Governments are fond of accusing private firms of “greed” when prices increase during periods of inflation. However, they fail to tell the public that government services also face price increases.
Infamous hyperinflations like what hit Germany in 1923 did not begin as a flood. Instead, they started as smaller bouts of inflation initiated by governments that printed money to pay for deficit spending.
Mises at first bcame a very promising disciple of the historicist approach in economics. But then he encountered the writings of Carl Menger, the fountainhead of the Austrian School. Mises came to conclude that Menger and his disciples were right.
With the ouster of Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the House is in chaos, symbolizing the greater chaos that has enveloped Washington. Instead of looking inward, political elites will become even more outwardly violent.
Rothbard warned against the assumption that because democracies are “better” than dictatorships, they are necessarily more peace loving.
While politicians like Bernie Sanders and AOC tout the Scandinavian welfare model for the USA, there are a few things to understand about these countries and the economies that support their welfare programs.
Rent control sounds like a good, humanitarian idea. Certainly, few if any tenants would quarrel with this policy.
Some free-market advocates are pushing for dollarization in Argentina. But the devastating US sanctions against Panama in 1989 show us how dollarization helps the US exercise more hegemonic power over foreign economies.
Niccolò Machiavelli, who often is criticized for his views on using political power, understood the dangers of unchecked government spending. Perhaps our own political leaders should read "The Prince."
Bastiat reminded his readers that economic analysis involves not just what we see on the surface, but also the costs that are hidden from view.
