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Caplan Calm

[UPDATE below.] Over at EconLog Bryan Caplan writes: Two years ago, I was worried by the “Obama as FDR” scenario. That cloud is lifting. Now two alternate scenarios for Obama keep coming to mind. Scenario #1: Obama as Carter. He’ll ineffectively stick to his guns, seem weak, become a one-term president, and be replaced by […]

Who Said It?

“The grant of a 1974 Nobel Prize in Economic Science to the great Austrian free-market economist Dr. Friedrich A. von Hayek comes as a welcome and blockbuster surprise to his free-market admirers in this country and throughout the world. For since the death last year of Hayek’s distinguished mentor, Ludwig von Mises, the 75-year-old Hayek […]

Potpourri

UPDATE below. * One thing that really bothers me in our political discourse is that people in favor of more US military action abroad treat it as self-evident that the troop surge “worked” in Iraq. Yes, conditions did improve, at least in the short run after the surge, and the predictions of some of the […]

Potpourri

* A Fed official tells us (price) deflation is no longer a worry. Phew! * Viresh Amin sends this video of three young guys harassing Bernanke as he checks into a hotel. The video reminded me of those 1960s alien invasion movies. I always thought it was funny watching them, because you understood why the […]

Do You Love Big Ben (Bernanke)?

In one of His most famous and controversial teachings, Jesus instructs His followers to love their enemies: 27″But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him […]

An Oldie But Goodie: Murphy Contrasts the Classical with Modern Theory of Economic Value

This is for the geeks in the crowd… I came across my critique of Kevin Carson [.pdf] for another project, and–like Ralphie from A Christmas Story–was just really impressed with how good my essay was. So if you want to see a straightforward explanation of how the classical economists explained market prices, and why (in […]

Potpourri

* Scott Sumner discusses the Fed’s hints that they will drop the “federal funds rate” as their target variable, and instead will use the interest rate on excess reserves. If you can’t stomach the wonkish stuff, just scroll down to the end where Sumner explains that beyond the jargon, this transition would transfer power from […]

Bloomberg Catching On to the "Secret Banking Cabal"

David Kramer at LRC relays this choice excerpt from a Bloomberg commentary by David Reilly: Secret Banking Cabal Emerges From AIG Shadows: David Reilly Commentary by David Reilly Jan. 29 (Bloomberg) — The idea of secret banking cabals that control the country and global economy are a given among conspiracy theorists who stockpile ammo, bottled […]