Another painful reminder that a breakdown in interventionism does not necessarily lead to freedom: totalitarianism is the other option. “Robert Mundell, a nobel-prize winning economist, often credited with paving the way to the European single currency, has called for a global currency.” English summary. French interview.
The Mundell interview goes on to say: “Of course, one would keep the dollar and the euro. This international currency would be used in the large international exchanges, for movements of capital and commercial transactions.” For more on Mundell, see these comments and this critique.
The start of a new semester at public High School gives us ample opportunity to laugh at the nonsense spouted in Social Studies text. My AP “Comparative Government” class uses the text “Comparative Politics: Domestic Responses to Global Challenges“, by Charles Hauss. I flipped to the chapter on communism and (unsurprisingly) found some real gems.
Internal State Department telegram (as sent by a friend): R 061308Z JAN 04
FM AMEMBASSY MINSK
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 6833
INFO MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
UNCLAS MINSK 002054
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON, PGOV, BO
SUBJECT: Belarus Bans Inflation; Gravity and Aging Next
As regards the Schumer and Roberts piece contra traditional free-trade doctrine, we should not forget that Ricardo was writing in 1817, and stating for the first time in the English language a principle that had not yet been fully grasped (at least not by anyone whose work had become well-known) and that is one of the less intuitive notions in economics.
An interesting article on News.com this morning: Court ponders website blocking law.
Here’s an insightful, short commentary on the state of the environment: we may not be sowing the seeds of our own doom, but the very thought of it is enough to grab headlines (and loads of taxpayer cash).
Murray N. Rothbard, economist, historian, and philosopher, died nine years ago today. In the years since his death, unpublished books and articles have appeared, his writings are selling ever more and being distributed ever more widely, and the influence of the ideas to which he dedicated his life is growing, thanks to the institution of the market economy for which he was the foremost champion of his generation.
The Chicago Tribune runs an AP story stating how the US Labor Department is suggesting ways around its newest overtime rules. Quoting the article: “Among the options: Cut workers’ hourly wages and add the overtime to EQUAL the original salary, or raise salaries to the new $22,100 annual threshold, making them ineligible. The department says it is merely listing well-known choices available to employers, even under current law.
