Terrifying headline? Certainly so if you work for the Fed, or ever worked for the Fed. Yet, it is what is called for according to law. Having experienced the harmful results of a paper currency manufactured at will, early US statesmen tried to forbid it from ever happening again. Article [...]

Austrian Economics continues to gain in influence despite the ruling elite’s attempts to marginalize it. The latest example was the Wall Street Journal’s recent coverage of Peter Boettke. The Daily Bell deals with the WSJ article in Mises Shakes the World? The consensus seems to be that editors at the Journal [...]

Another email from a reader. This one is instructive because of the micro versus macro aspects. Remember, it is only individuals that make decisions. If these decisions are not made in a favorable climate, with respect to expectations, incentives, etc., it doesn’t matter what nonsensical monies are wasted in stimulus. [...]

Email received. Not likely from the real Dr. Seuss. Author unknown. I do not like this Uncle Sam, I do not like his health care scam … I do not like these dirty crooks, or how they lie and cook the books. I do not like when Congress steals, I [...]

Cyclic views of history are generally deterministic, simplistic and wrong. The nonsense spouted by Karl Marx is probably the most famous example. History is created by people, not external or mysterious forces. Individual behavior, not some pre-ordained script, creates history. As expressed in Lawrence of Arabia by T. E. Lawrence: [...]

A very well written description by Lew Rockwell of what has happened: Two years ago, the economy was seriously dragged down amidst an amazing banking crisis that spread throughout the world. The illusion created by loose credit — that housing could go up in price forever and we could enjoy [...]

It is disheartening to contemplate the place from which the United States began and where it has arrived at. The nation itself is reeling from a Great Recession and continued joblessness. Meanwhile, legislators across the country and especially in Washington DC continue to elaborate on the failed system of regulatory [...]

THIS POST IS :”STICKY.” It will remain at the top of the page for a few days. New posts will appear under it. Below is a response I received to my article on American Thinker:  http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/08/keynes_as_useful_idiot.html (also posted on this site on August 31. It should be near the bottom [...]

The milk of American politics may be money, but the fuel for American socialism is Keynesian economics. Keynesianism’s inherent bias toward bigger government has made it the indispensable tool for statists around the globe. Politicians’ natural wont to spend and control benefited immensely when John Maynard Keynes published the General [...]

I suppose I shouldn’t laugh, but I found humor in Eric Fry‘s description of Chairman Bernanke’s performance at Jackson Hole: Like a guy who falls down a flight of stairs, then stands up and says, “I meant to do that,” Bernanke insisted the economy’s dismal trajectory is neither particularly surprising [...]

This quote could have come from anyone on the right, perhaps extreme right: “As every student of American history knows, this country’s core founding principles included nonpunitive taxation, constitutionally guaranteed protections against persecution of the minority and an inexorable right of self-determination,” he wrote. “Washington has taken actions over the [...]

How About This Weather?Math as Taught over the yearsObamaCare explained

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is out of options and luck. Of course, he couldn’t say that at Jackson Hole. Instead, he had to pretend that his magic was still strong and would be used, if necessary. By customizing mixtures of various powders (some apparently never used before), he would produce [...]

This blog consistently emphasizes the importance of microeconomics over macroeconomics. Indeed, I argue that macroeconomics is not economics but rather a part of either history or statistics or some other field. It is merely the summary of past aggregates. In that sense it is both history and statistics. It summarizes [...]

An outstanding article from American Thinker: Hard Endings: Rome, China and the Modern West By Jack Curtis Roman government broke the economy; the people abandoned their myths and outreach became an inward collapse. China went from wealth, developing technology and trade to stagnation and decline at the hands of an ossified [...]

Email received. Original author unknown. 1. Teaching Math In 1950s – A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit ? 2. Teaching Math In 1960s – A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His [...]

Some mostly political reading/watching for a Sunday morning: “So, you think President Obama had a tough week? Wait’ll you get a load of what happened to the Congressional Democrats.”  http://pajamasmedia.com/vodkapundit/2010/08/25/handicapping-the-house-5/ From Politico “Bailouts, Bailouts, Bailouts. No investigation poses a more significant political danger to Obama than a no-holds-barred GOP probe [...]

Recent comments by readers on hyperinflation that were prompted by the previous post, Williams on Hyperinflation, make me believe that the following link might be useful. It discusses inflation from a personal experience perspective and makes an argument for why financial assets will not do well in such a scenario. [...]

John Williams of ShadowStats concisely summarizes all you need to know in his reaction to the recently revised GDP data: Economic Data Will Get Much Worse. The kindest thing I can say about a stock market that rallies on the “stronger than expected” news that annualized growth in second-quarter GDP [...]

Below is a guest post I wrote for 20smoney.com. It discusses why the government will have to default on many of its promises/obligations. It is simply not mathematically possible to service what has been promised. Investing In A Difficult World Investing and life are both wonderful challenges. Often they are [...]

Another guest post in the series of An American Future from Kevin: An American Future: Finding Real Return By Kevin of 20smoney.com Through the first three parts of this series, we have been making the case that we’re in the beginning stages of a major shift in the American economy. [...]

Email received. Author unknown. Let me get this straight. We’re going to be “gifted” with a health care plan we are forced to purchase and fined if we don’t, written by a committee whose chairman says he doesn’t understand it, passed by a Congress that hasn’t read it but exempts themselves from [...]

Jonah Goldberg Dorsal Fins Surround White House You’ve got to wonder when White House political guru David Axelrod will look at the churning pools of poll data and, like Chief Brody in “Jaws,” say: “We’re gonna need a bigger boat.” The analogy isn’t quite right, because in the movie, the [...]

Here is an interesting piece of information about the US housing market: The high-end market, in particular, is under tremendous pressure. In fact, it is becoming non-existent. Guess how many homes prices above $750k managed to sell in July. Answer — zero, nada, rien; and for the second month in [...]