In civics and government books, “how a bill becomes law” shows multiple steps during which representatives consider bills before enactment. Unfortunately, such responsible deliberation, necessary to even a minimal prospect of legislation advancing the general welfare, is violated by “gut and amend” bills at the end of legislative sessions.

Today’s discomfiting 1,000 point drop in the DJIA may be the next in a series of shocks for worldwide equity markets. But given the growth in the Federal Reserve Bank’s monetary base, US stocks may have a long way down left to go. 

Consider that base money has more than quadrupled since the Crash of 08.

In this interview, Jim Grant nicely sums in a few minutes the basic problem of using asset price inflation in pursuit of economic enterprise. The problem is this strategy puts the cart before the horse.

Back in March, Peter Brockvar observed that even when the economy seemed to be doing moderately well, the Fed wouldn’t have the “guts” to raise interest rates even “25 basis points.” “The cost of money is not the impediment to further growth,” he noted. “There will never be a good time to raise raites of zero when you’ve been there for 6 years.” “The Fed’s screwed.” 

Markets are heading down fast today (some are even using the word “panic”), but in his recent Mises Daily article, Brendan Brown noted that current trends suggest that the current boom may still have some life in it:

Venezuela’s nearly full-blown socialism is making the news once again. For approximately two years now, the country’s economic crisis has been rapidly unfolding: rising prices, fuelled by increased scarcity of goods and a depreciating currency, were followed by price controls, which brought about even higher prices and more shortages. The list of basic commodities missing from stores, such as toilet paper, has gradually expanded to include cooking oil, corn flour, sugar, sanitary pads, batteries, coffins, and even oil (once the country’s main export).

A spectacular funeral was held in Rome for alleged crime boss Vittorio Casamonica.  The funeral cortege included “a gilded and elaborate black and gold carriage pulled by six black horses wearing plumes, a low-flying helicopter dropping rose petals from the sky and a large crowd of tearful mourners.

Not surprisingly, during the 2012 election, Ron Paul was the only laissez-faire candidate when it came to immigration. The Democratic candidates, naturally, wanted more subsidies for immigrants (in the form of welfare and citizenship benefits) while most of the other GOP candidates called for a variety of taxpayer funded, authoritarian schemes such as national ID cards, border walls, more police, and regulations on employers and entrepreneurs.

[From an interview with Ron Paul (about his book on education) in The Free Market.]

TFM: How can competition in education provide a better experience for students?