Daily Articles

The Business Cycle Explained

by George Leef November 1, 2013

It Didn’t Have to Be This Way: Why Boom and Bust Is Unnecessary — and How the Austrian School of Economics Breaks the Cycle by Harry C. Veryser (Intercollegiate Studies Institute 2012), 318 pages. This is one instance where a book’s subtitle tells the reader much more about its content than the title does. You know at once that ...

Inflation Is the Last Thing We Need

by Sheldon Richman October 31, 2013

“Some economists say more inflation is just what the American economy needs to escape from a half-decade of sluggish growth and high unemployment,” the New York Times reports. One is Harvard economist Kenneth S. Rogoff, quoted in the Times: “Weighed against the political, social and economic risks of continued slow growth after a once-in-a-century financial crisis, a sustained ...

The Keynes Disaster

by Gregory Bresiger October 31, 2013

The government and the private sector should start spending more to turn the economy around. That’s what a former Obama administration official, speaking to a recent UBS adviser conference, said in making no apologies for the administration’s poor performance since 2009. Indeed, he said that Barack Obama had “saved” the country from a depression in 2009. He also called ...

The Libertarian Angle: Inflation and the Federal Reserve

by Future of Freedom Foundation October 28, 2013

Jacob Hornberger and Sheldon Richman on monetary policy. The Libertarian Angle airs weekly.

The Myth of Economics (video)

by Edward H. Crane October 28, 2013

On October 16, 2013 Edward H. Crane gave the following speech as part of the Economic Liberty Lecture Series which is co-sponsored by The Future of Freedom Foundation and the George Mason Economics Society. Mr. Crane's talk is entitled "The Myth of Economics:  They Changed Global Warming to Climate Change, Why not Economics to ...

Speaking on Liberty: Sheldon Richman Live! (video)

by Sheldon Richman October 24, 2013

Liberty Minded contributor Jason Lee Byas sits down with Sheldon Richman after his Constitution Day talk at The University of Oklahoma.  

Economic Liberty Lecture Series: Edward H. Crane

by Future of Freedom Foundation October 23, 2013

Thursday, October 24, 2013 Speaker: Edward H. CraneGeorge Mason University 5:30 PM - 7:30 AM ECONOMIC LIBERTY LECTURE SERIES Dinner, Lecture, and Social Hour PLACE: George Mason University – Johnson Center 333 TIME: 5:30 pm – Pizza 6:00 pm – Talk with Q&A 8:00 pm – Social hour at Brion’s Grille SPEAKER: Ed Crane is the founder and president emeritus of the Cato Institute. Under his leadership, the Cato ...

Does Obama Have the Courage to Pursue Peace with Iran?

by Sheldon Richman October 23, 2013

Settling the nuclear controversy with Iran peacefully will require courage on President Obama’s part. Does he have what it will take to resist those who prefer war? While Obama has yet to stake out a promising unequivocal position, if he does, the obstacles would remain formidable. The two biggest are the U.S. Congress and the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu. Even ...

The Real Problem with the Obamacare Mandates

by Laurence M. Vance October 22, 2013

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as the PPACA or Obamacare, became law on March 23, 2010. Passed along strict party lines, it has proven to be one of the most polarizing pieces of legislation ever passed. Some of those who initially supported the president’s health-care law are now some of its most vocal critics. Yet ...

The Libertarian Angle: Why Americans Oppose Freedom

by Future of Freedom Foundation October 21, 2013

Jacob Hornberger and Sheldon Richman discuss why Americans are resistant to libertarianism and what we can do about it.

TGIF: Default Circus — er, Crisis — Averted?

by Sheldon Richman October 18, 2013

“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary.” — H.L. Mencken Even the sagacious Mencken might be amazed by what’s happening these days. Wherever we look, there are hobgoblins. The latest is — insert

Challenging the 911 Landlord Law

by Wendy McElroy October 17, 2013

On September 19, a federal court in Philadelphia ruled on a challenge to the 911 Landlord Law in Norristown, Pennsylvania. The lawsuit had been brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and a local law firm on behalf of Lakisha Briggs. The ruling? A full trial on the challenge to the law can proceed. Such “911 Landlord ...