EU Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has declared that anything that might lead to private currencies must be stopped. Yet, as F.A. Hayek noted, one way to confound central banks is through private currencies.
America recently celebrated Independence Day, but Americans were too quick to abandon their own individual freedoms and individual sovereignty and submit to the state.
The Trump administration has withdrawn its promised $4 billion for the California Bullet Train project because this project does not have a viable future. While they may complete the 171-mile Central Valley portion, the rest of the project is dead in the water.
President Trump is proposing a $1.5 million levy on Chinese-built ships that enter US harbors. Since a majority of cargo ships have been produced by Chinese shipyards, the costs would be substantial. This action also would damage US exports, yet another unintended consequence of US policies.
The Federal Trade Commission has fined the makers of the video game Fortnite more than $500 million ostensibly for violations that have no legal basis. This is yet another case of the feds shaking down producers in the name of “consumer protection.”
The White House is boasting about a new trade “deal” with the EU. But every supposed benefit that comes from the agreement applies only to a small subset of the country while leaving the American public, as a whole, worse off.
The old classical liberal political tactics of constitutionalism, state building, and universal suffrage have clearly failed.
The Federal Reserve is not the only central bank in the world doing monetary and economic damage. Portugal‘s central bank—working as a branch of the European Central Bank—has been undermining sound money and economic prosperity in that country.
Once he took office, Trump continued Biden‘s policy of massive arms shipments to Israel. Trump even sent American bombers to attack Iran‘s nuclear facilities.
Instead, what matters is not whether expectations are stable, but whether expectations correspond to reality. Stable expectations cannot undo the damage caused by loose monetary and fiscal policies.
