Bob Murphy

Author Archive

Potpourri

==> Nick Rowe agrees with me that Steve Landsburg’s analysis of paying down government debt is only true if we assume perfect certainty. (Steve I think would totally agree, and that’s why I said in my original post that this was an argument over specifying assumptions for the reader, not about the implications of those […]

Yes Gene, Keynesians Do Focus on Consumption More Than Investment

Gene Callahan is mystified: So, I’m teaching Keynesian economics for the second time. And once again, I’m telling my students that, per Keynesians, recessions occur when intended investment falls short of savings. And the best way to fix this, per Keynesians, is for the government to invest in roads, bridges, parks, education, etc. I’m fine […]

Did Milton Friedman Win Two Nobel Prizes?

UPDATE below. I was googling some stuff to prepare for my second lecture in my Mises Academy class on the Great Depression, and I was skimming Princeton University Press’ blurb on the famous Friedman/Schwartz monetary history of the US. I was surprised to see this: “Milton Friedman won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2000 […]

Noah Pinion Shows Yet Again That Economists Will Be Strung Up Right After Investment Bankers

[UPDATE below.] I knew right off the bat that Noahpinion was doing something wrong in this patronizing post on inflation, but it took me a minute to figure out where the error was creeping in. But don’t worry, I finally got it. Here’s Noah: Inflation is one of those things that almost nobody who isn’t […]

Question on Financial Repercussions of Secession

[Second UPDATE below.] [UPDATE below.] Something is puzzling me here. People who are willing to have a war to prevent secession argue that they are trying to prevent secessionists from imposing costs on everybody else. But what are the actual calculations to yield this result? Let’s take Texas for example. Depending on which estimate you […]

Potpourri

==> Over at Laissez-Faire I explain my Chevy Chase moment. ==> On carbon taxes, I report you decide. ==> My podcast with “Gadsen Rising.” ==> My podcast on “Patriot’s Lament.” ==> Markets in Everything: An insurance policy for libertarian activists.

Libertarians Love Homesteading Theory Except If God Exists

I don’t want to link to our comments because nothing he said was unusual, but last week I got into it with a critic here about God violating people’s natural rights. In other words, my critic was claiming that we can use our reason to derive rights that human beings possess, and that’s how we […]

Steve Landsburg Thinks the Current Debt Level Is Juuuuust Right

Steve Landsburg and I can have a perfectly civil discussion on theology. He agrees not to mock me (to my face) for thinking a guy can walk on water, and I don’t make fun of him for worshipping irrational numbers. But when it comes to government debt, I think Steve and I might just have […]