As any follower of Austrian economics knows, lawmakers—in any form—are usually the enemies of free markets and the prosperity that they bring. However, there are times when legislators manage to outdo themselves and pass laws that are absolutely destructive, and the Jones Act is one of them.

Naturally, the FBI claimed that it thwarted the very attack that was made possible by the FBI. 

Taxes, a recent report confirmed, have become the biggest bill for the average American, says the Committee to Unleash Prosperity. This was illustrated by a recent online chart.

Taxation aimed at generating revenue for the state very often produces unintended negative consequences by altering the economic incentives of individuals and businesses. When governments levy or increase taxes on income, investment, or goods, they create deadweight loss—reducing the overall economic efficiency and volume of transactions that would otherwise occur naturally.

On August 3, 1940, a mere six months into World War II, Ludwig von Mises arrived with his wife in New York City.

The fifty-eight-year-old Austrian economist had narrowly escaped Europe as the continent was engulfed by war. Because air travel was not an option amid the escalating fighting, the couple had to cross by bus from their home in Geneva, Switzerland, across southern France, into Spain, and eventually to a port in Portugal, where a ship would take them across the Atlantic.