Bob Murphy

Author Archive

Freeman Article on Fannie & Freddie Seizure Now Online

The December issue of the Freeman is up, and it has my article on the F&F seizure. I don’t remember the exact date, but I think I submitted this piece in October. I confess that I was somewhat nervous to read it just now, because so much has changed since I wrote it. Fortunately, I […]

Oops, Base Growth Was Probably Higher in 2001 Than in 2002

In my latest mises.org piece, I argue that the monetary base grew more rapidly in 2002 than in 2001, whereas Henderson and Hummel give the opposite impression. After further review, I think they are probably right. The problem is that the base whipsawed around due to Y2K and the 9/11 attacks. Look at the levels: […]

IER Comments on Scoping Plan for California’s AB 32

Here (pdf) are the comments I submitted on behalf of IER to California’s Air Resources Board regarding the economic analysis contained in the Scoping Plan for AB 32, aka “The Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006.” It would force California greenhouse gas emissions back to 1990 levels by 2020, which would be about a 25% […]

Evidence That the Fed Caused the Housing Boom

At mises.org today, I have an article taking on some of the empirical arguments that try to exonerate Greenspan. I take on Megan McArdle, Henderson and Hummel, Brad DeLong, and Casey Mulligan. (In short, I do my best to alienate as many groups as possible from Austrian economics.) An excerpt: I realize that these disputes […]

George Bush Is Not an Idiot

I think George W. Bush is one of the worst presidents in modern times, because of his lip service to free markets while allowing an outrageous growth of government power. Still, I think his critics are wrong when they lampoon him as a bumbling idiot. (Just the other day, I was talking with a guy […]

Nash Supports Gold Standard

Nobel Laureate and game theorist John Nash recently gave a talk at Fordham explaining the need for a hard money, such as was provided by the gold standard. (HT2EPJ) From the Fordham account: Nash told the audience that such financial crises would be less likely to occur if there was some international monetary standard, such […]

A Stern But Sobering Lecture from Lew Rockwell

Lew Rockwell, president of the Mises Institute, has an amazing article at his website today, imploring libertarian intellectuals to stick to their principles even now when things are scary. A taste: If you write and follow politics enough, you eventually realize that most evil in this world is brought about by those seeking a lesser […]

Subjects Are Like Little Children

…in the mind of a politician. The easiest way for me to get across the point of this post, is to recreate how I happened on the idea: So I was trying to get my 4-year-old to go to the bathroom since we had just driven home from somewhere. He wanted a drink, and I […]