I just finished repairing grout in my master bathroom. As a home repair hack, I typically remove excess caulk and sealant with my bare fingers — it’s messy, but quick and easy. OK. So far, so good. Then, while washing my hands, I read this warning on the back label, “This product contains a chemical known to the State of California to cause
The only redeeming feature of our political process is that we peacefully accomplished an ideological shift -- a coup of sorts -- that in almost every other instance led to blood in the streets. Of course, the shift is mere window dressing as both McCain and Obama stand for big government, big wars, and big deficits. The only difference between
I’m slowly coming out of my post-election blues , all thanks to NPR. Why? Well it appears that the victors are already turning on themselves. That’s right, the Reign of Terror has begun, with each radical faction accusing all others of being enemies of the revolution . And, to think, the Terror erupted before any power was transferred. Where the
Filed under: Any press is good press I had a letter published in Saturday’s edition of The Columbus Dispatch . I simply stated my views on a story about a local university researcher who is actively pushing a climate change agenda. Nothing too over-the-top in my letter. And nary a mention of my economic or political views or affiliations. Just Jim
Examples of a variant of what Mises termed the ultimate given regularly catch my attention. According to Mises, “Scientific research sooner or later, but inevitably, encounters something ultimately given that it cannot trace back to something else of which it would appear as the regular or necessary derivative.” In other words, the ultimate given
According to a report from the Washington Post and The Columbus Dispatch , the genesis of the housing market bubble was global wealth; not excess meaningless paper, but true wealth. So the bubble was not caused by the FED, the bubble occurred because “a growing amount of savings, particularly in developing countries, fueled an investment bubble.”
Since I loathe shopping, I tend to stay out of stores. So it should not be a shock to learn that, as I browsed a computer store this past weekend, I was surprised to find big-box computer monitors missing from the shelves. Instead of those once-ubiquitous monsters, I found an amazing selection of flat screen monitors of all types and shapes. And
Besides providing for the most-desired consumer goods, the market provides for niche goods as well. Consider The World Almanac , the 1008-page compendium of summarized historical and out-of-date facts. With the internet at my disposal, I can find in-depth research and up-to-the-minute data. Easy, too. Yet, time and again, I find myself thumbing
Buried deep in this article is Nicholas D. Kristof implicit theory on how the state came into being. According to Kristof, “ Until the mid-19th century, firefighting was left mostly to a mishmash of volunteer crews and private fire insurance companies. In New York City, according to accounts in The New York Times in the 1850s and 1860s,
My parents recently visited and left some relics of my youth. One look at this drawing sent my mind back in time. Almost 40 years ago, it wasn’t enough for government to tell me about the evils of smoking, they also coerced me into sharing private family information — that my father smoked — in order to serve the agenda of the state. Mind you, my
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.