Among the most persistent of myths in the sphere of economics is of the supposed benefits of government spending in the economy. Apologists will include government spending in gross domestic product measures, as if government production is truly “productive.” A common argument in favor of government spending is national defense spending.
The generous and bloated American welfare state has become an enormous magnet to both legal and illegal immigrants in the United States. This $290 billion annual magnet subsidizes migration and ensures that the total number of migrants into the US is larger than would be the case without the subsidy. This is always the case with subsidies. We get more of what we subsidize. It’s true for student loans and ethanol, and it’s true for migrants.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis released January figures for Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) today, including the price index based on that data.
News headlines report the year-over-year percent change in the PCE price index: 2.4%. This gives the impression that price inflation is heading towards the Federal Reserve’s supposed target of 2%.
A recent rash of libertarian-leaning right-wing podcasters’ rehashing of a shopworn takedown of socialism has bothered me to the point of launching into this essay. It goes something like “Why is this still a thing? When are they going to realize that IT DOESN’T WORK, and drop it?”
G.K. Chesterton is a somewhat controversial author in most libertarian circles. As an intelligent man who wisely predicted a century out so many of the problems we face today, he has garnered great respect among many who have read him.
This Saturday would have been Murray Rothbard’s ninety-eighth birthday!
This year is the 30th anniversary of Murray’s important book The Case against the Fed and marks twenty-nine years since we lost Murray, but we continue to benefit from his genius. Not only do his great works on economic theory, history, and political philosophy continue to be consumed by aspiring young scholars around the world, but we continue to add new Rothbardian material to our online library.
The sight of fresh snow is always invigorating to me, so I was happy to wake up the other day to a blanket of snow—roughly three inches—on my yard. I was less happy, though, to see the same blanket still covering the street in my neighborhood. Things took an even-more disheartening turn when, a few hours later around 10 a.m., I got to the main state road at the end of my street: still snow covered, despite the relatively meager (for this area) snowfall and the fact that the storm had begun over eight hours prior and was at that point only flurries.
Moderate Conservatism: Reclaiming the Center
by John Kekes
Oxford University Press, 2022; 256 pp.
