So it appears that we’ve solved that London house price problem then

As we know, that unaffordability of London housing is a major problem facing our society.  Fortunately, it appears to be something being solved:House prices in London fell 0.7pc in the 12 months to June - the largest annual fall in the city’s house prices since September 2009.Three of London’s central boroughs had double-digit drops in prices as the reversal in the capital's fortunes continued. The City of London fell 23.8pc, Kensington and...

Italy’s NATO Racket

The catastrophic bridge collapse in Italy this week has prompted a public outcry over the country’s crumbling infrastructure and how it is putting lives at risk. But the question the public in Italy and across Europe should be asking is: why are their governments spending extra tens of billions of dollars on NATO militarism, while neglecting vital civilian infrastructure? When the iconic Morandi motorway viaduct came crashing down this week...

Sen. Warren’s Confiscatory Corporate Governance Proposals

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts has introduced legislation that would radically overhaul corporate governance in America, requiring that the largest (over $1 billion) companies obtain revocable charters from the federal government to do business, instituting rules reminiscent of German-style co-determination under which workers would be entitled to at least 40% representation on boards of directors, placing directors under a fiduciary...

The Good News Economy

In my business, there is a fine line between standing by your conclusions and being unwisely stubborn. But no matter what I say, people will still label me a perma-bear or perma-bull—often at the same time. It’s an occupational hazard to which I am accustomed. It’s really a lot more fair to characterize me as the “Muddle Through” guy. There are always reasons to be bullish or bearish. Admittedly, my letter tends to dwell more on the...

Max Keiser 1970-01-01 00:00:00

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How to Believe in Free Speech

Almost all libertarians earnestly say, "I believe in free speech."  Normally, though, this goes way beyond the right to speak freely.  Most libertarians also believe that free speech "works" in some sense - that given a free exchange of ideas, the truth will at least ultimately prevail.On reflection, this is an awkward position.  Western countries don't have completely free speech, but they are amazingly close to this...

Quotation of the Day…

… is from George Will’s most recent column, “Another epic economic collapse is coming“: Another hardy perennial among economic debates concerns the point at which the ratio of debt to GDP suppresses growth. The (sort of) good news — in that it will satisfy intellectual curiosity — is that we are going to find out where that point is: Within a decade, the national debt probably will be 100 percent of GDP and rising. As Irwin M. Stelzer of the...

Potpourri

==> The latest Lara-Murphy Show is on stumbling blocks Carlos and I encountered when learning IBC. ==> Tom and I debate Bitcoin (is it fiat?) at the end of this episode. ==> Glenn Greenwald documents how MSNBC is an arm of the Democratic establishment. ==> I haven’t had a chance to read, but David Andolfatto on heterodox vs. orthodox monetary theorists. ==> There Will Be Blood ==> At IER, I tried to come up with an analogy to...

A “Ticket” to Capitalism….

I think we often miss the most basic consequentialist argument for capitalism. So I tried to make it here. Published on: August 16, 2018Author: Mike Munger

Saifedean Ammous on Bitcoin Hype

It turns out the best book on Bitcoin was written by someone who thinks the cryptocurrency is not a particularly good form of payment, not particularly anonymous, and not a good investment for most people. Saifedean Ammous, professor of economics at Lebanese American University, wrote The Bitcoin Standard to cut through the hype and examine ...

How Ray Kroc of McDonald’s Built an Entrepreneurial Empire

Reprinted from Mises.org The Founder, a movie based on the life of Ray Kroc, vividly illustrates crucial points about entrepreneurship and the market stressed by Mises. In the film, Kroc, played by Michael Keaton, begins as a salesman selling milkshake machines. He meets the McDonald brothers, the owners of a small diner in San Bernardino, California. Kroc has come to investigate because the brothers, Dick and Mac, had purchased six of his...

Kudlow’s Kool Aid And The Donald’s MAGA Swagger, Part 1

Partying Like It’s 2007: SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap 08.17.18

The SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap podcast combines a succinct summary of the week’s precious metals news coupled with thoughtful analysis. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.[embedded content]The world is partying like it’s 2007. The stock market keeps going up. There is economic optimism as far as the eye can see. It feels a lot like it did right before the 2008 crash. In this episode of the SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap, host Mike...

Looks Like Italian Default Is Back On The Menu

Authored by Tom Luongo, Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini was right to call out the EU over the failure of the bridge in Genoa this week.  It was an act of cheap political grandstanding but one that ultimately rings very true. It’s a perfect moment to shake people out of their complacency as to the real costs of giving up one’s financial sovereignty to someone else, in this case the Troika - European Commission, ECB and IMF....

What Truckers & Railroads Just Said about the US Economy

It’s cyclical. The transportation sector is a reflection of the goods-based economy in the US. Demand has been blistering across all modes of transportation. Freight shipment volume (not pricing… we’ll get to pricing in a moment) by truck, rail, air, and barge, according to the Cass Freight Index  jumped 10.6% in July compared to a year earlier. This pushed the index, which is not seasonally adjusted, to its highest level for July since 2007....

Ep. 1219 Jeff Deist on Social Media De-Platforming and the Truth about P.C.

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Cartoon of the day, one of the best ever! – Publications – AEI

AEI Cartoon of the day, one of the best ever! From Pat Cross, whose cartoons are now also available at Town Hall. As I wrote in my 1995 article “Why Socialism Failed,” which I am just now updating (working title: “Why Socialism Failed: A 2018 Update” to address and counteract the current resurgence of socialism as promoted by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez): In a radio debate several months ago with a Marxist professor from...

Necessity is the Mother of Invention – Retirees Desperate Reach for Yield

Ben Bernanke’s creativity inspired a generation of economists and central bankers. QE, ZIRP and NIRP established a new class of economics that is mathematically sound but practically disastrous. Billions of dollars were transferred from savers to investors to boost the economy, but the wizards of quant forgot that something has to give. In this case, it was the formation of a pension crisis that threatens the golden years of millions of...

Who Would Invest in a Gold Bond?

Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffet famously dismissed gold. “Gold has two significant shortcomings, being neither of much use nor procreative.” I have recently written about how a government with gold mining tax revenues can use gold. The benefits of issuing gold bonds include reducing risk, and getting out of debt at a discount. Pretty useful, eh? As to his second point, one should never confuse suppressed with impossible. By President...

Chapter Abstracts from book on Hayek

Word from Palgrave/Macmillan is that my book, F. A. Hayek: Economics, Political Economy, and Social Philosophy will be published next week. In the process of preparing the book for final publication I was asked to provide chapter abstracts. Here they are: Chapter 1 Friedrich Hayek’s ideas played a fundamental role in all major debates over economic policy-making throughout his lifetime and beyond. They were developed in a precise...

Using Infrastructure Control as Innovation Regulation

The ongoing ride-sharing wars in New York City are interesting to watch because they signal the potential move by state and local officials to use infrastructure management as an indirect form of innovation control or competition suppression. It is getting harder for state and local officials to defend barriers to entry and innovation using traditional regulatory rationales and methods, which are usually little more than a front for cronyist...