One of the few elected Democratic lawmakers with an extensive anti-war record, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), has combined forces with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) to push legislation through both the House and the Senate that would bar federal agencies from using taxpayer-backed funds to provide weapons, training, intelligence, or any other type of support to terrorist cells such as al-Qaeda, ISIS, or any other group that is associated with them in any way.

For the past several weeks, a dark and uneasy atmosphere has been hanging heavily over the British political landscape. In addition to the four major terrorist attacks on British soil since March, the 2017 general election highlighted growing public anger with the complacent, non-ideological, and seemingly uncontested reign of Prime Minister Theresa May.

Last week, a gunman opened fire on a group of Republican members of Congress. Letters sent by the gunman to his local newspaper suggest he was obsessed with Republican policies, and concluded that Donald Trump “Has Destroyed Our Democracy” [sic] and that “It’s Time to Destroy Trump and Co.” 

While the Federal Reserve is desperate to depict an optimistic vision for the global economy, their fellow central bankers aren’t buying it. Earlier this week Mark Carney of the Bank of England shutdown talk of the BOE possibly following the Fed’s lead in raising interest rates.

The economic arguments against central banks are numerous to say the least. Through the writings of Ludwig von Mises and Murray Rothbard we have a wide variety of critiques that explain the many ways the central banks distort economies, cause booms and busts, punish savers, and chose winners and losers through monetary policy. 

But, even if confronted with these arguments, and one remains supportive of central banks, other non-economic arguments must still be addressed.

Derek Carr has just signed the most lucrative deal in NFL history, receiving a five-year extension worth $125 million with the soon-to-be Las Vegas Raiders. At $25 million per year, Carr edges out Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (though Luck’s contract did reward him with over twice as much in guaranteed money).

For most financial commentators an important factor that either reinforces or weakens the effect of changes in money supply on economic activity and prices is a velocity of money.

It is alleged that when the velocity of money rises, all other thing being equal, the buying power of money declines (i.e., the prices of goods and services rise). The opposite occurs when velocity declines.