Niger: Finally, A War John McCain Doesn’t Love
News first broke about America’s Niger misadventure on October 4. “The real news here is that the US has forces in Niger, where they’re conducting covert operations,” this writer tweeted out. “Hashtag America First.”
Tax Reform and the Iron Law
Mark Thornton on RT:
The House has a tax bill in their sights, but is it passable? Steve Malzberg joins host Lindsay France to discuss it. The Senate meanwhile has killed a rule that allows citizens to file class-action suits against banks and other financial institutions. Bianca Facchinei has the story. And what is the Iron Law of Convergence? Dr. Mark Thornton is on to explain how this important law was once visible in the US economy.
Sources Claim Janet Yellen Will Not Be Re-Appointed
According to Politico:
On Wednesday, one top [Morning Money] source who talks regularly to President Trump said the only finalists are Jay Powell and John Taylor and the question is just which one gets it. This person said Janet Yellen is out as is Kevin Warsh. Gary Cohn, as we’ve reported, has been out of it for weeks now. But…
Pentagon Pushes Plan for Female Draft Registration
The Pentagon is moving forward with pressuring Congress to add women to the Selective Service program, which will make virtually all young people eligible for the military draft. The Washington Times reports:
The Pentagon says the country should stick with mandatory registration for a military draft, and it advocates a requirement for women to sign up for the first time in the nation’s history.
Historical Controversies Podcast: Season 1
Last week, Chris Calton completed his first season of Historical Controversies podcast, which covered the History of the War on Drugs.
There Is No “War on Cops”
With the FBI releasing the 2016 Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted data this month, reports on police deaths have once again found their way into headlines. Such reports offer a great illustration of how reporting the same facts in different ways can dramatically change how big a problem seems to be. Also interesting is the information that is reported depending on the media outlet.
2. Regulating the Railroads
1. The Drive for Regulation
Characteristically, it was Albert Fink who saw it first. If the railroads could not form successful cartels by voluntary action, then they would have to get the government to do the job for them. Only government compulsion could sustain a successful cartel. As Fink put it in a letter as early as 1876, “Whether this cooperation can be secured by voluntary action of the transportation companies is doubtful.
Preface by Murray N. Rothbard
The aim of this proposed book is to trace the origins of the current welfare-warfare state in America, in what is loosely called “The Progressive Period,” from approximately the mid-1890s to the mid-1920s.
1. Railroads: The First Big Business and the Failure of the Cartels
1. Subsidizing the Railroads
Railroads were the first Big Business, the first large-scale industry, in America. It is therefore not surprising that railroads were the first industry to receive massive government subsidies, the first to try to form substantial cartels to restrict competition, and the first to be regulated by government.1
