The conventional view among mainstream economists, as presented by Milton Friedman, is that three factors determine market interest rates: liquidity, economic activity, and inflationary expectations.

In this viewpoint, whenever the central bank raises the growth rate in the money supply by buying financial assets such as Treasurys, this pushes the prices of Treasurys higher and their yields lower. Note that this is the monetary liquidity effect, which inversely correlates with interest rates.

Florida’s government is poised to revoke the longstanding special favors that the state granted the Walt Disney Company nearly five decades ago. As of Thursday afternoon, both the House and the Senate in Florida have voted to end the megacorp’s special district, which has long enabled Disney to engage in activities prohibited to other private groups and individuals in the state. The governor is expected to sign the legislation.

COIN+TELPRO was a series of illegal operations conducted by the FBI between 1956-1971, to disrupt, discredit and neutralise anyone considered a threat to national security, including members of the Women’s Liberation Movement and even the Boy Scouts of America.

And it wasn’t just the customary wiretapping, infiltration and media manipulation, the FBI committed blackmail and murder.

Last week I wrote about Alfred Schutz, an excellent philosopher who has much to teach us. This week I’d like to talk about another philosopher, David Stove, who falls into the same category. He has a big advantage over Schutz. He writes with great vigor, is easy to follow, and has an immense capacity for satiric wit.

Several weeks ago, with little to no press coverage, the Federal Reserve released its audited financial statements. Readers don’t need a background in finance to fathom the mind-boggling numbers required to operate America’s Central Bank. A highlight from the press release:

I was saddened to hear of the passing of Professor George Ayittey, a brilliant scholar, prolific writer and fierce fighter for Africa’s freedom, prosperity, and dignity. May heaven grant his soul peace and rest. 

With both Democrats and Republicans predictably falling over each other to increase US defense spending, what serious commentary and debate exists primarily focuses on how best to effectively allocate the additional billions of taxpayer dollars to be dumped into the black hole of the Pentagon.

Over the past twenty years, the United States has increasingly tried to claim that Washington does not believe in spheres of influence and that only supposedly imperialist states like Russia are interested in spheres of influence. This has always been nonsense, of course, especially since Washington’s Monroe Doctrine explicitly claims a sphere of influence for the United States.