A disturbing trend among true believers is to quip that “Bitcoin fixes this,” almost regardless of what the problem may be.
MARKETS
COVID-19 Pandemic Wake-Up Call: Business Needs a Moral Defense
The COVID-19 pandemic may help by bringing a clearer understanding why business needs a moral defense from its leaders and that such defense must be based on the principle of individual rights.
A May Day Remembrance
The inescapable conclusion of the Mises-Hayek argument about socialist calculation is that an efficient socialist society cannot be designed.
United States Needs Freedom, Not Fascism
America does not need the command-and-control planning authorized under the Defense Production Act to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, it needs greater deregulation to free the entrepreneurial discovery process. In short, the United States needs more economic freedom, not fascism.
Supply-Side Panglossians are Not Objective
Capitalism (and economic analysis) requires reason, not faith, facts, not what feels good. The supply side is the right side, but the Pollyannas must cease their bias and at least try becoming more objective. They must defend the right policies, not merely those imposed by politicians they deem to be in the right because they are on the right.
Canada: No Shortages Thanks To No National Law Against “Price Gouging”
In contrast to Canada, which has no national restrictions against price gouging, 39 American states now have stringent laws or executive orders against raising prices during emergencies.
Benefits vs. Costs of the Government Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
We should focus on shielding the elderly and people with comorbidities while allowing the young and healthy to associate with one another in order to build up immunities
The Real Meaning of the “Stimulus”: A 2.2 Trillion-Dollar Capital Consumption Program
The proper name for “government stimulus” is: “capital destruction.” It’s the unreplaced using up of the factors of production.
The Economy Needs Not Keynes or Kudlow But a Ventilator
Today it’s no mystery why non-sober Keynesians like Paul Krugman might love the demand-side, anti-capitalist, Trump-Kudlow policy mix, or why Trump foes might eagerly insist that the economy remain closed, not to preserve the nation’s health but to dissipate its wealth (and the probability of Trump’s re-election). But why would Trump do this? It seems politically suicidal.
Bankrupting America
You can stretch a rubber band only so far, until it breaks. Our debt will wreck our children’s lives.
Unwealthy is Unhealthy, So Why Mandate It?
To the extent capitalism fosters the creation of wealth – a truth denied today only by the hopelessly biased – it also fosters the creation of health.
“Price Gouging” Restricts “Hoarding” and Eliminates Shortages
Higher prices charged have a couple of unappreciated benefits.
President Trump’s Wuhan Virus War: Protectionism Magnified
The false principle that fueled Trump’s trade war relates closely to his authoritarian response to the Wuhan (Covid-19) virus.
Anti-“Price-Gouging” Shows a Preference for Suffering Over Profit
If there were no price controls or threat thereof, prices in the present situation would be high enough to keep stocks on the shelves.
Video: The Coronavirus Pandemic and Fate of the Economy
With the stock market now crashing and many people facing unemployment in the wake of the ongoing pandemic, governments are reacting with a variety of measures allegedly aimed at stabilizing the markets and promoting economic security. What effects will these measures have on the economy? Will they address the root causes of the crash–or might they aggravate the situation.
Medical-Supply Nationalism vs Free-Market Capitalism
When there is a shortage of medical supplies, going out of our way through nationalism, mercantilism, and “protectionism” to make them more expensive will hurt people. Free-market capitalism and free-trade amongst nations is the rational solution.
Wrong Lessons That May Be Learned from the Coronavirus Crisis
Economic nationalists seem to be applying Rahm Emanuel’s now famous phrase of ‘never letting a serious crisis go to waste’ in the service of a political agenda that might be harder to push in calmer times.
Empty Shelves Are Not a Result of Free Market Capitalism
The shelves aren’t empty because of free-market capitalism. They’re empty because of active interference with free-market capitalism.
The Importance of Rising Prices in a Crisis
Prices should rise during emergencies. That’s because prices aren’t just money; they are signals, information. They tell suppliers what their customers want most.
Judy Shelton: Golden Nominee for a Tarnished Fed
Judy Shelton is a high-class, high-quality economist, who should join the Fed not so much to burnish its image but to keep it at least a little bit honest and real. The Fed today doesn’t really deserve Shelton, but Shelton deserves a top place at the Fed.
Government Price Control of Pharmaceutical Drugs
The government should have no business in controlling drug prices or regulating drug development.
The Coronavirus and Anti-Gouging Laws
Instead of finding (temporarily expensive) masks available for sale, we are confronted by “No masks available” signs everywhere we look.
“Shareholder Capitalism” vs. “Inclusive Capitalism”: A False Alternative
Freeman depicts capitalism as a system where businesses focus on maximizing short-term stock price.
Is Capitalism Dead?
On CEOs celebrating the “death” of capitalism.
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