Inflation and the Public Consciousness

When central bankers blast central banks for being reckless, you know the problem is serious. Indeed, it seems that everyone suddenly really cares about inflation. Everywhere you go, this is the talk, at the grocery, the gas station, among your neighbors. Price increases have been persistent in major sectors such as medicine and education for decades, but today the trend is conspicuously hitting the stuff that people buy everyday. So the reminders are ubiquitous, and public anger is growing.

Thomas Paine on Paper Money

Paper, considered as a material whereof to make money, has none of the requisite qualities in it. It is too plentiful, and too easily come at. It can be had anywhere, and for a trifle....Paper money appears at first sight to be a great saving, or rather that it costs nothing; but it is the dearest money there is.... The only proper use for paper, in the room of money, is to write promissory notes and obligations of payment in specie upon. The value of such a note is not in the note itself...

Is the Nursing Market Malfunctioning?

In theory, the price mechanism works. In theory, shortages in markets are rare and, when they occur at all, temporary. Unfortunately, reality is often a different story.”

This is a frequent criticism of economic thinking, but is it true? Is the price mechanism of theory divorced from the price mechanism in reality? Consider the current nursing shortage controversy.

Economics 101: The Price of Gas

Gas prices are up and oil executives are once again testifying before Congress. Clearly, many politicians, pundits, and consumers lament the rising cost of gas. Before we join them in their chorus, let us take a step back and ask this question: Are gas prices really all that high? A change in price can be a result of inflation, taxes, changes in supply and demand, or any combination of the three.

Study Guide to Human Action, Chapter XII

Chapter XII. The Sphere of Economic Calculation

Chapter Summary

1. The Character of Monetary Entries

Economic calculation encompasses everything that trades against money. Despite their apparent precision, most of the entries on balance sheets reflect the speculative anticipation of owners regarding future market conditions. Therefore, there is nothing “objective” about them. Even so, economic calculation is as effective as it could be.

Freedom in Baghdad

Here we get the news: “The Baghdad military command said Tuesday that unauthorized vehicles and motorcycles will be banned in the capital from 5 a.m. to midnight Wednesday. The vehicle ban is aimed at preventing violence on the fifth anniversary of the capture of Baghdad by U.S. troops about a month after the war started.... The boom of explosions could be heard across much of Baghdad, apparently coming from the neighborhood in eastern Baghdad. Low-flying jets circled the center of the capital several hours before sunrise.”

Oh Keynesian, Where Art Thou?

Almost everyone has something to say about the current crisis and the serious trouble our little greenback friend is in. We are about to be reminded that empires do not fall because of barbarians at the gates, wars of civilizations, or free trade. It’s the inflation that kills them. What is stunning about the current situation is the sudden disappearance from the stage of the not-so-long-ago fashionable Keynesian and monetarist doctrines.

Two Cents on the Penny

The price of the zinc required to mint pennies has been steadily increasing; the cost of producing a penny is now 1.7 cents — it costs nearly two pennies to make one. This has led many to question the continued existence of the penny and suggest it be abolished. Understanding negative seigniorage in economic terms will lead to an opposite conclusion: hundred dollar bills should be done away with.
Subscribe to