Last Knight Live Blog 26 - Kraus

The intellectual climate of the decades prior and after WWII was marked by enthusiastic plans loudly proclaiming statism and comprehensive large-scale social planning as the next panacea. These were considered the means to deliver humankind from superstition, moral depravity, economic chaos and misery to unprecedented heights of rationality and unrestrained development of human potential.

Could They Survive Without University Support?

Several commentators have discussed whether or not university athletic teams could survive without subsidies from the administration. While not all athletic programs receive revenue from student fees (for instance, the large athletic program at my alma mater is entirely self-sufficient), there is evidence that suggests that many of these teams could financially survive in an independent semi-pro league. Right now both the NFL and NBA financially benefit from the university-subsidized farm system.

NYC Secession for Self-Determination and Self-Rule?

Emboldened by Mayor Bloomberg’s testimony in Albany this week that the city’s taxpayers pay the state $11 billion a year more than they get back, a City Council member is offering legislation that would begin the process of having New York City secede from New York State. Peter Vallone Jr., a Democrat who represents Queens, is pushing the idea, and the Council plans to hold a hearing on the possibility of making New York City the 51st state. “I think secession’s time has definitely come again,” Mr.

Money, Banking, and the Federal Reserve: the Complete Transcript

Politicians espouse numerous theories about the cause of this country’s economic woes; seldom however do these officials look below the surface: the roots of our economic ills can be traced to central banking and our present monetary system. The Federal Reserve claims to manage our money; instead it makes our money worth less and less every day. It has generated continuous and worsening business cycles and lowered our living standards.

Genetic Discrimination Saves Lives

Thanks to recent technological innovations, companies like 23andMe are now able to offer comprehensive genetic profiles that can reveal predispositions towards certain health problems, and allow patients to take proactive measures to prevent them. Unfortunately, this potentially lifesaving diagnosis will not be available to most individuals because of so-called “genetic privacy” laws, such as the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, passed by the House last year.

Why Is Bernanke Trying to Fight the Bear?

Last Tuesday, January 22, 2008, the US central bank lowered its federal funds rate target by a hefty 0.75% to 3.5%. The panicky decision to lower the fed funds rate target was made ahead of the Fed’s meeting at the end of this month. Last Tuesday’s cut by the Fed was the largest nonscheduled interest-rate cut in more than 20 years. Let us say that the present aggressive interest rate stance by the Fed fails to prevent the economy from falling into a recession; what kind of action is Bernanke then going to undertake?

Last Knight Live Blog 25 - Kraus

Chapter 18, Émigré in New York, opens the fourth and last part of the book, Mises in America. The outbreak of WWII and the rapid advance of German troops throughout Western Europe created an imminent threat to Mises’s freedom and very life even in neutral and relatively safe Geneva. He had to leave Europe almost immediately, leaving behind everything he accomplished and cared about, starting a new life and facing an insecure future in the only country that could provide safe haven for him - United States of America.

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