Bob Murphy

Author Archive

Bask on Tom Woods Show Appearances by Michael Malice

(For new readers, “bask” = blog ask. I don’t like “bleg.”) I seem to recall that Michael Malice appeared on Tom Woods’ show a while ago, and he confidently predicted that Hillary Clinton would not be the Democratic nominee. I thought he would have said this during the episode when he debated Tom on whether […]

Lara-Murphy Show: How Governments Use Inflation as a Hidden Tax, Part 1

This will probably seem like Romper Room stuff to many of you, but for whatever reason Carlos’ idea to use Caesar as the launching-off point struck me as very powerful to connect with the average person. I first saw Carlos give a public talk on fractional reserve banking and open market operations, but he started […]

Power to the People

My latest at FEE. I quote a socialist with approval! (Really.) Here’s the conclusion: The advocates of political intervention think that they ensure “consent of the governed” through the institution of democracy. But both history and theory show the naïveté of that belief. Suppose we had retained the medieval guild system, but with the tweak that […]

Murphy Twin Spin

==> Hey, every Contra Krugman episode is a thing of beauty, but I really liked this most recent one, where we take on Krugman talking about Trump talking about a Treasury default. ==> And here’s the accompanying blog post I did, to show why Krugman/Yglesias in 2012 were stressing salutary mechanisms over fears of a […]

I Go Deep on Twitter

I realized that most of what I pump out on social media is cynical humor, and so I thought I should keep it real for a bit. God loves you more than you can possibly imagine. — Robert P. Murphy (@BobMurphyEcon) May 16, 2016 One explanation for your depression is a chemical imbalance. Another is […]

I Took Down My Brad DeLong vs. John Cochrane Post

Well shoot, I still think Brad DeLong was very unfair to John Cochrane when he said that in his Cochrane’s WSJ op ed, Cochrane “draws this curve:” and then posts a curve that DELONG drew, not Cochrane. That’s the upfront, gripping part of the post, and when I first read it, I too was stunned […]

COMING THIS FALL

In a world, plagued by tight money, one man CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

Vox Climate Wonk Tells Us There Will Be No Carbon Tax Deal

My latest at IER. An excerpt: And thus we see that David Roberts, with the enthusiasm of someone living in a Disney movie, wants the U.S. federal government to create “a whole new world.” Anyone who thinks a supply-side carbon tax deal will work with guys like this is delusional. Just read what the progressives […]