“Infrastructure investments” or public works have long been the refuge of Keynesians and other progressives of like stripes as a cure for recession or stagnation. How can there be any significant costs to such projects when resources are idle and interest rates are low? The charge has been renewed with the announcement earlier this week of the Obama ‘budget’ where per a Denver post headline (February 2, 2015, p. 1A), “Obama poses public works.” In today’s Wall Street Journal, Holman W. Jenkins, Jr.

The “perfect-storm” of geopolitical instability, diplomatic isolation, severe currency depreciation, and economic decline now confronting Russia has profoundly damaged Moscow’s international standing, and possibly for the long-term. Yet, it is precisely such conditions that may push the country’s leadership into taking the radical step that will secure its world-player status once and for all: the adoption of a gold-exchange standard.

Though a far-fetched idea at first glance, many factors suggest that remonetization in gold may be a logical next step for Moscow.

This year marks the 170th anniversary of the annexation of Texas by the United States government. Although Texas militias had gained de facto independence from Mexico in 1836, negotiations between Mexico and the United States continued for another nine years as the Texas government attempted to work out a long-term strategy for Texas. Most Texans (especially the Anglo ones) wanted union with the United States, and American settlers looking to move to Texas also wanted union to ease emigration and legal issues.

The European Central Bank (ECB) is planning to pump 1.1 trillion euros into the banking system to fend off price deflation and revive economic activity. The ECB president and his executive board are planning to spend 60 billion euros per month from March 2015 to September 2016.

Most experts hold that the ECB must start acting aggressively against the danger of deflation. The yearly rate of growth of the consumer price index (CPI) fell to minus 0.2 percent in December 2014 from 0.3 percent in November, and 0.8 percent in December 2013.

Volume 17, No.

Recorded at “Breaking Away: The Case for Secession”—the Mises Circle in Houston, Texas, on 24 January 2015.

Volume 17, No. 4 (Winter 2014)

Timothy P. Roth
Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, 2014, 192 pages

The Federal legislative process has completely broken down, from a deliberate rule-guided process to one that seems completely ad hoc and driven by lobbyists. This trend continues no matter what party is in power. Congress bypasses its own rules, ignores its own schedules, and call for votes without providing enough time for representatives and senators to even read the bills.

For the last five years, attempts to reform America’s health care system have focused primarily on the demand side of the market, and specifically on the market for insurance. Yet, these reforms have not achieved significant improvements in health care outcomes, nor reductions in cost. As health care specialist John C.