U.S. Economy

Jerry Taylor, the president of the Niskanen Center, says that libertarians should support the welfare state. In doing so, he adopts the conception of liberty standard among socialists.

Food stamps were near and all-time high in 2015. They remain high thanks to a weak economy and a large expansion of the program during the Bush and Obama years.

About half of the states pay for government spending in the other half.

Dr. Mark Thornton on The Scott Horton Show. 

My neighbor Sam is deeply in debt. But, he tells me that he owes all that money "to himself," so he thinks it's not a problem. I think he's in deeper trouble than he thinks.

American history is a story of non-stop efforts by governments to intervene in the marketplace through regulations, monopolies, and subsidies. Most surprisingly, these market interventions appear to place a central role in causing economic crises over the years.

The 20th century was the progressive century, marked by the rise of war and socialism as entrenched features of American life. But perhaps the most lasting effects will be felt in the entitlement mindset woven into the American psyche via decades of successful incrementalism.

Why, with interest rates historically low, are businesses not investing in the much predicted boom? Could it be business owners know more than the central bankers?

Cesar Chavez wanted immigration controls to hep him prop up union-labor wages.

NIRP will fail miserably, in part because they signal that the central banks are out of options and the economic system is in terminal decline.