Big Government

The question posed by the title to this lecture raises a number of deep problems of economic science.

"This plan would also set a dangerous precedent for American industry in general."

But if you follow the Austrian recipe of allowing liquidation of bankrupt firms and debt, allowing prices to fall without monetary inflation, not propping up employment or subsidizing unemployment, and not discouraging hoarding, you will end up with the quickest possible recovery and minimize the magnitude of economic pain.

We are also constantly told — this time by Chicago economists, not Keynesians — that "we learned in the Depression" that the Fed needs to rapidly expand the monetary base to avert disaster. Oops, turns out that's bogus too.

Taxes are the price we pay for civilization.

Konkin cripples libertarian effectiveness by creating moral problems where none exist: by indicting as nonlibertarian or nonmarket a whole slew of institutions necessary to the triumph of liberty: organization, hierarchy, wage work, granting of funds by libertarian millionaires, and a libertarian political party.

A book entitled The Case for Big Government has a very poor chance of obtaining favorable notice in The Mises Review. 

Peter Ubel has written an informative and useful book, but not entirely for the reasons he thinks. He presents a very well-written and easy-to-understand account of behavioral economics;

Much like the US's decision to save Bretton woods by coercing South African gold sales, today's governments will resort to ever more authoritarian measures rather than allowing their pet institutions to fail.

"If carbon dioxide is classified as a pollutant, then every breath we take can be regulated by government." That sums it up perfectly.