Attacks on economic freedom animate both the Bernie Sanders socialist left and the Trumpite protectionist right.

As I noted last week, some conservatives of late have become especially enthusiastic about attacking the freedom of Americans to buy and sell freely without government interference. In fact, these conservatives insist there is too much market freedom, and that this has led to the destruction of the middle class, and growing exploitation of the poor by the rich.

The Federal Reserve, through its president Jerome Powell, has indicated that it is preparing to increase its balance “organically”. The effort to separate this latest monetary policy change of course from a full-blown new QE (quantitative easing) is, at the very least, amusing. If we look at what is being discussed, it has nothing to do with organic expansion and looks a lot like a new repurchase program.

Recently, the BBC produced a radio series on “50 Things That Made the Modern Economy”. One episode focused on the economics of prohibition, crediting the work of Mark Thornton’s Economics of Prohibition for helping write the script for the show.

The episode is available here.

Dr. Thornton’s book is available here.

(Thanks to Bob Broadfoot for letting us know!)

Myth : A huge and growing global savings surplus during the first two decades of this century has pressed down the natural rate (some say neutral rate) of interest. Actual very-low and sometimes negative market rates of interest reflect this.

Reality : Estimates of the neutral rate according to central bank consensus definition have fallen, but these involve dubious “top-down” observations about economic aggregates and theoretical constructs based on an unsound money regime.

Anti-market pundits and politicians have long claimed that unregulated markets are damaging to communities, and therefore must be regulated, restrained, and made to fit our policy preferences.

“Market capitalism is a tool, like a staple gun or a toaster,” conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson declared last January. The implication being that markets can be directed by government to do what Carlson wants them to do.