Topic: Economic Education

Monetary Rules have been Interpreted to Justify the Status Quo

– January 15, 2021

“I can only imagine that those in charge of monetary policy, following Woodford and the precedent set by Bernanke, see stable implementation of a fixed monetary rule as being an antiquated idea, obviously inferior to their more flexible interpretation of rule-based policy. Their perspective, now widely shared among monetary theorists and policymakers, risks leaving us sleepwalking toward a state of fiscal insolvency.” ~ James L. Caton

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Twelve Principles of International Trade: Part 4

– January 13, 2021

“When combined with the empirically verified reality that increased trade between nations decreases the likelihood of those nations getting into shooting wars with each other, what is left of the national-security exception to the case for unilateral free trade is very narrow indeed.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux

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Witnessing Lithuania’s 1991 Fight for Freedom from Soviet Power

– January 12, 2021

“Personal liberty and political self-government have been rare things in the broad sweep of human history. They have been difficult to establish, often hard to preserve once possessed, and far too easily taken away under the pressures of fear, demagogy, and despotic ideologies. We should remember and appreciate episodes in history like those in Lithuania in January 1991, in which a people oppressed by socialist tyranny said, ‘No,’ and insisted upon regaining their freedom.” ~ Richard M. Ebeling

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Business Confidence, Big and Small, 2004-present

– January 12, 2021

“I have looked at other groupings of business; e.g., surveys of people in finance, and surveys of people in production. The other groupings don’t show meaningful differences. But, between small business versus big business, there are real differences.” ~ Clifford F. Thies

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More or Less Democratic

– January 11, 2021

“Jones’ discussions are interesting and many of his proposals should definitely be introduced, but they don’t go far enough. Instead, we could do with much less democracy and much more individual liberty.” ~ Joakim Book

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Cooperation, Not Retaliation, Can Restore Social Order

– January 11, 2021

“We have agency and reason and can see that the current cascade of retaliation and retribution is ‘unsustainable.’ A great statesman focusing on first principles could, perhaps, cut the chain of retaliation and restore widespread cooperation. I don’t know if such an American exists, but I know it isn’t Donald Trump or Joe Biden.” ~ Robert E. Wright

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“The Market” Can Deliver Pho and Spring Rolls. It Can Deliver Vaccines.

– January 11, 2021

“I doubt we would be in this mess if we had left vaccine production and distribution to Walmart, Amazon, Grubhub, and Chick-fil-A. In the middle of a global pandemic, it’s too important not to.” ~ Art Carden

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Angst Over High Price-Earnings Levels Likely Misplaced

– January 8, 2021

“Despite the severe disruptions and ‘creative destruction’ that occur from time to time, the returns to capital that fuel innovation and prosperity remain strong. The market is always efficient and fairly priced relative to what is known, but the market can also be above or below its long-term enduring norms for good and rational reasons. In the end the historical norms prevail.” ~ Gregory van Kipnis

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Dry Tinder at the Fed

– January 7, 2021

“A more significant stash of dry tinder lurks in the Federal Reserve computers (hat tip: Cathie Wood). I refer to the reserves that commercial banks hold in their accounts at the Fed. At one time, they were required to hold balances equal to 10% of their demand deposit liabilities and were free to hold more—excess reserves. As banks chose to hold reserves far in excess of requirements, the Fed removed the nonbinding requirement. Bank reserves have risen above $3 trillion, nearly double the year-ago level.” ~ Warren Gibson

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Carl Menger and the Sesquicentennial Founding of the Austrian School

– January 5, 2021

“Carl Menger remains a towering figure, not only for the development of his variation on the ‘marginalist’ theme, but for originating a still unique and distinct and highly relevant approach to economic and social analysis that still rightly bears the name, the ‘Austrian School.'” ~ Richard M. Ebeling

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China Was More Dangerous When It Was Poor

– January 4, 2021

“In an economic sense, similarities between the U.S. and China are greater than some want to believe. Thank goodness they are. Unlike when China was poor, nowadays its people have a rooting interest in our success. And our people benefit from their success.” ~ John Tamny

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Freedom versus Paternalism in the Coming Decade

– January 3, 2021

“There appears to be a groundswell of economic ignorance and stupidity facing us, and even more than usual. What this means for friends of freedom and practitioners of sound, free market economics, however, is a need to redouble our efforts, and not wallow in despair and disappointment. Bad policies inescapably bring about undesirable and counterproductive effects. But their very failures can serve as openings to more reasonable and rational policies looking to the future.” ~ Richard M. Ebeling

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