You hear it from them all the time; teachers just want a fair wage. Oh, well who doesn’t? This line of thought begs two questions: How are wage rates established in a free market? And, are market wage rates fair? How are wage rates established in a free market? The insights from the Austrian School of Economics show that workers earn their
The Rust Belt state of Ohio is hemorrhaging jobs. On one hand state officials claim that the state’s tax rate is not a hindrance to attracting companies to invest in the state, while on the other hand these very same officials cut taxes to entice DaimlerChrysler AG to build a plant near Toledo . The state’s tax system cannot be “neutral” when it
“It may sometimes be expedient for a man to heat the stove with his furniture. But if he does, he should know what the remoter effects will be. He should not delude himself by believing that he has discovered a wonderful new method of heating his premises.” from Human Action, Ludwig von Mises Benita Ferrero-Waldner, European Commissioner for
How ironic. Just days after Ohio citizens voted to restrain trade and reduce property rights by passing state issues 2 and 5 (an increase in the minimum wage and a statewide ban on smoking), Jeff Eschmeyer of the Ohio Farmers Union contends in a letter to the Columbus Dispatch that farmers and consumers have a right to sell and buy raw milk. Mr.
Will the indignities of the government never cease. Take your IRA for example - your savings for that stormy day when your earnings equal your bar bill - not including chips. Here’s the government still extending its open palm. YOUR IRA, YOUR money. And yet the state, backed by the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and Marines demands that at 70
The Chicago Tribune and The Columbus Dispatch are reporting a Washington Post story on the federal push to make the polar bear the first mammal to be listed as in-risk of extinction due to global warming. According to the reports, “The Bush administration has decided to propose listing the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act,
One truism has never been successfully challenged: Government interventions lead to a less efficient, less well-ordered society. In his important book, Basic Principles of Economic Value , Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk develops, among other important concepts, his basic law of prices and includes a footnote that is both intriguing and worthy of
CNN is reporting that July 1 was the effective date for a host of new state laws, with more laws about to become effective. Not to worry, this latest mix of statist controls will finally order society in the correct manner. You can disregard the prior failed interventions, the capital chefs have finally got the recipe just right. You can sleep
Once again the capitalists, entrepreneurs, petty-bourgeois, and associated travelers exploited those in need of goods and services; they ripped me off by selling school supplies at an outrageous price. These profiteers recognized the increased demand for education wares as school fast approaches so they acted just as the interventionist predicted;
It’s another hot summer day and nothing cools the heat like a large cone of ice cream. Due to our relatively free economy, I have the choice between many different sellers, brands, and types of the frozen treat. A relatively new concept is one where ice cream shops mix your choice of ice cream and toppings on a super-cooled stone slab before
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.