As the financial crisis of 2008 took shape, the policy recommendations were not slow in coming: why, economic stability and American prosperity demand fiscal and monetary stimulus to jump-start the sick economy back to life. And so we got fiscal stimulus, as well as a program of monetary expansion without precedent in US history. David Stockman
The US Federal Reserve is playing with the idea of raising interest rates, possibly as early as September this year. After a six-year period of virtually zero interest rates, a ramping up of borrowing costs will certainly have tremendous consequences. It will be like taking away the punch bowl on which all the party fun rests. Low Central Bank
In a recent interview, Jeb Bush said that in order for the United States to reach a higher level of economic growth, “people need to work longer hours.” Leftists immediately jumped on this comment as proof that Bush is horribly out of touch with ordinary working Americans. Bush soon backtracked and attempted to explain that what he really meant
In May, the US unemployment rate stood at 5.5 percent against the rate of 5.3 percent for the “natural unemployment,” also known as the Non-Accelerating Inflation Rate of Unemployment (NAIRU). According to the popular view, once the actual unemployment rate falls to below the NAIRU, or the natural unemployment rate, the rate of inflation tends to
Please come to our exclusive Patrons Retreat this October 18-19 on Jekyll Island, Georgia, on the 100th anniversary of the Federal Reserve. It was at JP Morgan’s club, where we will stay, where the central bank was first schemed. The damage it’s caused has been inconceivable. But more and more young people, especially, are coming around to our
In recent years, home price indices have seemed to proliferate. Case-Shiller, of course, has been around for a long time, but over the past decade, additional measures have been marketed aggressively by Trulia, CoreLogic, and Zillow, just to name a few. Measuring home prices has taken on an urgency beyond the real estate industry because for many,
We live in a world of massive monetary inflation and extremely low interest rates. Mortgage rates are near historic lows and yet it seems that people cannot get loans . Home sales are up, but with a near record percentage of sales made with cash , rather than a mortgage. The unemployment rate is nearing “full employment” and yet a record number of
In relation to a Brookings symposium on inequality and monetary policy which took place today, Ben Bernanke wrote a piece on his blog about why the Fed’s policies, while not completely innocent of favoring the haves and disfavoring the have-nots, did not in fact contribute to the widening wealth gap. In broad strokes, his critique relies on a
Mark Thornton has already noted that Ben Bernanke’s professed admiration for Alexander Hamilton is overblown, especially in light of Hamilton’s ties to the crony capitalists of his day. But there is more to be said about this, and, surprisingly, not all of it to Hamilton’s discredit. As readers will recall, when the Obama administration announced
The Swiss central bank’s recent move to de-peg the Swiss franc from the euro reminds us of the importance of choice in currency. By pegging the Swiss franc to the euro, the Swiss central bank was in effect subsidizing the euro by refusing to compete with it. If carried into the long term, this would have meant a de facto monetary union between the
What is the Mises Institute?
The Mises Institute is a non-profit organization that exists to promote teaching and research in the Austrian School of economics, individual freedom, honest history, and international peace, in the tradition of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard.
Non-political, non-partisan, and non-PC, we advocate a radical shift in the intellectual climate, away from statism and toward a private property order. We believe that our foundational ideas are of permanent value, and oppose all efforts at compromise, sellout, and amalgamation of these ideas with fashionable political, cultural, and social doctrines inimical to their spirit.