On the growing coalition countering capitalism for the “common good.”
MARKETS
Intellectual freedom cannot exist without political freedom; political freedom cannot exist without economic freedom; a free mind and a free market are corollaries. – AYN RAND
In Defense of Collusion In a Free-Market Under Capitalism
History provides very few actual examples of private firms that are unprotected by government-erected barriers to entry successfully colluding in ways that harm consumers.
The So-Called “Trade Deficit”
The conventional tale of trade deficits fails so utterly to square with reality because tellers of this conventional tale never seriously bother to attempt to understand why foreigners are willing, decade after decade, to send to America more goods and services than they receive in return from America.
On the Mercantilist and Monarchial Origins of the Concept of the ‘Balance of Trade’
Describing as “favorable” a situation in which the people of the home country ship many real goods and services to foreigners and receive in exchange lesser amounts of real goods and services, with the difference made up in money, is indeed – as Adam Smith called it – absurd.
Remembering Henry Hazlitt
Herny Hazlitt was a popularizer of sound economic thinking, a critic of John Maynard Keynes, and a contributor to ethical moral philosophy. Not bad for a poor fatherless boy and college dropout.
The Inverted Yield Curve and Next US Recession
Since the late 1960s US yield-curve inversions have predicted all eight US recessions, beginning roughly a year in advance.
The Intellectual Assault on Economic Activity and Capitalism, Part 2 of 2
Economics proves the existence of a harmony of the rational self-interests of all participants in the economic system—a harmony which permeates the institutions of private ownership of the means of production, economic inequality, and economic competition.
The Myth That Everything Depends on Luck
Did you work to make or take advantage of your own luck?
The Intellectual Assault on Economic Activity and Capitalism, Part 1 of 2
Capitalism is denounced as “an anarchy of production,” a chaos ruled by “exploiters,” “robber barons,” and “profiteers,” who “coldly,” “calculatingly,” “heartlessly,” and “greedily” consume the efforts and destroy the lives of the broad masses of average, innocent people.
The Assault on the Concept Merit
The proper, moral attitude toward great achievers, those who have merit, is admiration.
The Union Barons Strike Back with Legal Price Fixing and the Repeal of Right To Work Laws
Taxpayers will have to pay more for state construction due to the reinstatement of prevailing wage and workers will be compelled to pay for union representation they don’t want due to the repeal of Right to Work statutes.
Mergers & Acquisitions: The FTC versus the Free-Market
The FTC is placing itself as the primary arbiter when it comes to business transactions, and it is conveying that it can predict what the future holds for innovations and acquisitions. This creates an environment of not only great uncertainty for business, especially now that previous transactions may be revisited and reconsidered, but also great risk for the competitiveness of US firms.
Ludwig Von Mises, F.A. Hayek and the Price Generation, Not Calculation, Debate
The problem economically with socialism is not calculation of given data, but the generation of the data that would be required, but does not yet exist.
Bud Light Sales Implosion After The Mulvaney Ads Explained (By Mises)
The company was openly insulting its consumer base, describing Bud Light as a “fratty” beer and “out of touch” brand “in decline.” It’s one thing to disregard your boss. It’s another thing to openly insult her.
Microsoft-Activision Merger: The FTC Should Answer Its Call of Duty to Gamers
All too often, unscrupulous businesses weaponize the United States’ antitrust laws — which are only supposed to be utilized to protect consumers against higher prices and other consequences of monopoly power — for their own self-serving purposes.
The “Anti-Capitalist Business”: The Impossible Dream
The cause of The Anarchist’s struggle for survival and impending demise is its anti-capitalist business model, rooted in the proprietor’s Marxist strawman-view of capitalism.
Krugman’s Magic Act: On Premium Bonds & The Trillion-Dollar Coin
The trillion-dollar coin is simply FedGov borrowing $1 trillion from us.
Taylor Swift and the Real Lesson From the Ticketmaster Antitrust Hearings
In a true capitalist system or free market, there would be no antitrust laws.
“Common Good Capitalism” vs. Capitalism
Far from ordinary Americans being crushed in the last few decades by globalization and the entrepreneurial dynamism ordinary Americans’ economic opportunities have expanded and their standard of living has skyrocketed.
The Knowledge Problem: National Conservative Industrial Policy vs. Capitalism’s Free Market
National conservatives believe that the allocation of resources brought about by the free market is in fact a less-efficient allocation — one that is worse for the country — than is the allocation that would be brought about by their industrial policy.
Fake Banks and Real Banks
We observe a run on deposits in a commercial bank, then observe that the same thing can happen to other financial institutions, then mistakenly assume these institutions are essentially the same.
Big Tech and Monopoly Power: Freedom is a Virtue, Antitrust is a Vice
So, whether it’s Lina Khan at the FTC or Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren in Congress, antitrust advocates should take a hard look in the mirror. The only true monopoly within the US marketplace is where these politicians are fulfilling their posts.
Understanding Bank Failures and the Objective Role of the Lender of Last Resort
Since government regulatory practice has gone beyond making loans to illiquid-but-solvent banks, to paying back all the deposits of insolvent banks, the result is that there is no reason for depositors to care about whether their bank is taking excessive risks.
Minimum Wage Hurts Whom It Claims to Help
If you care about the people struggling to keep their jobs in a difficult economy, you should oppose raising the minimum wage: it hurts the very people you want to help
The Amazing Benefits of International Trade
Trade allows each of us to turn our unique talents into the fruits of the talents of everyone with whom we trade.
Robert Reich’s Anti-Capitalist Rant Against The Kroger-Albertson Merger
What Robert Reich Gets Wrong about the Kroger-Albertson Merger and What He Misses Completely
National Conservatives, the American System, and the Founders
While Hamilton, who died in a duel in 1804, did indulge protectionist arguments during his stint as Secretary of the Treasury, the rebranding of Jefferson and Madison as American System enthusiasts runs directly contrary to historical evidence.
Unions Should Not Be Protected Against Suits for Deliberate Property Damage
Unions must go about their objectives of trying to organize workers without committing acts of destruction.
A Parable: Who Will Build the Roads?
The owners of private roads, those few in the know knew, would provide better roads at lower cost than Leviathan ever could.
Don’t Ask ‘Who Will Build the Roads?’ Ask ‘Do We Even Want Roads?’
What unseen effects did the “small present good” of a $558 billion highway network mask?
Supply-Side Economics in One Lesson
Supply-siders insisted that while there may be policy effects on the demand side, one cannot ignore the consequences of the changes such policies make to the incentives of suppliers and entrepreneurs.
Microsoft-Activision Meger: Will Antitrust Undermine the Future of Online Gaming?
The future of gaming won’t be determined by the Microsoft-Activision merger. But it could very well be undermined if the FTC succeeds in blocking the merger.
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