Topic: Government

Supply Constraints and Inflation, Revisited

– February 3, 2023

“The Fed was late to realize nominal spending was surging and failed to correct course promptly when it realized it had made a mistake. Prices are higher today—and will remain permanently higher—as a consequence.” ~ William J. Luther

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Efforts to Depoliticize the Fed Will Likely Make Matters Worse

– February 3, 2023

“These efforts to increase Congressional oversight are unlikely to depoliticize the Fed. Indeed, they are likely to make matters even worse.” ~ Nicolás Cachanosky

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Should the Fed Stop Tightening?

– February 2, 2023

“The Fed should stay the course. Putting the nail in the inflationary coffin is more important than hyper-calibrating a ‘soft landing.’ But it likely won’t be long before we’re done.” ~ Alexander William Salter

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The FOMC: To Pause or Not to Pause?

– February 2, 2023

“Given uncertainties surrounding the unusual stimulus and the lagged effects of monetary policy, it would be prudent to hold the Federal Funds rate constant for a few months and see how the economy responds to recent policy.” ~ Gerald P. Dwyer

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The 1519 Project: An Antidote to Caricature?

– February 1, 2023

“To suggest that the experience of slavery is a uniquely Black, or uniquely North American phenomenon does a great injustice to the Blacks and other North Americans who came before 1619.” ~ Paul Schwennesen

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Markets Aid Rhino Survival

– January 31, 2023

“Exploring a free market approach to rhino preservation through village-managed property rights presents a clear option, similar to successful programs for elephants and tigers.” ~ David Gillette & Caroline Wright

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Headline Inflation Falls, But Core Inflation Remains Elevated

– January 30, 2023

“At this point, it seems likely Fed officials will move forward with a 25 basis point hike. But how high they will push rates this year and how long they will keep rates high remain open questions.” ~ William J. Luther

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Four Ways to Get What You Want

– January 28, 2023

“For most of our existence, life was solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short for pretty much everybody. Then we became a society of traders rather than a society of raiders.” ~ Art Carden

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How Two Corn Cobs Upended A Foreign Aid Model in Zimbabwe

– January 27, 2023

“It may not be the silver bullet to defeat food insecurity across Africa, but it shows that solutions to thorny problems can start with something as simple as two corn cobs, rather than expensive approaches that result in lifelong dependency on other nations.” ~ Craig J. Richardson

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But Who Will Build the Roads: A Parable

– January 27, 2023

“Maybe, others one day will join the call once they hear how much cash could be recouped and costs and delays avoided by returning to the path once heavily traveled, the one where travelers, not Leviathan, decide how best to travel hither and thither.” ~ Robert E. Wright

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Rising Use of the Fed’s Discount Window Raises Questions

– January 25, 2023

“The fact that the amounts being borrowed at the discount window are rising in an oscillatory fashion with progressively higher ‘highs’ and higher ‘lows’ hints, while not conclusively, that the amounts being borrowed are increasing as the Fed increases rates.” ~ Peter C. Earle

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Davos and the Holy Grail of Equity

– January 25, 2023

“At what point will their good intentions lead to tyranny? Did we learn nothing from the pandemic, when government overreach led to economic, health, and educational disasters?” ~ Caroline Breashears

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