MARKETS
Trump’s China Blunder
By mistaking the real nature of international trade, the costs of tariffs, the effects of currency movements, and the supposed ease with which the United States could quickly re-establish itself as a low-cost manufacturer, Trump risks shredding the safety nets that have undergirded the U.S. economy for decades and plunging us into a war we are ill-equipped to fight.
Trump’s ‘Infrastructure’ Plan Versus Obama’s ‘Stimulus’: Part II
“I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents.”
Trump Tariffs are a Tax on the American People
Tariffs are paid directly from American businesses to the government’s coffers.
Defending Capitalism: Ayn Rand vs. Hayek
Ayn Rand publicly recommended the works of Mises but not of Hayek. Today, when Hayek is much better known than Mises, it’s worth seeing why. I came to the full realization of what’s wrong with Hayek’s approach while re-reading Atlas Shrugged . No,...
The Three Economic Elements About Capitalism
Those three elements are (a) division of labor; (b) impersonal exchange based on prices; and (3) economies of scale based on knowledge.
Roads Are Not Public Goods
Some creative rethinking can put us on the road to a better tomorrow.
Living Wage Is as Wrongheaded as the Minimum Wage
After all the studies and the near-unanimous opinion of economists — and even after the negative real-world effect of the minimum wage — it still remains popular.
Federal Reserve System is Socialism
Central banking is a form of central planning. The Federal Reserve has a legal monopoly over the monetary system of the United States.
The Production of Money Isn’t (Necessarily) the Production of Wealth
The creation of money doesn’t create wealth, unless money itself is wealth — as it was when it was gold and silver.
Capitalism and How Expectations Coordinate Markets
Open, competitive markets have a resilient capacity to successfully coordinate the actions of, now, billions of people around the world. With an amazing adaptability to changing circumstances, the actions and reactions of multitudes of suppliers and demanders are...
Classical Economics vs. The Exploitation Theory
Despite the support which it historically gave to the exploitation theory, classical economics provides the basis for turning the exploitation theory upside down.
If $15 Minimum Wage Is Such a Good Idea, Why Did AOC’s Bar Close Down?
Its co-owner, Charles Milite, cited as the primary reason the city’s minimum wage law.
The Global Economy Needs Freedom for Peace and Prosperity
At the end of the day, the balance of payments always balances.
Collectivism Destroys Business
Collectivist elements spur violations of individual rights, such as taxes, highly progressive income taxation in particular, and other wealth “redistribution” schemes that discourage entrepreneurship, innovation, and wealth creation in general
Capitalism Prevents Harmul Monopolies
Introduce government intervention into the market system, and monopoly becomes a social harm and an economic problem.
Keynesian Aggregate Demand and Supply Derangement Syndrome
The fundamental flaw in Professor DeLong’s view, as in John Maynard Keynes’ 1936 book is the idea that there exists a macro-economy the two sides of which are composed of aggregate demand and aggregate supply.
We Should Celebrate Diversity in Wealth Too
For the sake of justice, liberty, and prosperity, people should abandon their anti-commercial prejudices and cease deriding unequal wealth and income.
What a Dictator Does to an Economy
It is not for the president or any politician or regulator to issue dictates telling individuals or businesses where and what and how much to invest, much less what to say
Fallout from the Trade Wars
The president pledges to “make America great again,” which is a crucial and noble sentiment. But protectionism only hurts rather than helps do that job.
Football Stadium Subsidies: A Bad Deal for Taxpayers?
Football is popular enough to thrive without politicians subsidizing it.
Profit Maximization: The Moral Purpose of a Business Under Capitalism
Profit seeking and capitalism are natural and beneficial and provide the proper moral purpose for business.
Business Needs Freedom and Not a “Social License” to Operate
What we need is competition in free markets and protection of individual rights.
The Hawks Surrender
The biggest danger facing the American economy is not financial or monetary, but political. If we are currently entering a recession that proves to be even more severe than the last, which I believe we are, Donald Trump and the Republican Party will take the blame.
Introduction to Ludwig Von Mises’ Economic Policy
A felicitous introduction to Mises’ ideas.
Profits Are Progressive
Is profit a dirty word? Would the world be better off without them?
Jean-Baptiste Say, Ayn Rand, and Objective Economics, Part 2 of 2
When grounded on the right foundations Richard Salsman shows why economics is an objective science.
Jean-Baptiste Say, Ayn Rand, and Objective Economics, Part 1 of 2
When grounded on the right foundations Richard Salsman shows why economics is an objective science.
Trump Lays Down the Gauntlet of Dictatorship
A dictator cannot stand any form of independence — whether in words or action — and neither can Trump.
In Praise of Supermarkets (and Capitalism)
Ask Venezuelans whether they would prefer well-stocked supermarkets to empty shelves and the desperate shortages of food under socialism.
John Allison on the Financial Crisis
John Allison, former CEO & Chairman of BB&T and current president of Cato, talks on the financial crisis and the philosophy of Ayn Rand at the Adam Smith Institute’s first Ayn Rand Lecture at Drapers’ Hall.
The Importance of Business Ethics
A new semester, and a new class of business ethics, has begun. In my class, we initially discuss concrete examples of ethical dilemmas in business before delving into the main moral codes and the values and principles they comprise, to learn how they provide guidance...
Business Requires Moral Clarity
Business is a moral endeavor that makes human life immeasurably better.
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