Solving the “Problem” of Free Riding
With the almost constant statist apologetics we hear from many government and academic economists1 it is hard to believe that the discipline of economics was once a thorn in the side of the state and its political elite. So commonplace are
Rothbard on Immoral Choices
In a section of Power and Market called “The Problem of Immoral Choices,” Murray Rothbard considers an important objection to the free market, and I’d like in this week’s column to consider some of the points he raises. To understand where
Colonialism Isn’t the Source of Latin America’s High Inequality
Income inequality in Latin America is appallingly high, with the richest 10 percent of the population controlling 54 percent of national income. According to the 2021 Regional Human Development Report's “Trapped High Inequality and Low Growth in Latin America and the
Transition to GST: An Analysis
Goods and Service tax bill, officially known as the constitution (one hundred and twenty-second amendment) bill, 2014 proposed a government implemented national value-added tax in India from June 2016. The GST implementation in India is “dual” in nature, i.e., it
The Money Supply Grew in November, but the Bigger Trend Is Way Down
Money supply growth rose slightly in November, rising above October's twenty-one-month low. Even with November's rise, though, money supply growth remains far below the unprecedented highs experienced during much of the past two years. During thirteen months between April 2020 and April 2021, money
Mises and the German Neo-liberals
The 1947 Mont Pèlerin Society meeting [in Switzerland] was enough to satisfy Mises's curiosity about Europe and European scholars for quite some time. Europe lay in shambles, even Paris was in rags. He did not even wish to think about
Money and Banking in the US after the Crises of the 1970s and ’80s
Continued from part 1. The story in its popular outline is well known. Facing persistent stagflation, the new chair of the Federal Reserve, Paul Volcker, set out to cure the American economy via a treatment of shock therapy, rapidly hiking interest rates. From 1979
Real Wages Plummet as Inflation Hits the US Recovery
The headline 3.9 percent unemployment rate looks positive, but job creation fell significantly below consensus, at 199,000 in December versus a consensus estimate of 450,000. The weak jobs figure should be viewed in the context of the largest stimulus plan in
Price Inflation Is at the Highest Level since 1982. What Will the Fed Do?
According to new data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, price inflation in December rose again to a new multi-decade high, rising to the highest level recorded in nearly forty years. According to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for December, year-over-year price
Predictions for 2022
In this episode of Radio Rothbard, Ryan and Tho trade predictions for the year ahead. Topics include the importance of internal primaries ahead of next year's mid-terms, predictions on what the Fed will do with rising inflationary pressure, and what