Economic Freedom

America inherited the core institutional framework of Europe (especially Britain) but refined and amplified it through greater decentralization, lower taxation, and more expansive freedoms.

Monetarists and rational expectations economists believe that if monetary policy is transparent, then increases in the money supply will not have negative effects. The actual results say otherwise, as introducing new money into the economy leads to economic instability.

Why is the Trump administration levying tariffs? Are they for tax purposes? Protecting domestic industries? Bargaining chips for international deal making? The administration and its supporters have floated mutually-exclusive reasons for these policies, making the confusion worse.

Why is the Trump administration levying tariffs? Are they for tax purposes? Protecting domestic industries? Bargaining chips for international deal making? The administration and its supporters have floated mutually-exclusive reasons for these policies, making the confusion worse.

Following the overtly anti-capitalist papacy of Pope Francis, one asks if Pope Leo XIV will follow his predecessor or steer the Roman Catholic Church‘s leadership back toward economic liberty and natural law. One hopes it is the latter.

At first glance, it might seem extreme—even offensive—to compare anti-fossil fuel climate policies to Stalin’s deliberate starvation of millions during the Holodomor. But in truth, the comparison may be unfair—to Stalin.

Frederic Bastiat understood better than most how free markets and market prices actually promote social harmony. And unlike most, he understood why Paris, which had little agricultural land, had plenty of food for its inhabitants.

The simple narrative today of the southern secession in 1860 and 1861 is that the southern states believed that the institution of slavery was being threatened, so they left the union. However, the real causes are more complex and do not fit any preconceived narrative.

Polish professor of political theory Łukasz Dominiak joins us to talk about how Poland embraced a market economy after the Cold War ended.  We discuss some of the factors behind Poland's rise from poverty. 

Despite arguments from President Trump and his supporters, there is no such thing as an “optimal” tariff. If anything, Americans have the upper hand in trade because they can run large trade deficits due to the status of the US dollar as the world‘s reserve currency.