest rate. The neutral interest rate, it is held, is the one that is consistent with stable prices and a balanced economy. According to this view, what is required is for Fed policymakers to successfully direct the federal funds rate toward the neutral interest rate.
“Trump’s war on Iran has left Russia is in the catbird seat while trust regarding Washington’s role in the negotiations is at critical lows.”
A classified report from the Nat’l Intelligence Council has found that even a large-scale US assault on Iran is unlikely to produce regime change.
“Analysts have warned that the sell-off in Japanese bonds could lead to higher U.S. Treasury yields, as it may discourage investors from buying U.S. bonds.”
The footage would appear to contradict US President Donald Trump’s claim that it was an Iranian missile that hit the school.
Asked about plans for a military draft, White House spokesman Leavitt said: “President Trump wisely does not remove options off of the table.”
Over the past weekend, from February 12 until February 15, Polymarket—in conjunction with the Food Bank For NYC—organized a pop-up grocery store in NYC that offered groceries entirely free of charge. Although the event was a short-term promotional stunt by Polymarket, it drew public praise from Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has pitched similar interventionist ideas for grocery stores before.
Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming one of the most capital-intensive industries in history. Consider: Semiconductor fabrication plants cost tens of billions of dollars. Massive data centers consume extraordinary amounts of electricity, sending power bills soaring.
I am sorry to report that Roger W. Garrison passed away last month, at the age of 82. Roger was one of the foremost authorities on the Austrian Theory of the Business Cycle, culminating in his great book Time and Money: The Macroeconomics of Capital Structure (Routledge (2001). His interest in Austrian macroeconomics and its superiority to Keynesian macroeconomics first became apparent in a paper he wrote in 1973 on the topic. After he sent a copy to Murray Rothbard, Joey Rothbard called him and invited him to visit Murray in New York.
