There is almost complete unanimity among economists and various commentators that inflation is about general increases in the prices of goods and services. It is also held that to counter general increases in prices, as depicted by the consumer price index the CPI, the central bank should raise interest rates. A tighter interest rate stance by the central bank will “cool off” the demand for goods and services. This, in turn, is likely to weaken the growth rate of the consumer price index (CPI).

“Trump told a Hungarian crowd that Orbán had done “a fantastic job.” The president repeatedly urged Hungarians to back Orbán in his social posts.”

“Americans continue to reel from prices that soared during the pandemic, never came back to earth, and keep ticking higher.”

The automatic registration will apply to male US citizens and “every other male person” in the country between the ages of 18 and 26.

Now that the Trump administration has escalated the threats made to Iran, the usual justifications for war are already circulating, including those that tell us that US intervention in foreign countries is about spreading democracy. We are told that bombing other countries could prevent evil regimes from killing their own people. We are told that we are doing a good thing. All of this is, of course, a lie.

Teddy Roosevelt would be so pleased if he could see the world today, with a US military presence virtually everywhere on the planet.

[This article is one of the winners of the annual Kenneth Garschina Undergraduate Student Essay Contest. In March 2026, in celebration of Murray Rothbard’s 100th birthday, students submitted essays on his iconic Austro-libertarian text, For a New Liberty: A Libertarian Manifesto. The top three contestants presented their essays at the Austrian Economics Research Conference.]