Macroeconomics

Modern macroeconomic theory claims that government spending, taxation, and monetary creation is essential for economic growth. Austrian Economists, however, note that government stifles the economy.

Far from being a true measure of economic health, GDP is a misleading economic statistic that implies consumer and government spending grow the economy. When government spends, GDP increases.

Bob responds to flawed arguments about trade deficits.

It‘s obvious that a new influx of money will not immediately bring about changes in enough prices to significantly alter a price index. Even so, there are immediate effects of the new money.

I have long argued that Austrian economics should be developed not as an alternative to the current academic discipline of economics but as a replacement for it.

Bob looks at the misconceptions and misuses of GDP accounting, explaining why this widely accepted metric often paints a misleading picture of economic health.

Interest rates, inflation, home prices, and federal spending all pose big challenges to a Trump administration that is ill-prepared to deal with the deep-seated problems in the US economy. 

While government officially measures inflation using weighted averages incorporated into the Consumer Price Index, in truth it is impossible to establish an average price level. It really is the proverbial apples-to-oranges comparison.

While economists speak of GDP as a legitimate measure of the economy, a closer look tells us that it is biased toward consumer spending and fails to give a true measure of the value of capital.

Economist Daniel Lacalle joins Ryan and Tho to talk about how central banks are engineering more zombie companies, higher inflation, and a "private sector recession."