Bob Murphy

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US Government Starting to Face a Cash Crunch

This Neil Irwin post is pretty good (I think I got this from Alex Tabarrok on Twitter): [I]n the…market for Treasury bills, things are starting to get scary. These are short-term IOU’s of the U.S. government, bills issued for 30, 60 or 90 days. They enable Uncle Sam to manage cash flow much the way […]

Bryan Caplan Values His Body Far Too Cheaply

I was very much enjoying the latest skirmish between Tyler Cowen and Bryan Caplan–no matter who loses, I win–when I was astounded by this argument from Bryan, to drive home his point about how awful immigration restrictions are: The obvious moral objection is that comparing slavery and immigration restrictions is absurd hyperbole. But it’s absurd […]

Niall Ferguson vs. Krugtron the Vincible (sic), Part I

Niall Ferguson has apparently started a series at HuffPo, documenting Paul Krugman’s botched predictions over the last several years. (In case you don’t know, Krugman has been absolutely vicious against NF for years now.) Obviously I am predisposed to love such an endeavor, and what’s really great is that Ferguson catches some things that I […]

Economics Basics: Action and Exchange

At the Mises Academy I’m starting a new class on October 17 on “Action and Exchange.” Full details here.

Louis CK Tells a Dog Story

Danny Sanchez posted this on Facebook (it was relevant to the thread), and I’m sharing it here because it illustrates why Louis CK is, in my humble opinion, the greatest living standup comedian. He doesn’t “tell jokes,” rather he tells stories about his actual life that are hilarious. Obviously he exaggerates for comedic effect but […]

Outrage Over Outrage Over Government Shutdown: I’m Starting With the Man in the Mirror

(That’s not a typo in the title.) Like most libertarians, I have been slightly amused by people freaking out over the government shutdown. Note, I’m not talking about people whose direct livelihood is affected, which includes not just federal employees but also DC-area cab drivers and restaurant owners. Rather, I’m talking about random commentators on […]

Bob of Christmas Past on Debt Ceiling

Back in July 2011 I recorded a commentary for Campaign for Liberty on (not) raising the debt ceiling. They recently re-ran it, saying the numbers were a little different today but the general points are still valid–and I agree. In particular, the claim that failure to raise the debt ceiling is the same thing as […]

Krugman Points Out His Inconsistency on Default Risk Better Than I Could Have Done

I recently pointed out that Krugman’s September 25 commentary on the possibility of a US government default was at odds with his pooh-poohing of a debt crisis caused by bond vigilantes. I don’t think people really saw just how badly Krugman had painted himself into a corner, so I had planned on doing a mock […]