One of the great mistakes among economists is to receive the measures of central banks as if they were the revealed truth. It is surprising and concerning that it is considered mandatory to defend each one of the actions of central banks. That, of course, in public. In private, many colleagues shake their heads in disbelief at the accumulation of bubbles and imbalances. And, as on so many occasions, the lack of constructive criticism leads to institution complacency and a chain of errors that all citizens later regret.

Listen to the Audio Mises Wire version of this article.

Listen to the Audio Mises Wire version of this article.

Listen to the Audio Mises Wire version of this article.

Reincarnation of the Roaring Twenties—one century on from the 1920s—is the lead speculative narrative this new year on Wall Street, it seems.

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) wins 2020! Unfortunately, the Federal Reserve’s hubris could not compete with the smug assertiveness of the Swiss. SNB chairman Thomas Jordan invoked a Ben Bernanke–like assuredness when he made his case that deflation shouldn’t happen here. This comes the day after the US Treasury named Switzerland a currency manipulator, after they met the arbitrary threshold of having a:

There’s no disputing the void that has been left behind since economist Walter Williams passed away in December. Williams had a remarkable ability to convey free market economic concepts in a way the masses could easily digest. Big shoes to fill indeed.

Listen to the Audio Mises Wire version of this article.

Today, the Liberal Party of Canada is nothing more than a center-left catch-all party made of up of progressives and their ilk. But this is a significant departure from its beginnings as a party of radicals committed to a classically liberal ideal.

Imagine, if you will, someone taking the stage at a heated socialist gathering during a union strike and telling the packed room that their ideology is flawed because it leaves the individual out of the equation and thus could only succeed in substituting one set of masters for another.