The pages of Mises.org have been filled with analysis on the impacts of ZIRP, or Zero Interest Rate Policy (of the Federal Reserve) for many years. Even though the recession officially ended 6 1/2 years ago, the policy has remain in place for the last 7 years. The main results of the policy has been to benefit the large banks and to generate bubble in asset markets. However, there is a much more diabolical side of ZIRP, its negative impacts on the productive and savings classes.

Yuri Maltsev and Jeff Deist discuss Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders, and Western progressives’ silly and enduring love affair with socialism.

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It’s the age-old question: is success the result of natural talent or simply hard work? This problem is especially important for entrepreneurs, whose success and failure can make a world of difference to the welfare of society. In fact, doubly so, given the recent emphasis—especially in universities—on encouraging students to be more entrepreneurial and innovative; while there’s much to be said for a more entrepreneurial society, missteps toward that goal waste resources and thus carry large costs.

As a young man Alexander Hamilton once wrote, “There is a certain enthusiasm in liberty, that makes human nature rise above itself, in acts of bravery and heroism.” While it is tragic that Hamilton would grow up to advocate all sorts of government policies contrary to liberty — America would be better off had he read Cantillion — there is a power in these words that has always resonated with me.

Mary King, a professor emerita of economics, writes an op-ed in the Oregonian with the title The economic case for a $15 minimum wage is good. I have no reason to think Professor King is intentionally misrepresenting or using smoke screens, but the op-ed does just that. The very first paragraph makes it clear that King is not talking about anything but artificial analysis without relevance:

According to the LA Times, the US crude slumped to $35 per barrel this week, “the lowest price since early 2009.”

Up through last week, the West Texas Intermediate Crude price had fallen to 40 dollars per barrel, putting it close to the sorts of prices we saw during the dark days of the last recession. If this week’s trends keep up, we’ll be headed back to ten-year lows in oil prices:

The world waits to see if next week is finally the week that the groundhogs at the Fed announce their long-anticipated interest rate hike. Can the economy survive whatever small bump the Fed deals out? Perhaps, but any temporary stability doesn’t change the inherent instability of our current monetary regime.

Jason Brennan, a remarkably prolific libertarian political philosopher, has a good eye for the essence of an argument. He puts this ability to effective use in Why Not Capitalism? In the book he challenges the defense of socialism in Why Not Socialism? by G.A.

The Winter 2015 issue of the Journal of Private Enterprise (http://journal.apee.org/index.php/Category:Winter_2015) features a symposium on the Bernanke-Yellen Fed that includes contributions by William Butos, Larry White, Steve Horwitz and Joseph T. Salerno. The issue also includes a symposium on Roger Garrison’s work with pieces by Robert F. Mulligan, Adrián Ravier, Mark Skousen, and Peter Boettke.