When Is Short Selling Fraudulent?
Amid the controversy over GameStop, many cynics argued that something sinister was clearly afoot because the hedge funds had shorted 138 percent of the outstanding shares. In this article I’ll review that particular claim, as well as another seemingly dubious practice,
The Economics and Ethics of Government Default, Part I
Introduction The problem of government deficit spending and the resulting public debt is a challenge to most modern economies. A few states, such as Germany, with a reputation for fiscal austerity, operated with budget surpluses and declining debt, but that was
Almost a Year Later, There’s Still No Evidence Showing Governments Can Control the Spread of Covid-19
As we approach the one-year anniversary of fifteen days to flatten the curve, we have yet to acquire any data suggesting that the past year of life-destroying lockdowns and politicized behavioral mandates has done anything to keep us safe from
No, Drops in Money Velocity Don’t Offset Money Printing
At the end of January, the yearly growth rate of our measure of US money supply (AMS) closed at 76.7 percent, against 4.8 percent in January 2020. It is tempting to suggest that this massive increase in the growth rate
Mauricio Miller: Entrepreneurship as the Path Upwards From Anywhere, for Anyone
Entrepreneurship is the best pathway for all people out of unsatisfactory economic circumstances. Mauricio Miller, who arrived in the US as a poor immigrant from Mexico, and who also experienced living in some of America’s worst neighborhoods, spent over 20 years
India’s Farming Reform: A Lesson in Interest Group Politics
India's farmers have been demonstrating in response to the government's decision to liberalize the agricultural sector. Though economists note that these measures will boost the incomes of farmers, it is unsurprising that the protests have received immense support. Unlike corporate
The Drive for State and Federal Protective Tariffs in Early America
[Chapter 3 of Rothbard's newly edited and released Conceived in Liberty, vol. 5, The New Republic: 1784–1791.] Every depression generates a clamor among many groups for special privileges at the expense of the rest of society—and the American depression that struck
“Weapons of Mass Destruction”: The Last Refuge of the Global Interventionist
The threat of “nuclear proliferation” remains one of the great catch-all reasons—the other being “humanitarian” intervention—given for why the US regime and its allies ought to be given unlimited power to invade foreign states and impose sanctions at any given
The Problem with the “Robber Baron” Narrative
We're now hearing many calls for more antitrust legislation applied to Big Tech because these firms are allegedly monopolies. But old-fashioned antitrust was a disaster, as will be new efforts against tech companies. Original Article: "The Problem with the "Robber Baron"
The Idea of Secession Isn’t Going Away
Secession is a four-letter word for the millions of Americans who have gone through the conventional educational pipeline that teaches them that the American state is indivisible and sacrosanct. However, intellectually honest historians whose minds haven’t been warped by educational institutions know