The High Price of Popcorn
“The next time you reach for a handful of buttery popped corn, give a stomping cheer for the entrepreneurial creativity of the theater owner who made it possible for a wide variety of people to enjoy a summer blockbuster.” ~ Anthony Gill
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Lessons From the Bronze Age Collapse
“We survived this time, but the next time a global crisis rolls around we may not be so fortunate if governments continue to pursue their anti-social policies that undermine the social order based upon the division of labor.” ~ Zachary Yost
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Lumber Prices Return to Earth
“A new round of expansionary monetary policy, wildfires, or other developments could bring more upheaval to this ordinarily sedate market, but for now it appears that the lumber market delirium has been quelled.” ~ Peter C. Earle
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Icelandic Study Suggests Government Workers Are Unnecessary
“A lie can get around the world faster than truth can get its pants on, according to the adage apocryphally connected to Mark Twain or Winston Churchill (or Jonathan Swift). In a terrible ‘study,’ Iceland showed that we can reduce the hours worked by public officials without any meaningful negative outcome to society. Shocking, I know.” ~ Joakim Book
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Appreciating F. A. Hayek’s Insights on Money and the Business Cycle
“Hayek’s monetary and business cycle writings from 90 years ago, and his many contributions to the general understanding of the dynamic market process and the limits to government omniscience, are and will be crucial to that task of fighting for the free and prosperous society.” ~ Richard M. Ebeling
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“Externality” Is No Good Excuse for Mandatory Vaccination
“That the choice to remain unvaccinated against Covid creates some risks for strangers is indisputable. Yet this fact about this choice does not distinguish it from many other choices with similar consequences, nearly all of which choices, again, do not justify government intervention.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux
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The 50 States Suffered Differentially During the Lockdowns and Pandemic
“In the aggregate, government spending at all levels (federal, state, and local) had a mildly negative 0.3% effect on the economy. The bottom line is that the private sector actually did a better overall job in most states than governments in terms of managing state and local economic progress.” ~ Gregory van Kipnis
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The Great Semiconductor Shortage
“An appreciation of modern commerce requires recognizing the ease with which the critical but commonplace can be sabotaged by seemingly innocuous measures. The backbone of all modern technology is currently scarce owing to a medley of state interventions, geopolitical wrangling, and income redistribution colliding with natural forces and short-sightedness.” ~ Peter C. Earle
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A Conversation on Flaws in China’s Political Economy
“On this episode of the Authors Corner, Ethan interviews AIER Senior Fellow Dr. Ryan Yonk on the development of China’s political economy, which blends authoritarianism with limited markets and civil liberties. They explore the initial history of the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese Communist Party, and their modern ‘Socialist state-with Chinese characteristics’ under Xi Jinping.” ~ AIER
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Higher Inflation Depresses Equity Valuation
“The CPI will probably increase by 3-5% for all of 2021. That is not nearly as bad as the 1970s, when the rate averaged 7.4% p.a. (and peaked at 13.3% in late 1979), but it’s still bad for equity valuations.” ~ Richard M. Salsman
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Inflating the Circulating Medium: Cause or Effect?
“The concern over the potential for increased future price levels (‘inflation’ as measured by CPI or PCE) is largely misplaced. It may not be the most serious or most likely outcome of the ongoing ‘unconventional’ policies that have been inflating the circulating medium.” ~ Christopher Lingle
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Cracks in the Great Wall Part 2 – China’s Economic Paradox
“E.C. Harwood, the founder of AIER, noted that the USSR under its authoritarian model would never be able to economically outcompete America and the West unless we lost faith in our free market system and moved to copy the Russians. The same holds true for China today.” ~ Ethan Yang
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