Recent news reports mention the possible bankruptcy of the privately owned company Thames Water (TW) in the United Kingdom, with a history of very high debt repayments, high dividend payouts to shareholders, mismanagement, and underinvestment of capital spending. TW supplies water and wastewater services to the southeast of England, including London.

This year during Mises University, we want to share the perspective of students in the program. The following are YouTube shorts from some of this year’s Mises Apprentices, explaining what excites them most about “the best week of the year.” A common theme is the power of the ideas that have attracted students from around the world to Auburn this summer and the unique opportunity to learn from, discuss, and debate them with their colleagues and our distinguished faculty.

Many economic commentators view debt as a major risk factor as far as economic health is concerned. This way of thinking has its origins in the writings of Irving Fisher. According to Fisher, the high level of debt runs the risk of setting in motion deflation and, in turn, a severe economic slump. According to Fisher, the high level of debt sets in motion the following sequence of events.

[This article is chapter 3 of Breaking Away: The Case for Secession, Radical Decentralization, and Smaller Polities.

Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s frescoes adorning the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena, Italy, tell a timeless tale of governance. They portray a city flourishing under just laws and crumbling under misrule. The latter side of this allegory rings alarmingly relevant today as the recent riots in France paint a destructive urban tableau, mirroring the narrative of government failure.

Voluntary cooperation gets commandeered by the government gradually in peacetime, then suddenly through war.

The recent University of Michigan survey’s reading of one-year price inflation expectations rose to 3.4 percent in July from 3.3 percent in June. The five-year outlook also increased to 3.1 percent from 3.0 percent in the previous month.

There is a mainstream narrative that is growing all over the financial media: We must accept three percent annual price inflation as a success at combating rising prices. This is enough to pivot and return to monetary easing. It is not.

That annoying clicking sound you hear from your nearby pickleball courts is not just the paddles hitting the plastic balls. It’s twisting knees and cracking hips. A report from UBS, reported in the Financial Times, estimates medical costs of $250 million to $500 million “directly attributable to pickleball and see potential for greater medical costs indirectly linked to pickleball.”