Like the U.S., many democratic nations are suffering from permanently high unemployment, staggering public debts and budget deficits, and a deep economic recession. Although many people blame politicians for their problems, virtually no one ever considers blaming the democratic system for our woes. If you think about it, however, it’s clear that it’s the collectivist […]
Laissez-Faire Today
The Big Drag on the Rest of Us
It’s second-term scandal season in Washington, D.C. The folks at Fox are eating it up. But over at MSNBC, not so much. First it was Hillary Clinton’s role in Benghazi; then the AP wiretapping; and of course, the IRS looks more evil, stupid, and wasteful with each passing day. More scandals than usual? Hardly. Remember […]
Don’t Be Fooled Again
“There’s an old saying in Tennessee,” the last president said in a classic George W. Bush gem. “I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, ‘Fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can’t get fooled again.’” Well, you know what he meant. But seriously, though, really; […]
Ground Zero in Crypto-Commerce
There were no cubicles, no executive suites, and no visible hierarchies of power. It was just a large open room with computers and desks, and at each sat a large monitor in the shape of a medieval triptych: a large screen in the middle, flanked by one on each side. “Programmers like to have several […]
The “Social Contract” With the Government Is a Fraud
There are many theories to explain government. Most are nothing but scams, justifications, and puffery. One tries to put something over on the common man… the other claims it was for his own good… and the third pretends that he’d be lost without it. Most are not really “theories” at all… but prescriptions, blueprints for […]
Government Creates a New Criminal Class
Woo-hoo! It is a wonderful thing when the good guys win one for a change. Well, it wasn’t a total win, but it gives hope. In a case brought by the Wisconsin state government — with full cooperation from the federal government — a jury refused to convict Amish farmer Vernon Hershberger on all counts […]
Why Political Correctness and Economics Don’t Mix
Why learn economics? To know economics is to understand how the world works. Multitudes of people know nothing about the subject, and that is very sad. Economics relates to everything we do. Without that understanding, much of the operation of society will remain mysterious. Not only do you want to be the smartest person at […]
Is It Fixable?
In the 15th century, the highest standard of living in the world belonged to China. Places like Nanjing had reached the pinnacle of civilization with incredibly modern infrastructure, robust economies, substantial international trade, great health care, and a rising middle class. Across the globe, Europeans were living out short, mud-filled, brutish lives in squalid poverty, […]
The Not-So-Golden Years
The dream of virtually every American is to retire as early as possible. Who doesn’t want to have each and every day to do exactly what he or she wants to do? Sure, for some people, that would be work. They like having somewhere to go every day, being valued for their services, and the […]
What Didn’t Change When Nixon Cut the Gold Link
“Let me lay to rest the bugaboo of what is called devaluation,” Richard Nixon told his fellow Americans on Aug. 15, 1971. The 37th president had just announced the U.S. would “temporarily” close the gold window — ending the convertibility of dollars into gold that had been key to the postwar Bretton Woods system. What […]