Perhaps due to it not being as readily quantifiable as government taxation, debt, welfare, and money creation; regulation has too often been superficially dealt with. In many ways, the largely “hidden tax” of regulation is a bigger threat to liberty, economy, and morality than other weapons of forceful government intervention.

In a Wall Street Journal article “GOP Targets Medicaid, Food Stamps” Senator Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.), top member of the Democratic caucus on the Senate Budget Committee, is quoted as saying, “I will do everything in my power to make sure we pass a budget that does not harm the most vulnerable Americans”.

Mises Daily Friday by Ryan McMaken: 

Conscription has become an issue in Ukraine where young men are attempting to avoid compulsory military service. But Ukraine is not unique, and states across the globe and throughout history have imposed the 100-percent tax known as “the draft.”

Thanks to 2014 Mises Summer Fellow Jingjing Wang, who translated Randall Holcombe’s 15 Great Austrian Economists (AKA The Great Austrian Economists) into Simplified Chinese. And also thanks to Tyler Xiong who coordinated the effort. 

Ms. Wang with the new book:  

Tune in today at 1:30 central time for the FA Hayek Memorial lecture delivered by Patrick Byrne of Overstock.com. The live stream is here. 

Then, join us for the “Next Generation of Austrian Economics” panel at 4:30 central time. The live stream for that is here. 

The FCC has finally released its 400 pages of regulations that will be used to exercise federal control of the internet.

Interviewed by Albert Lu, Mark Thornton breaks down NASDAQ’s recent 5000-mark performance, including what’s behind the movement and what it reveals about the possibility of a biotech bubble in our economy. He also discusses the existence of other ongoing bubbles and what we can expect to happen. Dr. Thornton frames his analysis using the Austrian theory of business cycle.

Mark discusses:

Beyond nice wines, warm beaches, and sultry women, Italy is well-known for something less savory — the mafia. It is interesting to understand how such a powerful “machine” managed to enter society in such a strong and meaningful way, but more importantly to grasp its role alongside the central government of Italy. On the one hand, it is easy to state that the mafia and the corrupt economic system it functions within are wrong and unproductive for the country. On the other hand its presence may be of help to a country’s economy, something that is especially true in the case of Italy.