Argentina’s central bank (BCRA) used to sell securities to commercial banks in order to withdraw money from circulation. Ironically, what was intended to restrict the money supply became a major source of its increase.
Mark Thornton discusses the economic implications of the historically high gold-silver ratio, suggesting it may signal an impending recession.
Government protection and deposit insurance slows the inevitable—until it doesn’t.
In a sound monetary system and a free market, overall prices would generally fall as the economy grows faster than the money supply, enabling people to purchase more with their money.
The Wall Street Journal editors have made a monumental error in judgment. In a recent piece, they announced that the Trump administration has lost its trade war against Adam Smith, but there must be free trade in capital goods, not just consumer goods.
Bankruptcy in the short term is painful. In the long term, it is cleansing decades of poor federal government choices.
Centralizing electricity management is probably a mistake. It makes us collectively vulnerable to a single failure or attack and also inefficient.
Ultimately, interest rate caps would cost Americans access to a convenient and reliable source of credit. Instead of saving them money, a rate cap would push consumers into worse credit options.
Adlai Stevenson said that, “A hungry man is not a free man.” Many assume free exchange is invalid unless a basic level of wealth is achieved by the parties, but this is an error.
The powerful critiques of Mises and Hayek against centralized authority and their staunch defense of individual liberty offer essential lessons for followers navigating the ethical dilemmas of modern institutions and governments.
