The Income Tax Really Is Evil
For those of us who still believe that freedom is best, the way is clear: we must concentrate on the correction of the mistake of 1913. The Sixteenth Amendment must be repealed. Nothing less will do.
Rousseau’s Form of Socialism
Rousseau is merely imagining what it is convenient to imagine; and, viewed in the cold light of reason, his account of the life of primitive man at times borders on the grotesque and ludicrous.
What is Socialism? Does the word apply to Obama?
The New York Times offers a very funny look at the new fashion for calling Obama a socialist and investigates this issue as if the phenomenon is a strange linguistic invasion that requires the expertise of a psychoanalyst.
Hence, the first expert to weigh in chalks the use of the word up to “unconscious anxieties about modernity.”
Where are the tomatoes to hurl at this history prof?
Economics, Economists, and Economic Education
Steve Horwitz and I assess Jane Smiley’s discussion of economists and economics. Passages on economists, rationality, and moral philosophy:
Is the Fed’s Pumping Inflationary?
Given the recent, massive increase in commercial banks’ excess reserves, many commentators are of the view that banks will sooner or later start employing these reserves in lending and thus cause an increase in the inflation rate.
Even former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan is alarmed by the massive pumping by the Fed and other central banks. Speaking via satellite to a conference in Mumbai on September 8, 2009, Greenspan said that central banks need to defuse the large increases in their assets.
Mini-Review: Where Keynes Went Wrong
I’ve just finished Hunter Lewis’ new book Where Keynes Went Wrong: And Why World Governments Keep Creating Inflation, Bubbles and Busts link here (scroll down to bottom).
Understanding the Costs of Healthcare
Will increased government involvement in the healthcare industry cause more or less corporate lobbying? Both mandated-private and single-payer, nonprofit insurance proposals will likely increase wasteful lobbying.
The Virtue of Hoarding
Most people would admit to hoarding money only with a tinge of guilt, because to be a hoarder carries with it the suggestion of being a miser — a Scrooge. And yet, hoarding is a sound strategy.
What’s Wrong with Campaign Finance Regulations?
As reported in Pro-Business Ruling Likely in High Court Campaign Finance Case, it appears likely the U.S. Supreme Court will overturn some federal laws that ban corporate and union expenditures in election campaigns, and some older caselaw that permitted such legislation. Libertarians, and some conservatives, typically have a kneejerk opposition to such regulations based on the argument that such action is protected as “free speech.” In my view, it’s a stretch to classify money donations as “free speech.” Come on.
A Tale of Two Shortages
With his people clamoring for caffeine, Chavez has expropriated his country’s two largest coffee roasters, blaming these companies for the scarcity, hoarding, speculating, and smuggling.
