In January 2015, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) unexpectedly removed the de facto peg of the franc to the euro.1 The move was welcomed by free-market economists, including in contributions on Mises Wire

Anyone reading the news and especially the political “liberal” and conservative commentaries might easily conclude that he is living in a world of two parallel political universes. It is as if modern American liberals and conservatives are, respectively, occupying alternative realities about how they look at the economy and culture of the country, and evaluate Donald Trump and his administration.  The common element in both, however, is the existence of an intrusive and controlling government.

On December 19, an Amtrak train in Washington State killed three people and injured 100 others when it derailed and crashed into traffic lanes on a nearby highway.

The day before, Atlanta’s international airport suffered a disastrous power outage:

A great many people — especially conservatives — reverence the Constitution, consider that it has been abused and that if only the doctrines expressed within were revived and respected, all would be well with America again.

This, of course, is a kind of children’s bedtime story — and approximates reality to about the same degree as the story of the Three Little Pigs.

Journal of Libertarian Studies 15, no. 3 (Summer 2001)

And the taxpayer, not content with thus ruining political science, added insult to injury by damning all its chief ornaments as thieves, and by swearing that he would never let them rook him again. His bellow was now for the most rigid economy, and he swore that he would have it if the heavens fell. There was no holding him while the fit was on him. In many American cities, public expenditures were actually reduced. — H.L.

Journal of Libertarian Studies 15, no. 3 (Summer 2001)

And the taxpayer, not content with thus ruining political science, added insult to injury by damning all its chief ornaments as thieves, and by swearing that he would never let them rook him again. His bellow was now for the most rigid economy, and he swore that he would have it if the heavens fell. There was no holding him while the fit was on him. In many American cities, public expenditures were actually reduced. — H.L.

Sports are often defined as much by their controversies as they are their highlights. For college football, when debate is not focused on the proper way to crown national titles, the topic of player compensation is one of the most heated — and perhaps important — debates. It’s also one frequently plagued by bad economics, highlighting common misunderstandings about capital and labor.

Writes James Bovard in USA Today:

The Justice Department was caught in another high-profile travesty last month that continues to reverberate through the western states. On Dec. 20, federal judge Gloria Navarro declared a mistrial in the case against Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and others after prosecutors were caught withholding massive amounts of evidence undermining federal charges. This is the latest in a long series of federal law enforcement debacles that have spurred vast distrust of Washington.