This article from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution quotes me on the subject of war and the economy.

I got the impression during our conversation that the author understood the traditional what-is-seen and what-is-not-seen argument I made, yet anyone walking away from this article would probably conclude that war really is a nice if unfortunate source of stimulus.

At commencement on June 8, 1957 Grove City College awarded an honorary doctorate degree to Ludwig von Mises. The 50th anniversary of this event afforded us an opportunity to consider his legacy at a conference on campus last weekend. Hans Sennholz, the man largely responsible for arranging the award, kicked off the conference on Friday with his reminiscence of Mises. And the incomparable Lew Rockwell gave a stirring assessment of Mises’s legacy Saturday evening.

My friend Pete tipped me off to this article, which explains that the growing popularity of biofuel production is driving up beer prices. Unfortunately, this “unintended consequence” will probably just make it more popular.

I was once again the victim of a monopoly; the Girl Scouts and their delicious cookies. Here exists the true monopoly; a restriction of supply (cookies available only once per year), and a higher-than-market price (based on equivalent cookies available at Wal-Mart).

[First published in Left & Right: A Journal of Libertarian Thought,  1967.]

I was born on the lower East Side of New York and brought up on the lower West Side. (I bring in these facts as introduction to some ideas that may be of general interest, not as autobiography.) Of my earliest experiences I remember practically nothing.

I should have known, but I just found out that another FairTax bill was introduced in Congress last month. John Linder (R-GA) introduced H.R. 25, “The FairTax Act of 2007,” on the first day of the 110th Congress. There are 55 cosponsors.

Me and my angelic wife are heading to our favorite Sunday restaurant, the Ding How II. Since it is Sunday, churches with full parking lots line the boulevard to the restaurant. I’m speeding by, because my stomach is sending a wireless message to the brain that the body needs refueling, fast. Therefore, I’m driving like a madman.

One of the great heros of American classical liberalism was William Graham Sumner (1840–1910), author of this weekend’s read.

Wikipedia calls him “the leading American advocate of free markets, anti-imperialism, and the gold standard.’

Also:

And every other woman in America. So much, in fact, that they want to be sure we don’t have a chance to make what they consider to be bad choices about contraception.