I recently had surgery for appendicitis. Upon seeing me lying in a hospital bed, none of my visitors praised the bed’s healing power in curing my illness. All of them understood that although my condition was eliminated at the same time that I lay in bed, lying in bed does not cure disease. They understood that two events occurring simultaneously
“To the August Roman Hercules” To promote his own divinity, the Roman emperor Commodus issued coins with his image in the lion-skin headdress of Hercules on one side, and the bow, club, and quiver of Hercules on the reverse. So that the message would not be lost on anyone, an inscription on the reverse dedicated the coin “to the August Roman
. . . there is no record in the economic history of the whole world, anywhere or at any time, of a serious and prolonged inflation which has not been accompanied and made possible, if not directly caused, by a large increase in the quantity of money. — Gottfried Haberler, Inflation, Its Causes and Cures (1960) The phrase “not worth a continental”
Higher equity prices will boost consumer wealth and help increase confidence, which can spur spending. — Ben Bernanke, 2010. Across all financial media, between both political parties, and among most mainstream economists, the “wealth effect” is noted, promoted, and touted. The refrain is constant and the message seemingly simple: by increasing
The fear of deflation serves as the theoretical justification of every inflationary action taken by the Federal Reserve and central banks around the world. It is why the Federal Reserve targets a price inflation rate of 2 percent, and not 0 percent. It is in large part why the Federal Reserve has more than quadrupled the money supply since August
Fans of HBO’s hit series Game of Thrones know well the motto of House Stark: “Winter is Coming.” This motto warns of impending doom, whether brought on by the Starks themselves, devastating multi-year, cold weather, or something far more ominous north of the Wall. At least since Soviet economist Nikolai Kondratieff wrote The Major Economic
GDP purports to measure economic activity while largely divorcing itself from the quality, profitability, depth, breadth, improvement, advancement, and rationalization of goods and services provided. For example, even if a ship — built at great expense — cruised without passengers, fished without success, or ferried without cargo; it nevertheless
On February 28th, while addressing a joint session of Congress, President Trump quoted Abraham Lincoln and praised his economic philosophy : The first Republican President, Abraham Lincoln, warned that the “abandonment of the protective policy by the American Government [will] produce want and ruin among our people.” Lincoln was right — and it is
Anyone reading the regular Federal Open Market Committee press releases can easily envision Chairman Yellen and the Federal Reserve team at the economic controls, carefully adjusting the economy’s price level and employment numbers. The dashboard of macroeconomic data is vigilantly monitored while the monetary switches, accelerators, and other
On January 30, 2017, President Trump issued an executive order entitled: “Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs.” Known as the “One-In, Two-Out” rule, it calls for dramatically reducing the regulatory burden upon the US economy. This executive order may do more for the US economy than any other economic proposal by the Trump
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.