There have been four gold busts under the fiat dollar money regimes since the “freeing” of the gold price in March 1968. If the past is any guide to the future the trigger to the fifth bust will include a key component - optimism on reform, replacement or just sounder management of the contemporary US fiat money regime. Hope is measured relative is relative to prior desperation. Suffice to say, all these previous episodes of supposed fiat dollar monetary renaissance proved to be false dawns, albeit of highly variable length.

“Like every acting man, the entrepreneur is always a speculator. He deals with the uncertain conditions of the future. His success or failure depends on the correctness of his anticipation of uncertain events.”—Ludwig von Mises, Human Action

In his article “Is the Constitution Broken beyond Repair?” David Gordon draws attention to a phenomenon that is often overlooked, namely, the great rejoicing among some constitutional lawyers over the fact that “to establish the new Constitution, Lincoln overthrew the first one… he replaced the old, immoral Constitution with a new one based on equality.” This is indeed one reason why some of Lincoln’s admirers still celebrate the burning of the South by the Union Army—the devastation and destruction

For most economists and commentators, a strong labor market is the key driver of economic growth. The reduction in the number of unemployed people supposedly means that more individuals can afford to increase their spending on goods and services. As a result, according to such thinking, economic growth is likely to follow. This is based on the view that an increase in the demand and spending will trigger an increase in the supply.

Donald Trump has been criticized heavily for cutting federal funding of science. Opponents claim that his decision threatens to undermine American innovation, weaken the nation’s economy, and diminish its global influence. Yet the assumption behind these complaints is rarely examined. It is taken for granted that the government must play a central role in supporting science if society is to progress.