Just two days ago the FOMC decided once again to raise the target range for the Fed Funds rate, with Yellen expressing optimism about 2% inflation and therefore (in the Keynesian framework), the economy itself. While Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan voted with everyone else (except Neel Kashkari) to hike rates, he today made it clear that the inflation trend is worrying him. If the inflation rate continues to move away from 2%, his opinion is that rate hikes should be suspended. 

Two years ago, Bitcoin was considered a fringe technology for libertarians and computer geeks. Now, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum, are gaining mainstream adoption. However, mainstream adoption has been propelled by financial speculation instead of by demand for a privately minted and deflationary medium of exchange. After the Fed’s rate hike this week, Bitcoin and alternative cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum and Dash dropped in value instantly. Bitcoin, for example, dropped by approximately 16% in value while other coins dropped by approximately 25%.

One of the few good things President Obama did was partially liberalize the US government’s policy toward Cuba. While it should have gone much further than it did, the Obama administration expanded the types of travel and trade allowed with Cubans in Cuba. 

In the wake of these moves, American entrepreneurs responded immediately with new air service, cargo service, and a myriad of other services designed to provide support to American travelers and business people. 

Terry McAuliffe’s Wednesday press conference on the Alexandria shooting offers an instructive lesson on what passes for quantitative analysis among politicians. 

Britain’s general election went horribly wrong, with the Conservatives forced into a putative coalition with the Democratic Ulster Party. Theresa May’s failure to secure a clear majority has provoked indignation, bitterness, and widespread pessimism. The purpose of this article is not to contribute to this outcry, but to take a more measured view of the situation faced by the British government with regards to Brexit, and the consequences for Europe.

In recent years, we’ve examined any number of ways of decentralizing the American political system. These step-by-step moves can include decentralizing the monetary system, decentralizing the military, decentralizing immigration policy, and decentralizing elections.

June’s FOMC meeting concluded today and the meeting announcement revealed an interest rate hike of .25% to bring the Federal Funds target to between 1 and 1.25%. Additionally, we also learned that the FOMC anticipates one more rate in 2017, 3 more in 2018, and the beginning of a balance sheet reduction effort starting this year. Of course, the balance sheet reduction is actually just a taper in the amount of reinvestment. Since they are simply slowing down how much in assets they are buying every month, the balance sheet will still be increasing. 

Steve Baker, a Conservative Member of Parliament, was announced today as junior Brexit minister under fellow libertarian David Davis.

Students are running out of reasons to pursue higher education. Here are four trends documented in recent articles:

Graduates have little to no improvement in critical thinking skills

The Wall Street Journal reported on the troubling results of the College Learning Assessment Plus test (CLA+), administered in over 200 colleges across the US.