While America Debates the $20 Bill, China Moves Closer to Gold
On Wednesday, Jack Lew announced that the US Treasury was following Ben Bernanke’s advice and keeping Alexander Hamilton on the $10, instead deciding to bring Harriett Tubman to the $20.
Mises Against the Neoliberals
In his essay on the pervasive evil of “neoliberalism” George Monbiot demonstrates confusion similar to that of Philip Mirowski in his book More Heat than Light: Economics as Social Physics, Physics as Nature’s Economics.
The Euro Zone Embraces “Helicopter Money”
On 10 March 2016, European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi gave rise to expectations that the monetary authority could, at some stage, issue helicopter money. The latter basically denotes a free handout of new money to, say, consumers, corporates and public sector entities. Why would the ECB want to do such a thing?
RIP, €500 Note
It appears that the €500 note will die a slow death. Rather than being completely demonetized, production of the note will cease, but those holding notes will still be able to deposit them and exchange them. A complete ban seems to have been stymied due to strong opposition from Germany. German opposition to the note’s removal stems from a high rate of cash usage.
Jackson, not Hamilton, to be Replaced on US Currency
In a move that will be unsurprising to cynics everywhere, the US treasury has announced that Andrew Jackson, and not Alexander Hamilton, will be replaced by Harriet Tubman.
Slavery and Freedom
The idea of freedom has become so ingrained in all of us that for a long time no one dared to call it into question. People were accustomed always to speaking of freedom only with the greatest of reverence; it remained for Lenin to call it a “bourgeois prejudice.” Although the fact is often forgotten today, all this is an achievement of liberalism.
Why Don’t Bernie and Progressives Live Communally Here and Now?
This article from the Free Beacon about Bernie Sanders being kicked out of a “hippie commune” in 1971 reads like something from The Onion. Bernie, age 30(!) at that point, was like a bad college roommate who preferred late night political discussions to housework and cleaning.
Minimum Wage: A Common Rhetorical Trick
Under the title “Target increases minimum wage to $10 an hour,” Reuters reports that Target is increasing its “minimum wage:”
James Grant Points Out US is Broke, Left Goes Nuts
Last week James Grant, friend of the Mises Institute and prolific financial commentator and historian, wrote Time’s cover story detailing the fiscal shape of the United States.