Only CNN was surprised by Donald Trump’s recent announcement that he was pulling the United States out of the Iran Deal negotiated by his predecessor. Following the same failed approach of the last Republican administration, the President opted for confrontation with the Iranian regime rather than uplifting more moderate factions within the country through trade.
[Newsweek column from June 25, 1951, and reprinted in Business Tides: The Newsweek Era of Henry Hazlitt.]
Regardless of what Congress actually does before June 30, it is instructive to consider what a sensible anti-inflationary legislative program would be like if we could get it.
Austrian economists have an great frustration of not being able to quickly change public policy in the short run despite having great theoretical insights on economics and policy. However, we know that in the long run that we can help change public policy when we can use scientific insights and theories to change public opinion or ideology which in turn changes public policy.
A new piece in The Economist’s series on the shortcomings of the economics profession tackles the tricky question of the boundaries of economic science. It points out two flaws in the modern study of prices and exchange: first, the idea that “prices are all we need to know” about the economy and economic well-being. Second, the issue that “economists today still treat things which cannot easily be measured as if they matter less.”
This week, the governor of Iowa signed into law new restrictions on abortions in the state, prohibiting abortions in cases where a fetal heartbeat can be detected. This would make Iowa one of the most restrictive states in the Union in terms of abortions, prohibiting most abortions after six weeks into pregnancy.
“Because Science!” has become a popular refrain. I’m not just talking about climate studies. Headline writers love to say this.
A couple of months ago, I thought I did something meaningful by sharing six separate examples of the International Monetary Fund pressuring sub-Saharan African nations to impose higher tax burdens. This was evidence, I suggested, that the IMF had a disturbing agenda of bigger government for the entire region.
“Freedom from want” is one of the most frequently invoked notions of freedom in our time. However, it is a bogus freedom that politicians and socialists offer to lull people into accepting policies that destroy true freedom. Freedom from want has been most loudly advocated in this century by those who favored removing almost all limits from government power.
