For better or worse, Elon Musk has taken a liking to old Milton Friedman videos. On the good side, Musk has embraced Friedman’s distrust of government and money printing. Friedman, however, was no Rothbard regarding the consistent application of ethical and economic principles to the actions of the state. Despite Friedman’s compromises and error-ridden macroeconomic theorizing, there’s no denying that he was a great popularizer and eloquent defender of laissez-faire.

As of this writing, when you attempt to access the US Agency for International Development (USAID) website or social media pages you are informed that, “This site can’t be reached.” The media reports that the new Trump Administration has not only frozen USAID activities but may be planning on bringing it back under control of the US State Department.  Other reports, including statements by Elon Musk, suggest that it will be closed completely.

It’s become fashionable among economists to refer to knowledge as a silver-bullet explanation for all kinds of phenomena and processes. Whereas Hayek (and Hayekians) is known for the “knowledge problem,” mainstreamers, too, rely on a vague conceptualization of knowledge (specifically, the lack thereof) to explain important economic processes. Both exogenous and endogenous growth theories, for example, suggest “knowledge” explains an economy’s growth and, thus, society’s prosperity.

In his review essay titled “Law on Shifting Sand,” David Gordon exposes a “pernicious” claim, advanced under “false pretenses,” that the case law promulgated by the United States Supreme Court represents the true meaning of the Constitution.

Last week, Fed Chair Jerome Powell held his first press conference under President Trump’s second term. Powell swiftly addressed the topic of Trump in the Q&A Session, stating:

I’m not going to have any response or comment whatsoever on what the President said. It’s not appropriate for me to do so.

After closing at 0.54 percent in July 2020, the yield on the 10-year US Treasury Bond settled at 4.57 percent in December 2024. Some commentators believe that the massive increase in yields is because of a strong increase in inflationary expectations.

There is a common mistake a lot of opponents of Trump’s tariffs are making right now. When pointing out, correctly, that the tariffs Trump is implementing will drive prices up, they often pin that on “companies passing the cost on to consumers.” 

But that’s not how prices work. The actual reason prices go up is a bit different, but it’s important to understand.