Mises Daily Monday by Gary Galles: 

Many poverty relief laws and policies are premised on the assumption that only “the rich” will bear the costs. In fact, the incomes and well-being of many low-income individuals are taxed and diminished to benefit a nebulous group known as “the poor.”

Economist Mark Hendrickson has written an accessible short book that examines some of the biggest flaws found in Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century. Hendrickson sums up the basics here: 

Assessing Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century.

by Mark Hendrickson

Mises Daily Weekend by Jonathan Newman: 

What if the government ran hair salons and the private sector provided auto registrations? Needless to say, getting a haircut would be a harrowing and soul-crushing experience. Meanwhile, registering your automobile would be another matter entirely.

It is accepted by most economists that initial increases in consumer spending or other outlays tend to set in motion a reinforcing process which supposedly strengthens the economic growth by a multiple of initial spending.

Mr. Max Ehrendfreund, writing in the Washington Post’s Wonkblog, believes that he has discovered something new: that the world is producing too much and doesn’t know what to do with it. His solution, of course, is to confiscate the overproduced products, such as oil and cotton, from its rightful owners and give it to the people who need it.