Fannie and Freddie Are Just Government Agencies. They’re Likely to Stay that Way.
Last Week, the US Supreme Court confirmed that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are essentially government-owned corporations, and are likely to stay that way. The Court didn’t say this in so many words, but the ruling (namely, Collins v. Yellen) helps
Since When Is a Half-Point Rate Hike (2 Years from Now) “Hawkish”?
The Fed announced the reportedly hawkish news that the central bank may raise rates, not this year, not next year, but by fifty basis points sometime in 2023. This tapering would slow the Fed’s buying of $120 billion of debt securities
LGBTQ+: As Big a Threat as Pedophilia to Hungary?
Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s ruling government has yet again clashed with the LGBTQ+ community after passing a bill that has been critiqued for its homophobic implications.The Fidesz ruling party which has landslide victories to its credit since 2010, has passed
Matt McCaffrey on Entrepreneurship and Chinese Military History
Matt McCaffrey is an Austrian economist who is currently associate professor of entrepreneurship at the University of Manchester. He talks with Bob about American economist Frank Fetter, before moving on to a staple of his research: the connection between Chinese
Carl Menger’s Theory of the Origin of Money
Carl Menger has not only provided an irrefutable praxeological theory of the origin of money. He has also recognized the import of his theory for the elucidation of fundamental principles of praxeology and its methods of research.1 There were authors who
The Stimulus Boom Is Already Over. Now Comes Stagnation.
The United States retail sales and jobless claims weakness, significantly below estimates, coincides with the largest fiscal and monetary stimulus in history. Something is not right when these figures come significantly below estimates in an environment of massive upgrades to gross domestic product (GDP).
Beyond the Fed: “Shadow Banking” and the Global Market for Dollars
[This article is part of the Understanding Money Mechanics series, by Robert P. Murphy. The series will be published as a book in 2021.] Although it conjures up scary imagery, shadow banking is simply a term for banking operations that occur through financial
Interventionism Turns Crisis into Depression
Austrian economists have a well-developed theory that explains the boom, bubble, bust, and recovery. A good introduction to the Austrian theory of the business cycle can be found in Larry Sechrest's article "Explaining Malinvestment and Overinvestment." Larry wrote the article to
What Happens When the State Has Power over Adoption Agencies
In a surprising turn of events, the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled in favor of Catholic Social Services (CSS) and against the City of Philadelphia. Upon learning that the Catholic agency would not place children with same-sex couples as a
Imagining a Better Way: Foundations of a Healthy Healthcare System
"The groupthink that exists among scholars of healthcare, among policy makers, among politicians — even among the public — is alarming." A new world of medical entrepreneurship is growing. Concierge and cash-only practices, walk-in cash clinics, medical tourism, and cost-sharing plans