“There will be more bank failures, but nothing compared with previous cycles, such as the savings-and-loans days,” Sheila Bair, chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), said in an interview recently after $32 billion IndyMac was seized by Bair’s organization. The IndyMac failure is the second largest in history behind the failure
Las Vegas is a city built on the dream of getting something for nothing. But not only the tourists seek Lady Luck. Casinos, small businesses and governments have all planned and expanded, counting on the dream of easy money — namely, more money and expanded credit for everyone, courtesy of the Federal Reserve. During the past decade, “Americans
Last week a jaundiced-colored Ben Bernanke graced the cover of BusinessWeek amidst a background of flaming hues that had me scanning for a hammer and sickle. “The current financial crisis — perhaps the biggest since the Great Depression — has turned Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke into a reluctant revolutionary,” Michael Mandel and Peter Coy
[This article originally appeared on LewRockwell.com .] It is often said “there are no atheists in a foxhole.” The other week, as world financial markets melted down, CNBC go-to wise man Art Cashen put a market spin on that familiar line drolly saying, “there are no libertarians in a market crash.” The crusty Cashen is certainly right for the
[This essay originally appeared on LewRockwell.com .] There is now worldwide worrying about price deflation again. After all, real estate prices have sunk, stock prices have hit the ditch, the price of oil has the sheiks concerned, and even Las Vegas hotel room rates have plunged. Sounds like all good news for those of us who buy things, at the
In response to the meltdown of financial institutions, unprecedented power has been unleashed by the federal government. Between actions by the Federal Reserve, the TARP, guarantees made by the FDIC, and other direct bailouts, the total comes to nearly $8 trillion. That’s over 30 times the inflation-adjusted cost of the S&L bailout, according to
The writing side of the Liberty Watch crew recently convened for dinner and, of course, politics was the conversation of choice. Ron Paul supporters dominated the table. In fact, the expectant father is lobbying at home to name his newest after Ron. However his wife, the UNLV professor with child, announced that she is a John Edwards fan, and she
Even at matinee prices, going to the movies requires plenty of mad money. The two tickets were fifteen depreciating dollars, and a tub of popcorn, a bottle of water and a package of licorice came to another fifteen. But for a movie about money: well, it’s only money. With the Fed Chair Ben Bernanke hitting the panic button and lowering rates by
What is the Mises Institute?
The Mises Institute is a non-profit organization that exists to promote teaching and research in the Austrian School of economics, individual freedom, honest history, and international peace, in the tradition of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard.
Non-political, non-partisan, and non-PC, we advocate a radical shift in the intellectual climate, away from statism and toward a private property order. We believe that our foundational ideas are of permanent value, and oppose all efforts at compromise, sellout, and amalgamation of these ideas with fashionable political, cultural, and social doctrines inimical to their spirit.