We live at a time when politicians and bureaucrats only know one public policy: more and bigger government. Yet, there was a time when even those who served in government defended limited and smaller government. One of the greatest of these died one hundred years ago on August 27, 1914, the Austrian economist Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk.
Inflation, defined as an expansion of the supply of unbacked money, is an elementary evil, always and everywhere that it occurs.1 It is the ignored and core cause of numerous problems in the economy and in society, including:
1. Inflation Causes Booms and Busts
As we moved into the second half of 2014, I was eager to learn if marijuana legalization in Colorado was succeeding. At first there was little being reported, but eventually reports started appearing in the news. Business Insider reported that “Legalizing Weed in Colorado Is A Huge Success,” although they did temper their report with a “Down Side” as well.
As a frequent viewer of The History Channel I have come to appreciate several of its weekly programs, not only for their own sake, but for the many principles of economics demonstrated in each episode. I have written previously of the lessons from the pawn shop, describing a few notable economic concepts one learns from watching Pawn Stars and American Restoration. Another such television show is American Pickers.
Randall G. Holcombe recently spoke with the Mises Institute about his new textbook Advanced Introduction to the Austrian School of Economics.
Mises Institute: Why did you decide to write this book?
It’s not just homeowners who have to worry about rising interest rates, the Federal government might soon get a taste of its own medicine.
I never went to the moon. I never even wanted to go there.The unemployment rate has fallen from 6.7% at the end of 2013 to 6.1% in August 2014. That decline is primarily the result of the expiration of long-term unemployment benefits.
