Bob Murphy

Author Archive

Right-Wingers for Government Health Insurance?

Jeff Tucker alerts us to this Paul Craig Roberts piece where he declares: What the US needs is a single-payer not-for-profit health system that pays doctors and nurses sufficiently that they will undertake the arduous training and accept the stress and risks of dealing with illness and diseases. Now maybe you think I’m taking PCR […]

"What Should I Read to Learn Austro-libertarianism?" bask

(This is not a “bleg,” since I am not begging, I am asking.) I get emails all the time from people saying they have just stumbled onto Austrian economics and/or libertarianism (in the Rothbardian tradition), and they want to know where to begin. They adore my writings, of course, but what’s the next level of […]

Remember How I Said I Understood Why Liberals Thought They Were More Intellectual Than Conservatives?

Pete Boettke gives us this blast from the past: Make sure you watch to see who is loudly cheering at the end of the clip.

Excellent Cochrane/Zingales Article on Lehman and Paulson

I can forgive John Cochrane his excesses in defense of neoclassical financial models because he and Zingales did a wonderful job showing that the financial panic in September 2008 was most likely not caused by the collapse of Lehman. On the contrary, it was Paulson’s saber rattling that spooked investors: The nearby chart shows that […]

Orwell Lives! The WSJ Takes Inflation Spinning to New Low

Well shoot, the punchline isn’t nearly as effective if I can’t link you to the actual headline, but I swear in today’s A-section of the Wall Street Journal, there was a story (it was on the right column of a left-handed page) with the following title: Prices Rise, Inflation CalmI threw out the paper and […]

I Don’t Vote, Not Even for Ron Paul

In a previous post, I mentioned that I didn’t vote for Ron Paul in the election. A few people expressed surprise in the comments. So I should clarify that I didn’t vote for RP, because I don’t vote (in political elections), period. My reasoning is pretty simple: My vote won’t make a difference in any […]

Those Who Are Ignorant of Monetary History Are Condemned…?

I don’t endorse everything he says on monetary economics, but Robert Wenzel certainly makes a good point that the Fed chief is being coy with the economy. I am in a hurry so I can’t save the graphic to my blog server etc., but check out this FRED chart. It shows non-seasonally adjusted M2. Notice […]

Should the Fed Be Abolished?

I didn’t vote for Ron Paul, but I did vote in the poll at the end of this CNBC article reviewing RP’s new book, End the Fed. As of my vote, 83% agreed that the Fed should be abolished.