All Posts

Archive for All Posts

Stay on Robert Wenzel’s Good Side

A lot of people email me and ask, “Bob, since you are one of the greatest living economists, why do you tolerate such disrespect [1 and 2] from a lowly financial blogger like Robert Wenzel?” (I am paraphrasing, but that’s basically what they are asking me.) Well the answer is, Wenzel is not picking on […]

"America Needs a New Enemy"

Somebody came just-shy of pining for another 9/11 during the Bush years–I don’t remember who–and now an Obama supporter is doing the same: Where is Osama bin Laden when we need him? Don’t get me wrong; in no way do I wish death and destruction on our country. But as I listen to the increasingly […]

More Fed Charts as Fine Art

I am going to hang this in my office so visitors can ponder. I don’t have the time to get into the data and see which components are responsible for the decidedly different trends. Just be careful when you start talking about what Bernanke is doing with “the” money supply. If you use M2, then […]

Mind Control From DC

A ridiculous FTC announcement reported by Yahoo! Tech: FTC: Bloggers must disclose payments for reviews PHILADELPHIA – The Federal Trade Commission will require bloggers to clearly disclose any freebies or payments they get from companies for reviewing their products. It is the first time since 1980 that the commission has revised its guidelines on endorsements […]

King Solomon Is Wiser Than John Nash

Solomon was a son of King David (of Goliath fame). After outmaneuvering challengers to the throne (which is fairly page-turning, for the Old Testament), Solomon takes his position as the new king. The Bible explains Solomon’s legendary wisdom: 1 Now Solomon made a treaty with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and married Pharaoh’s daughter; then he […]

You Get What You Give

Or so I hear. I’ve added my version of a Blog Roll to the left. I am surely leaving out plenty of blogs that I visit often, so I’ll be adding to it in the near future. But it’s a start for me to join the wonderful world of mutually beneficial linking.

Why Military Spending Didn’t Get Us Out of the Great Depression

In a thread at ThinkMarkets, the ubiquitous question of WWII spending and the Great Depression came up. I realized that I don’t think I’ve ever succinctly summarized Bob Higgs’ research on this point. (I explain all of this in great detail in my book.) OK so here is what the limited-government, anti-Keynesian is up against: […]

Human Action Cannot Be Predicted

I can’t predict my actions, so I really doubt that anybody else is going to, anytime during my lifetime. For example, I just about never give money to panhandlers; in fact I once wrote an LRC article titled, “Stop Giving Money to Bums!” My argument was that you’re not helping them by making their lifestyle […]