Mises Wire

The whole episode shows the folly of top-down political solutions to social challenges.

Dressing up the history of the world, and its economic development, in terms of transaction costs is mostly not very helpful.

Slavery was a monstrously unfair and immoral institution. It was also inefficient, compared to a system based on free labor.

How many people peak after 60?

When colleges or hospitals are guaranteed payment by a third party, such as Sallie Mae or a health insurance company, it's only natural to raise prices on the student or patient. In these cases, the user's ability to pay becomes almost irrelevant.

The introduction of money does not alter the fact that individuals still have to produce something useful in order to secure some other useful goods for themselves.

In 1986, eight governors threatened to veto deployments of state troops to Central America. Washington generals and politicians responded by further destroying state independence and the Second Amendment's militia clause.

Joe Weisenthal is questioning whether people should be able to deposit their money in a checking account and be paid interest on it — Rothbardians have been saying that for decades. 

Francsico García Paramés notes that economists who focus on near-term forecasting are generally useless to investors. But principles of Austrian economists — and a long-term view in general — can provide insights outside the mainstream.

The Keynesian obsession with avoiding deflation and pushing consumer spending has led to a serious decline in savings and capital accumulation.