One of the most heated topics last month was the protest in Hong Kong, led by students who were later joined by other Hong Kong citizens. The main issue between the government and the protesters is the Chief Executive Election
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On the Swiss Gold Referendum
The Swiss gold initiative has come and gone. It can be summarized as much ado about nothing. Even if it had passed, the initiative would have had no real impact on the Swiss National Bank’s ability to print money or
Krugman: “Sticky Wages I Win, Flexible Wages You Lose”
The fun thing about Paul Krugman is that you often can use his own charts against him. For a recent example, consider the issue of “sticky wages.” One of the typical complaints against a hardline “the market always clears” position
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Is It Wrong to Require Work on Black Friday?
Supporters of workers’ rights have two tropes they constantly revisit. The first is the argument for higher wages - either an increased minimum wage or the dreaded “living” wage. The demand for higher government-enforced pay seems incapable of dying a
Egalitarianism without Equality is Tyranny
Egalitarianism is the favorite religion of the left.The idea of equality has always been cherished, from the French revolutionary cry of egalite, liberte, fraternite, to the modern obsession with income inequality being the source of all the world’s evils. It
Property Rights as Social Justice Part II
Read Part I here. Accompanying the somehow lawful state and nearly lawless state is the state of war. Such phenomena do not appear accidental. It does not seem overly difficult to recognize that, when properties are not legally protected, it
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Will someone please stop this man before he hurts himself?
From today’s Open Europe news summary: Juncker unveils his €315bn investment package for Europe Speaking to the European Parliament this morning, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker unveiled his plan for a €315bn investment fund – backed by €8bn from the
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Criminal Justice as a Domestic and Local Phenomenon
How ought we to treat criminals? How ought justice be dispensed? These are important questions, and trying to answer them raises many difficulties, not the least of which is that no two criminals are exactly alike in deed, in motive,
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Government debates fractional-reserve banking
Three cheers to Steve Baker, Conservative MP from Wycombe, for raising the delicate yet important of matter of fractional-reserve banking in Britain´s House of Commons. We are in a debt crisis of historic proportions because for far too long profit-maximising
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Sons of Anarchy!
If you find yourself in the Vancouver area Friday, December 12th at 7:00pm, head on down to the The Railway Club (directions below) for a night of philosophical talks on anarchy. Hosted by LibertyMingle, Sons of Anarchy will feature three
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Is Scott Sumner “the NGDP Guy”?
In a recent post at EconLog, leading Market Monetarist Scott Sumner complained that he had been pigeonholed: I was recently reading a new book on monetary policy alternatives, edited by Larry White. One thing I noticed was that when my
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The Path to the Perfect Reserve Currency
Much has been written lately, including by me, about the coming rejection of the dollar as the primary reserve currency of the world’s most important central banks. My prediction is based upon two things: one, that the Federal Reserve is
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Time to Raise Rates?
Canada emerged relative unscathed from the financial crisis of 2008. Indeed, over the last six years growth has been relatively robust and to venture out in Toronto, Calgary or Vancouver right now one would think they were in the midst
Pop Art and Intellectual Property
One of the most iconic painters of the 20th century was Roy Lichtenstein, a New York based artist who, alongside Andy Warhol, came to fame as one of the defining voices in the American Pop Art movement. Pop Art was
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Fun at the International Conference on Prices and Markets
It was my pleasure to attend Mises Canada’s “International Conference on Prices and Markets” on November 7 and 8 in beautiful Toronto. Redmond Weissenberger and David Howden were hosts and organizers for our truly jolly group of around seventy attendees.
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There is No Right to be Forgotten
The freedom of information offered by the internet has had drastic implications for liberty. To the benefit of individuals, it reduces information asymmetries with business and increases transparency in government. It allows us to make more informed decisions, where ignorance
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Hayek, Statistics, and Trade-Cycle Theory
Austrian economics is often caricatured and criticized because of its approach, or deliberate lack of an approach, to mathematical models, multivariable calculus, and econometrics. Attacks are leveled against Austrians such as Mises, Rothbard, and Kirzner for their failure or refusal
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Planning begins for a euro-free Europe
From today’s Open Europe news summary: In an interview with RTL, Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem admitted that the Dutch government looked at what would happen if plans to save the euro “didn’t succeed”. His predecessor Jan Kees de Jager added separately
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