Did FDR Make the Depression Great?
[The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Great Depression and the New Deal. By Robert P. Murphy. Regnery, 2009. 199 pages.]
The End of American Exceptionalism
[The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism. By Andrew J. Bacevich. Metropolitan Books, 2008. 206 pages.]
The whole trickle-down thing
For years, free market theory of one sort or another has been caricatured as “trickle down economics.” The idea is that we believe that if society protects the wealth of the rich, and let’s them keep more of their money, the blessings will eventually trickle down to the poor and middle class. In some ways, it is not an entirely indefensible view, but of course the phrasing is designed to somehow elucidate the elitist absurdity even before arguments are heard.
Never-Ending Government Lies About Markets
The purpose of government is for those who run it to plunder those who do not. Throughout history, governments have used violence, intimidation, coercion, and mass murder to enforce this system. But governments’ first line of “defense” is always a blizzard of lies — about its own alleged benevolence, altruism, heroism, and greatness.
Savings Is Not Just a Good Thing
Regions Bank scored the worst of the nation’s 19 largest banks on the federal government’s stress tests. The bank’s chief economist, Bob Allsbrook, concedes that saving “can be a good thing,” but goes on to explain the “paradox of thrift.” I wonder where he thinks investment comes from.
The O.P. Alford III Prize in Libertarian Scholarship
As most readers of this blog know, the Mises Institute launched Libertarian Papers last January (I am its humble Editor). In just three months LP has published 25 great papers, and been indexed in a number of leading services. It has quickly become a key journal of libertarian scholarship.
Posner says that the Fed is part of the capitalist system
The ever-fashionable and reliably unprincipled Richard Posner seizes the moment to write and sell a new book, a work which Caronline Baum enjoys crushing.
Austrian Trade Cycle Theory — The Video
Newly constructed home in Victorville, CA north of Los Angeles being demolished by the Guaranty Bank of Irvine. From the news story:
A Guaranty Bank official, Real Estate Officer Dean Smith .. said it was a choice of pumping their own money into property site improvements and additional money to bring the home up to code or tear down the 16 homes ..
The Problem with Bankruptcy Laws
Defaulting homeowners can walk away from their problem after declaring bankruptcy. There are significant advantages to this option. It allows these people to make a new start, and return to the labor market free from debt. The risk of such defaults is built into banking models, and the costs are distributed among other borrowers. However, this system has never been tested under the extremely stressful conditions of a bursting asset-price bubble.
Creating Disequilibrium, and Benefiting Society
It’s not just increases in production that create wealth but a radical reforming of the way production itself is done. Entrepreneurial innovations disrupt the unrealistic ideal of a stationary economy. They do destroy the old order — like the classic example of buggy makers losing their jobs when the automobile took hold — but they cause growth because what they create is more valuable than what they replace.
