How China’s monetary policy drives world commodity prices
Frank Shostak explains how monetary expansion and the rigid exchange rate drive commodity prices up.
Federal pandemic plan: wear masks, stay home, keep your distance
Fox News is reporting on the White House’s plan to keep us save from a flu or other pandemic:
Who is Being Greedy?
With seemingly everyone complaining about gasoline prices, I have heard the words greed and greedy used more frequently now than I can ever remember. But I have noticed that accusations of greed are logically inconsistent, yet consistent in expanding government power to coerce some on behalf of others.
Inflation: Primitive and Advanced
You have to read this fascinating piece on Zimbabwe in the NYT: “How bad is inflation in Zimbabwe? Well, consider this: at a supermarket near the center of this tatterdemalion capital, toilet paper costs $417. No, not per roll. Four hundred seventeen Zimbabwean dollars is the value of a single two-ply sheet. A roll costs $145,750 — in American currency, about 69 cents.... Mr.
Bolivia Socializes Its Natural Gas Industry
It has long been expected since Morales’ election, notes the Washington Post:
Who Was the Original Aunt Jemima and What Did She Do?
Robert LeFevre says that the original Aunt Jemima (Jemima Nicholas) was a Welsh woman who may have prevented the expansion of the French Empire.
Does Krugman Read The New York Times?
Today’s New York Times carries a piece by Krugman called “Death by Insurance.” It’s a rant in favor of the “single-payer system,” i.e., explicit socialized medicine along the lines of Canada and other countries. The article concludes with the words:
New Blog
Nicolai J. Foss and I have launched a new blog, Organizations and Markets, focused on organizational economics, strategy, entrepreneurship, innovation, and the economics of institutions. Regular readers of the Mises blog may have noticed that while there are many excellent blogs on economics, law, and public policy, there are relatively few on organization, strategy, and management. We hope to help fill this gap and to provoke discussion among Austrian economists and mainstream scholars in management and related fields. Check us out.
The Olive Bar, The State, and Rule-Ambiguity
There I stood with 8 olive pits in my cheek, talking to the checkout lady at the grocery store as she waved my half-pound container of antipasto over the scanner light. All the while, I hoped she that she wouldn’t notice or ask why I sounded like I had marbles in mouth.
Fed “Falling Behind The Curve”?
Bloomberg News notes increased nervousness among traders that the Fed will “fall behind the curve” after comments from Ben Bernanke that indicated the Fed might pause in its rate hike campaign soon.
