The standard theory of monopoly within the mainstream of the economics profession is that monopolies increase prices and reduce production levels compared to competitive industries. So I gathered historical economic data on prices and production for seventeen of the...
Economics
TGIF: Let’s NOT Go to War with China
by Sheldon Richman | Apr 7, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles, Foreign Policy, Justice, Libertarianism, Politics, Sheldon Richman
The word that strikes fear in the power elite is China. It's not fear of an existential threat; rather it's fear that America is becoming second fiddle in world politics. As a result, some believe, or say they believe, that war with China is inevitable. For them,...
An Asset Backed Currency Could Be Our Monetary Fix
by Zack Sorenson | Mar 30, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles
According to the St. Louis Fed, there are three functions of money. First, as a store of value. Second, as a unit of account. Finally, as a medium of exchange. The enumeration of these functions represents an attempt to present money and the banking system as...
Big Tech, As Brought To You By the Federal Reserve
by Norman Singleton | Mar 27, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles
New York Times Technology writer David Streitfeld recently examined the role the Federal Reserve’s easy money policies played in the rise and, if not fall then at least slippage, of many technology companies. Immediately after the bursting of the housing bubble (which...
Record Bank Failures, And What They Mean
by Ron Paul | Mar 21, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles
The failure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) on March 10 was the second largest bank failure in U.S. history. Just two days following SVB’s collapse, Signature Bank joined the record books as the third largest bank failure in U.S. history. First Republic Bank also seemed...
No, Wall Street Was Never Deregulated
by Norbert Michel and Nicholas Anthony | Mar 15, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles
In March 2018, The New York Times ran an op‐ed about the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (the Economic Growth Act). The piece claimed the bill “would roll back or eliminate parts of the Dodd‐Frank Act.” Fast forward to March 2023,...
Is the Silicon Valley Bank’s Failure the First Domino?
by Doug French | Mar 13, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles
If you watched the Fed Chair Jerome Powell testify before the senate and the House, you heard over and over that banks are well capitalized. The non-sequitur should inspire the Shakespearean quote “Methinks you protest too much.” The very next day after the hearings,...
Real Estate Markets Are Addicted to Easy Money
by Ryan McMaken | Mar 8, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles
On Friday, residential real estate brokerage firm Redfin released new data on home prices, showing that prices fell 0.6 percent in February, year over year. According to Redfin's numbers, this was the first time that home prices actually fell since 2012. The...