Mises Wire

Ryan McMaken and Stephen Gardner discuss DOGE, birthright citizenship, corruption and waste in USAID, political decentralization, and more.

Government-sponsored currency means one does not own one‘s money. Cryptocurrency, however, is privately owned, which is a threat to government's money monopoly, potentially creating monetary property rights.

As Elon Musk takes on federal agencies, the Washington establishment is trying to frame him as an unelected plutocrat using government to help himself and other rich people at the expense of the poor. But these labels apply much more accurately to the establishment itself.

For both Locke and Montesquieu, private property was more fundamental than any political “right,” and this required prudential limitations on who could vote.

For more than a century, the Federal Reserve has slowly but surely destroyed this nation‘s once-sound monetary system. As inflation once again undermines our economy, the Fed reacts by making things even worse. 

Like their American counterparts, libertarians in South Korea allied themselves with the conservative political factions and now are paying a price in the face of a political meltdown. As Murray Rothbard noted, it is better to go with principles of liberty than caving in to statists.

Modern historians often portray post-Civil War “Reconstruction” as a time when well-meaning Republicans tried to aid newly-freed slaves who were being oppressed by their former masters. Using revisionist history, Wanjiru Njoya comes up with different, more realistic, accounts.

Tariffs, like oil prices, may have relevant implications on numerous trade factors, but they do not cause price inflation. Will the Fed blame tariffs like it blamed covid for price inflation? 

Mainstream economics tells us that we need a growing money supply to keep an economy growing. But what if a growing money supply diminishes economic growth? The Austrians have something to tell us about money growth.

Although a new presidential administration and Republican Congress have claimed support for civil liberties, support remains strong for the liberty-destroying FISA law. The more things change, the more they remain the same.