Robert P. Murphy
Commentary
George Will and the Sea-Ice Controversy: Was He More Correct Than Thought?
Back on Feb. 15, George Will wrote an op-ed in the The Washington Post in which he claimed: As global levels of sea ice declined last year, many experts said this was evidence of man-made global warming. Since September, however, the increase in sea ice has been the fastest change, ...
Business & Economics
Nothing Paradoxical About Thrift
To address our current economic woes, classically-minded economists argue that the government should get out of the way and let the market heal itself. They warn that massive government “stimulus” packages only divert resources away from the private sector, thus delaying recovery.1 Keynesian economists say the opposite. They argue that ...
Agriculture
Bank Bailout Blues
Undeterred by the failure of the last injection of taxpayer dollars into a bloated banking system, our financial crusaders in DC are scratching their heads over the best way to flush another few hundred billion away. The latest scheme involves the creation of a “bad bank” that would purchase the ...
Business & Economics
Expand Economic Freedom in 2009
The onset of 2009, with a new president taking office, is a good time to reconsider the benefits of economic freedom. Contrary to what partisans of big government claim, the empirical case for economic freedom has grown much stronger in the last 10 years, due to the development of objective ...
Business & Economics
“Do You Austrians Have a Better Idea?”
A lot of people get annoyed with Austrian economists because they tend to be so dogmatic (we prefer the term consistent) and because they cloak their strictly economic claims with self-righteousness (we prefer the term morality). After a good Austrian bashing of the latest call to steal taxpayer money and ...
Business & Economics
Taxpayer stimulus: Failures help sectors recalibrate
The sages at the National Bureau of Economic Research have finally concluded what many Americans have known for months: The United States is in a recession. Several prominent economists have recommended vast government spending as a cure. In the December issue of the New York Review of Books, Nobel Laureate ...
Business & Economics
Does “Depression Economics” Change the Rules?
Wily competitors have known for ages that if you can’t win the game, you can simply change the rules. Now, during normal economic times, if somebody recommended that the government borrow a trillion dollars and spend it on anything that moves, most economists (as well as common sense) would say, ...
Business & Economics
The SEC Makes Wall Street More Fraudulent
The mainstream reaction to the Bernard Madoff scandal was inevitable. Whenever a government regulatory agency proves itself to be incredibly incompetent or corrupt, the respectable media swoop in to declare that the “free market” has failed and the agency in question obviously needs more money and power. Whether it’s the ...
Business & Economics
Hayek Tells Bill Buckley That Even Keynes Was Afraid of the Keynesians
Last month Bob Roddis caused a stir when he made available the audio recording of Hayek’s 1975 “Meet the Press” appearance. Well Roddis has done it again. He has provided me with this recording (mp3) of Hayek on Bill Buckley’s Firing Line. Buckley asks Hayek about the popularity of Keynesianism, ...
Business & Economics
Welfare is bad for automobile companies, too
Various commentators have tried to blame the dreadful condition of the Big Three automakers on unreasonable union demands, greedy and incompetent management or the government. In truth, these claims are all partially true. The United Auto Workers have saddled the Big Three with expensive compensation packages making it difficult to ...
George Will and the Sea-Ice Controversy: Was He More Correct Than Thought?
Back on Feb. 15, George Will wrote an op-ed in the The Washington Post in which he claimed: As global levels of sea ice declined last year, many experts said this was evidence of man-made global warming. Since September, however, the increase in sea ice has been the fastest change, ...
Nothing Paradoxical About Thrift
To address our current economic woes, classically-minded economists argue that the government should get out of the way and let the market heal itself. They warn that massive government “stimulus” packages only divert resources away from the private sector, thus delaying recovery.1 Keynesian economists say the opposite. They argue that ...
Bank Bailout Blues
Undeterred by the failure of the last injection of taxpayer dollars into a bloated banking system, our financial crusaders in DC are scratching their heads over the best way to flush another few hundred billion away. The latest scheme involves the creation of a “bad bank” that would purchase the ...
Expand Economic Freedom in 2009
The onset of 2009, with a new president taking office, is a good time to reconsider the benefits of economic freedom. Contrary to what partisans of big government claim, the empirical case for economic freedom has grown much stronger in the last 10 years, due to the development of objective ...
“Do You Austrians Have a Better Idea?”
A lot of people get annoyed with Austrian economists because they tend to be so dogmatic (we prefer the term consistent) and because they cloak their strictly economic claims with self-righteousness (we prefer the term morality). After a good Austrian bashing of the latest call to steal taxpayer money and ...
Taxpayer stimulus: Failures help sectors recalibrate
The sages at the National Bureau of Economic Research have finally concluded what many Americans have known for months: The United States is in a recession. Several prominent economists have recommended vast government spending as a cure. In the December issue of the New York Review of Books, Nobel Laureate ...
Does “Depression Economics” Change the Rules?
Wily competitors have known for ages that if you can’t win the game, you can simply change the rules. Now, during normal economic times, if somebody recommended that the government borrow a trillion dollars and spend it on anything that moves, most economists (as well as common sense) would say, ...
The SEC Makes Wall Street More Fraudulent
The mainstream reaction to the Bernard Madoff scandal was inevitable. Whenever a government regulatory agency proves itself to be incredibly incompetent or corrupt, the respectable media swoop in to declare that the “free market” has failed and the agency in question obviously needs more money and power. Whether it’s the ...
Hayek Tells Bill Buckley That Even Keynes Was Afraid of the Keynesians
Last month Bob Roddis caused a stir when he made available the audio recording of Hayek’s 1975 “Meet the Press” appearance. Well Roddis has done it again. He has provided me with this recording (mp3) of Hayek on Bill Buckley’s Firing Line. Buckley asks Hayek about the popularity of Keynesianism, ...
Welfare is bad for automobile companies, too
Various commentators have tried to blame the dreadful condition of the Big Three automakers on unreasonable union demands, greedy and incompetent management or the government. In truth, these claims are all partially true. The United Auto Workers have saddled the Big Three with expensive compensation packages making it difficult to ...
