The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released new Producer Price Index (PPI) data on Wednesday, and it looks like the rate of increase in price inflation is slowing. Nonetheless, year-over-year price inflation in December remained near 40-year highs, and shows the...
Economics
Another Cycle of Debt Ceiling Hysteria
by Ron Paul | Jan 25, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles
This week the U.S. government reached its 31.4 trillion dollars borrowing limit, better known as the “debt ceiling.” This led to a showdown among House Republicans, President Biden, and congressional Democrats. House Republicans are demanding that President Biden and...
The Idea of Making a ‘Trillion Dollar Coin’ Is Still Dumb
by Ryan McMaken | Jan 24, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles
Here we go again. Every few years in Congress there is a purely political battle over the debt ceiling. We're supposed to be horrified and worried that the U.S. might default on some of its debt. Some commentators will insist the U.S. has never defaulted, and that...
TGIF: The Economic Way of Thinking Can Save Lives
by Sheldon Richman | Jan 20, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles, Libertarianism, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
The Cambridge economist Joan Robinson (1903-1983) wisely said, "The purpose of studying economics is not to acquire a set of readymade answers to economic questions, but to learn how to avoid being deceived by economists." Excellent point, though I would both broaden...
A Defense of Mutual Aid Societies
by Zack Sorenson | Jan 19, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles, Libertarianism
The libertarian community is unique on account of its ability to ignore standard political and social conventions. Libertarians value freedom and understand why it needs free markets. However, libertarians do not possess a conservative loyalty to the system as it is...
David Stockman’s Explainer to the 2023 Economy
by David Stockman | Jan 12, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles
You can count on the knuckleheads at Bloomberg to start off the year with still another dead-wrong proposition. That is, more nonsense about the “strong” labor market—-one so strong that it is purportedly even defying the mighty Fed. The latest US employment report is...
No More ‘Better Mousetraps’: How Financialization Discourages Technological Improvement
by Zack Sorenson | Jan 11, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles
Capitalism is a social technology that directs resources toward valuable uses, increasing the total wealth in society. As a social technology, it organizes people and resources into systems and processes. When capitalism directs resources toward processes that...
Joe Biden Is Lying About the Jobs Numbers
by Ryan McMaken | Jan 11, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles
The personal savings rate is near seventeen-year lows. Credit card debt is at record levels. Millions of prime-age workers have quit the job market, and full-time employment continues to wither. On the other hand, the Biden Administration wants you to think things...