Big Government

On this episode of Radio Rothbard, Ryan and Tho are joined by Peter St. Onge, an economic fellow with the Heritage Foundation and frequent Mises Wire author.

Progressives claim that perhaps individual freedom might be appropriate for a simpler society but that as society grows more complex, the need for government grows. As Leonard Read pointed out, however, greater complexity requires greater freedom, not less.

In the past two decades, the TSA has proven it is ineffective in providing real security for airline passengers. However, its growing incompetence is matched only by its increasing intrusion into travelers' lives.

The countries have changed, but the story remains the same. Wealthier countries try to “invest” by lending money to African regimes, where the money disappears. This time, China is the big lender.

As the Biden administration ramps up new government spending—and budget deficits—to unheard-of peacetime levels, reality sets in. No economy and no currency can withstand this explosive assault for very long.

While the ruling elites and the Federal Reserve try to sell digital money as “modern” and “convenient,” it poses threats to financial privacy and civil liberties.

The leviathan US state would not be possible without the Fed underwriting its growth. But the Fed is not all-powerful, nor can it continue to exist by only creating chaos.

Murray Rothbard asked this question and concluded that the current American regime, if the wisdom of Aquinas’ words is taken seriously, cannot wage a just war.

Washington never sleeps when it comes to declaring new overseas enemies to destroy. The new “axis of evil” now consists of Russia, Iran, and China.

As this author previously has noted, the ideology of statism is responsible for much of the violence that plagues the world. We see this played out in Israel's aggressive retaliatory attacks in Gaza in response to the October 7 killings by Hamas.