Mises Wire

The story of the failure of Silicon Valley Bank is the story of nearly every bank failure. Fractional reserve banking invites the risky behavior that brings down the banking system.

Mises saw essentialist values as fallacies because they were unverifiable and saw metaphysical ideas as a key component of authoritarianism. His solution was utilitarianism.

The only way the current bust and any future ones can possibly be mitigated is by following Rothbard’s explanation of the Great Depression and taking those lessons to heart, else we will be doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past.

Rothbard’s America’s Great Depression is the essential book to read for those wanting to understand the economic issues we face today.

“America’s Great Depression” serves as a reminder that a brighter future where these missteps are recognized and no longer pursued, is in fact possible.

Even if Powell is sincere in this stated desire to slay inflation with more rate hikes, recent bank failures will put the Fed under enormous pressure to end its rate hikes and to once again embrace easy money to save the banks and Wall Street. 

Collusion was a way of life with state-chartered enterprises. Little has changed, as firms with political connections still gain profits from their collusion with the state.

The great economist Armen Alchian once observed, “Fortunately, societies have progressed despite almost universal ignorance of economic principles.” True.

If we have learned anything from hundreds of years of government oppression and atrocities, one thing is certain: government isn't our friend.

Keynesians and fellow travelers hold the Phillips curve to be sacrosanct. But because the Phillips curve cannot establish causality, it is useless as economic theory.