Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders recently raised the ire of both progressives and libertarians with his remarks concerning immigration: “Open borders? No, that’s a Koch brothers proposal,” Sanders said. “That’s a right-wing proposal, which says essentially there is no United States.” “It would make everybody in America poorer — you’re
Much of the current immigration debate in the United States centers around the issue of “amnesty,” which is a vague term that may mean anything from “we won’t deport you” to “let’s fast-track you to citizenship and voting rights.” From a laissez-faire perspective, the deportation aspect of amnesty — an increase in federal inaction — is one thing.
Even today, few deny the long arm of US military might. After all, the US military exhausted the Soviet Union, crushed Saddam Hussein, and drove Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda into hiding. To what should we attribute these triumphs? Some would say US planning and foresight. Others would mention the hard work and dedication of US soldiers, sailors, and
Allan Stevo writes: President Obama’s acolytes have begun circulating the term “middle-class economics” through the Sunday morning news programs and throughout the media. That exact phrase “middle class economics” I’ve heard repeated 15-20 times in the media these last two days by the President’s supporters in preparation for tonight’s State of
Volume 17, No. 4 (Winter 2014) Eswar S. Prasad Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014, 432 pages The great mystery of international finance is how the U.S. dollar has managed to retain its dominance. This is a currency, after all, that has lost about 83 percent of its purchasing power since President Richard Nixon cut the dollar’s remaining
Volume 17, No. 4 (Winter 2014) KEYWORDS: monetary policy, Mariana, Jefferson, Cervantes, Don Quixote, Austrian School, School of Salamanca, Philip II, Philip III, libertarianism, liberty, slavery, regicide, billon coins, Constitutionalism, Aragon, Euclid, Ron Paul, Paul Krugman JEL CLASSIFICATION: B1, B2, B3, N1, N4 What will I say about our own
A new survey by American Express reveals that 29 percent of Americans keep at least some of their “savings” in cash. Overall 53 percent of cash holders stash their cash in a domestic hiding place. Surprisingly, 67 percent of dollar bill and coin hoarders among the millennial generation secrete cash around their domicile. A 2012 Marist College
Ordinary people, and sometimes experts as well, tend to overreact to short-term economic changes. The current economic malaise in the United States and Europe has brought forth a bevy of commentators convinced that this time the economy has taken a permanent turn for the worse. Never again, they declare, will we enjoy growing prosperity as we did
At The Daily Caller , Mark Thornton wonders if the Fed has any plan at all, or if it’s just afraid to do anything in the face of such a weak economy: Despite encouraging employment numbers, the Fed has decided not to increase its interest rate, Bloomberg reports . The central bank believes that inflation will run below its two-percent target
As election season ramps up, many people are falling into political camps and assuming that their candidate will be wholly different from either the current administration or the contenders in the other camp. But for the past eighty years, United States presidents have been remarkably similar once in office. Most presidents, whatever their
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.