Topic: Crisis

Self-Censorship and Despotism Over the Mind

– August 10, 2020

“Right now, it is still predominantly the force of social pressures that the cancel culture and identity politics warriors are successfully using in the arenas of education, the arts and entertainment, the media, and industry. But the next logical step will be to move from social pressures to the use of the full political power of the government.” ~ Richard M. Ebeling

Central Banking, Crisis, Monetary Policy

What Did the “Stimulus Plan” Stimulate?

– August 10, 2020

“The only conceivable rationale for repeating the latest of many failed experiments with fiscal stimulus (borrowing from Peter to pay Paul) might be to ‘stimulate demand.’ But we just tried that. It didn’t work. It never works.” ~ Alan Reynolds

Crisis, Regulation

We Need a Principled Anti-Lockdown Movement

– August 9, 2020

“This movement, whether it is called anti-lockdown or just plain liberalism, must reject the wickedness and compulsion of this current moment in American life. It needs to counter the brutalism of lockdowns. It needs to speak and act with humane understanding and high regard for social functioning under freedom, and the hope for the future that comes with it.” ~ Jeffrey Tucker

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Economic Education, Healthcare

Experience From Other Countries Show Lockdowns Don’t Work

– August 9, 2020

“For months we have hailed countries like Taiwan and South Korea for their model responses that kept the virus at bay while inflicting relatively minimal restrictions on society. Advocating for draconian lockdown measures while still praising these countries is not only blind to the evidence but also comes from a position of privilege and hypocrisy.” ~ Ethan Yang

Central Banking, Crisis, Economic Education, Monetary Policy

Government Can’t Police Itself

– August 8, 2020

“I will always support more transparency and more oversight, if only because doing so is part of my job and makes that job easier– one of which I’m proud. But intoning ‘more transparency’ is no silver bullet for shrinking the size of government and for getting rid of bad programs. The only ‘substantive’ result of such proclamations is that they provide Congress a rationale for holding ever-more pointless hearings.” ~ Veronique de Rugy

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Education

Deceit and Demagoguery in Montgomery County, Maryland

– August 7, 2020

“Politicians and bureaucrats who claim a right to outlaw all risks ignore the risk of tyranny. Gayles and other MoCo politicians sneer at their critics as if they were unwashed deplorables incapable of understanding ‘science.’ But their school shutdown policy is simply Political Science 101, using deceit and demagoguery to seize more power.” ~ James Bovard

Crisis, Economic Education, Free Markets, Policy

Economic Freedom Is Essential for Managing Pandemics

– August 7, 2020

“There is an important lesson for the future. If one desires the downward trends in the human and economic costs observed over the course of the 20th century to continue, one must push for a greater deal of institutional flexibility. That flexibility is what makes the market’s process of discovery work and makes us more resilient to future shocks.” ~ Vincent Geloso

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Free Markets, Regulation

The Gaslighting of the American People

– August 6, 2020

“We can reject gaslighting and insist on regaining our rights, though whether we will forget this nightmare is debatable. Punishing our persecutors is certainly beyond us. A pity.” ~ Caroline Breashears

Crisis, Healthcare, History

Which Diseases Are on the Rise As We Fight COVID-19?

– August 5, 2020

“Proponents of COVID-19 prevention measures are perfectly willing to discuss the lives that are saved at the expense of economic progress. But when will there be widespread recognition that these very same measures could cause millions of people around the world to contract––and die from––other preventable diseases? Are those lives somehow exempt from our tradeoff tally?” ~ Fiona Harrigan

Central Banking, Crisis, Monetary Policy

Powell Must Choose: Fiscal Restraint or Runaway Inflation

– August 5, 2020

“Jerome Powell and those steering fiscal policy choose from two paths: fiscal responsibility or monetary debasement. If he is unable to maintain stable expectations of low inflation, the latter path awaits.” ~ James L. Caton

Crisis, International

Madness in Melbourne

– August 4, 2020

“I cry for the once-great city of Melbourne this day. May there be justice. And may its future political leadership be granted some modicum of decency and wisdom.” ~ Jeffrey Tucker

Central Banking, Crisis, Monetary Policy

The Fiscal Fed

– August 4, 2020

“Allowing the Fed to become a catch-all institution undermines its independence and ability to conduct monetary policy. If every job is the Fed’s job, it won’t do any of them well.” ~ Nicolás Cachanosky