Bob Murphy

Author Archive

Spanx Founder Sara Blakely Sounds Like the American Dream

I’m sure naysayers will find some reasons to poke holes in the story being presented, but this is how free enterprise is supposed to work:

Blimey Cow on YouTube Comments

These guys live in Nashville; Tom Woods introduced me to them (over email). For some reason this one cracked me up:

Deep Thoughts, by Bob Murphy

A lot of people are angry and depressed because they haven’t made it, even though they’re more talented than many of the people who have made it. A lot of people are angry and depressed because they’ve made it, and yet it didn’t make them happy.

Malcolm Gladwell on the Power of Faith

An interesting interview. He apparently was renewed in his (Christian) faith while writing his latest book, David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants. Some excerpts: Q: You use the biblical story of David and Goliath in the title and the setup to your book. Do you think we’ve been retelling the […]

Mises’ Momma Didn’t Raise No Fool on Banking Regulations

For some reason this passage from pages 443-444 of Human Action cracked me up: People may uphold the opinion that banknotes are more handy than coins and that considerations of convenience recommend their use….But all this has no reference whatever to the problem in question. It does not provide a justification for the policies urging […]

“The Biggest Scam in the History of Mankind”

This video is pretty neat; it’s racking up views very quickly. It’s very well done, but unfortunately there are a few things that I think they get wrong. Some of my objections: ==> The guy a few times says “I” when he should say “me.” ==> I understand where he’s coming from, but I don’t […]

Without Government, Who Would Give Us Traffic Jams?

In a previous post, I noted with irony that Eugene Fama listed roads matter-of-factly as an example of where government spending could be quite productive. In case some readers don’t understand, this is funny to Internet anarcho-capitalists, since a popular meme for us is, “Who Will Build the Roads?” I had asked if anybody knew […]

Accounting Identities Versus Economic Theories

OK I’m going to crowdsource this one, because I’m guessing in the comments there will be two camps who will eventually reach the truth (at least in my mind). In a previous post I alluded to Brad DeLong bringing up a 2009 Fama essay on the impotence of stimulus spending. Upon seeing DeLong’s post, Krugman […]