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.
Many "social justice" advocates claim to appeal to a “higher law,” but they usually refuse to acknowledge economic laws because those laws stand in their way of creating the "just" society.
Most people believe that ours is a “free-market” healthcare system, but nothing could be further from the truth. A true market-based system as explained here would be less costly and more oriented to patient care.
Bob Murphy and Jason Priddle discuss the Genius Act, stablecoins, and what the future holds for cryptocurrency regulation and monetary freedom.
