The true benefits of the Louisiana and Alaska Purchases are less clear than their value to pro-government propaganda, writes David Howden and Daniel Atienza. This audio Mises Daily is narrated by Keith
Jeff Deist and David Howden discuss the history of banking in America before 1913, the supposed justifications for the Federal Reserve Act, and why American economists all seem to be thrall to—and on the payroll of—the Fed. David also lays out the realities behind transitioning to a future without the Fed. Next, they discuss his book about the
Antifragile: Things that Gain from Disorder, Nassim Nicholas Taleb (New York: Random House, 2012). No two buzzwords define the present crisis more than “contagion” and “robustness” in the world of economists and policy wonks. The current interrelated nature of the financial system has bred a fragile situation where the success of the greater
A currency is only as safe as the bank that stores it. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the recent turmoil in the bitcoin community. One the primary advantages of bitcoin , perhaps even the greatest advantage of the cryptocurrency , is the ability to do away with traditional banking institutions. By providing an option to transfer payments
Global debt now exceeds $100 trillion, according to the Bank of International Settlements. Over the past five years, debt has increased by about $30 trillion. What’s more, governments have been the largest issuers . Low interest rates have attracted governments to the appeal of using debt to fund public projects today. As the saying goes, there’s
By Ron Paul Officially, US debt stands at more than $17 trillion. In reality, it is many times more. The cost of the US invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq may be more than six trillion dollars. President Obama’s illegal invasion of Libya cost at least a billion dollars and left that country devastated. The costs of US regime change efforts in Syria
Today at the Circle Bastiat Ron Paul offers sage commentary on the Ukraine where he asks and answers with a resounding NO, “ Can we afford the Ukraine ? A good follow up appears in the Wall Street Journal where William Easterly argues that both U.S. and private aid is misguided and misspent. Too much ‘aid’ supports tyrants and is contra-productive
It’s not just the auto industries of Canada and the United States that are plodding along towards a slow demise. The auto industry in Australia will soon be a piece of history, according to Iain Marlow writing for The Globe and Mail. With the pullout of General Motors’ owned Holden by 2017, Australia will be the only other G20 country (along with
What is the Mises Institute?
The Mises Institute is a non-profit organization that exists to promote teaching and research in the Austrian School of economics, individual freedom, honest history, and international peace, in the tradition of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard.
Non-political, non-partisan, and non-PC, we advocate a radical shift in the intellectual climate, away from statism and toward a private property order. We believe that our foundational ideas are of permanent value, and oppose all efforts at compromise, sellout, and amalgamation of these ideas with fashionable political, cultural, and social doctrines inimical to their spirit.