“I’m not thrilled,” President Trump told CNBC’s Joe Kernen in an interview that aired on Squawk Box last month. “Because we go up and every time you go up they want to raise rates again. I don’t really — I am not happy about it. But at the same time I’m letting them do what they feel is best.”

An audio version of this article is available here.

The Skyscraper Index is a chronicle of world record-setting skyscrapers that culminate in a major economic crisis — the Skyscraper Curse. The Index has a remarkable record from the late 19th century to the present and is described historically and theoretically in my new book, The Skyscraper Curse, and How Austrian Economists Predicted Every Major Economic Crisis of the Last Century.

McDonalds has announced that they will be releasing MacCoins in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Big Mac. While crypto-related gimmicks have proven to be profitable, there is no blockchain involved, instead customers will receive a physical coin whenever they purchase a Big Mac. CNN Money reports that McDonalds has 6.2 million MacCoins ready for distribution.

In recent years, Judge Andrew Napolitano has annoyed some anti-immigration activists by pointing out what the text of the US Constitution seemingly makes clear: “[T]he Constitution itself — from which all federal powers derive — does not delegate to the federal government power over immigration, only over naturalization.”

The US deep state’s hatred of the Iranian people goes back a long way, at least as far back as 1953. That was the year that the CIA, which was called into existence in 1947 when the US government was being converted to a national-security state, targeted Iran with its first regime-change operation. And guess who paid the price for that operation. Yes, the people of Iran.

“The fetus is the property of the entire society. Anyone who avoids having children is a deserter who abandons the laws of national continuity.” This was the justification Romanian Communist leader Nicolae Ceauşescu offered for his 1966 “Decree 770.” Aimed at increasing the Romanian economy through population growth, Decree 770 criminalized abortion, which was the prevailing form of birth control at the time. Subsequent laws imposed a specific tax on childless adults (in 1977), and when condoms and birth control became available in the 1980s, they were prohibited as well.

Neil Peart, the extraordinary drummer for the band Rush, has produced another terrific travel journal titled Far and Wide: Bring that Horizon to Me! Peart is already a photojournalist of some acclaim, having written several tour diaries over the years full of his musings and pictures from life on the road with one of the most successful rock acts of our time.

In a great interview with CBS, Cody Wilson of Defense Distributed declares that the  ”debate is over” in terms of the availability of 3D printed guns. 

A recently released study by the Mercatus Center has placed renewed focus on the fiscal costs of Medicare for All.