Bob Murphy

Author Archive

Quick Kids, Spot the Threat!

Sometimes I think it’s useful to drop our abstract theories of social hierarchies and naively look at the world. In that spirit, check out the photo below from a WSJ story about the drug war in Mexico. Now if you didn’t have any other information to go on–or better yet, if a visitor from the […]

Tom and Burt Are On Top of Their Game

In Amazon’s economics category (HT2LRC), beating out Krugman, Galbraith, and all my friends. Of course, Krugman’s book has been out for a while, and I think Galbraith’s was written before Lincoln was shot. Still, good job, Tom and Burt!

Murphy on Pete Kaliner Radio Show

On Thursday night I reappeared on the Pete Kaliner show. Here is the link where you can play the audio. Also, there is a point where he accidentally hangs up on me, and when I come back I say, “I thought maybe the Obama Administration didn’t like the way the conversation was going” (or something). […]

PC Police String Up Kling on Bogus Charge

Lately Arnold Kling has been fending off accusations of being a racist, because he (foolishly) had a blog post saying the stimulus bill was really about “reparations” and then at a Heritage Foundation/Club for Growth event, he called the Obama crew a bunch of thugs. Here is how Vanity Fair blogger James Wolcott described it: […]

Investors Flocking to Gold

This CNBC story explains that because of the stimulus hijinx and other skullduggery, fund managers are acquiring larger exposure to gold, often through ETFs such as GLD. The Exchange Traded Fund allows an investor to buy a stock (e.g. x shares of GLD) rather than buying physical gold bars and storing them somewhere. The people […]

I Told You So Department: "Fed Faces Constraints In Market-Revival Role"

Yesterday’s article in the WSJ is basically a less hysterical and more detail-oriented regurgitation of my Daily Reckoning article from the end of January (and which I actually wrote in December). I explained in that article that Bernanke had painted himself into a corner, because the Fed’s balance sheet had grown enormously, meaning massive price […]

Congressman Says He Was Literally Warned World Economy Would Collapse If Didn’t Fork Over $700 Billion to Paulson

It’s nice that these details are trickling out. (HT2 Drudge) (You can move the pointer to 2:00 and start there, but the beginning is good to see him get phone-slapped by an irate lady.)