Rodion Giniyatullin is an auditor in Russia and teaches at the Ural State University of Economics (USUE) in Ekaterinb

Millennials Love Free Markets, But Don’t Understand Them

In a recent Reason-Rupe Survey, 58 percent of Americans ages 18–24 said they viewed socialism favorably. However, when asked if they favored a free market economy or a government-managed economy, 64 percent of Millennials said they favored the free market. How is it possible for Millennials to favor both a socialist government and a capitalist economy? The answer is simple, Millennials simply do not understand what either of these words really mean, especially capitalism.

The US National Debt Load is Second-Worst in the World

The US Office of Management and Budget last month released its latest numbers of US federal debt as a percentage of gross domestic product. According to the OMB, the federal debt is now at 100 percent, which makes it similar to debt levels reached during the aftermath of the second world war when the US was still dealing with its massive war debt. 

Indeed, since 2008, federal debt levels have been at 50-year highs and at levels one would expect from a country in crisis or at war:

Mises Destroys Socialism, Again and Again

We need Mises now more than ever. The Federal Reserve is weighing which month to increase their target rate by a quarter of a percentage point, sending the media into a flurry whenever Janet Yellen so much as sneezes. As millions of US voters fall behind a self-avowed socialist, Venezuela’s socialist experiment is crashing and burning: Coca-Cola has shut down operations, toilet paper is a luxury item, power outages are regular, and violence and looting are on the rise. This is a prime opportunity to show others the prescience of Mises.

45 Years Without Gold

When World War I began, many analysts believed that the international gold standard would keep the war short. A war of attrition was not thought to be possible because the disciplining effects of the gold standard — capital flight and gold outflow — were supposed to restrain the ability of states to mobilize resources in times of war. As many believed at the time, states under the gold standard would quickly run out of money to pay for soldiers and resources.