The Free Market 14, no. 1 (January 1996) The Gold Standard Act of 1890, which officially established the gold standard in America, was the culmination of a twenty-year battle between inflationists, who favored unlimited government purchase of silver (the “Free Silver” movement), and the advocates of sound money based on the gold standard. The
The Free Market 14, no. 4 (April 1996) Leftist critics of capitalism like Labor Secretary Robert Reich have criticized the alleged shortsightedness of American corporations, while praising the supposedly longer-range perspectives of their Japanese competitors. Well, the Nissan Motor Corporation just proved that it can be every bit as
The Free Market 14, no. 5 (May 1996) The 1996 blizzard dumped three feet of snow on the Washington, D.C., area. The event proved once again that statist economists, armed with their “market failure” theories, perceive reality exactly the opposite from the way it is. It is government, not the free market, that is inherently plagued with
The Free Market 14, no. 6 (June 1996) The death of Commerce Secretary Ron Brown in a Balkans plane crash exposed the real reason President Clinton sent American troops to Bosnia: to make the world safe for corporate welfare. An aspect of the so-called Dayton Peace Accords, which led to the deployment of U.S. troops, was an initial installment of
The Free Market 14, no. 7 (July 1996) The media often cite economists on why taxes should be cut. For example, the Wall Street Journal reports “widespread agreement” among economists that federal gas taxes are too low. And the Washington Post cites the “authority” of economists who says a $500-per child tax credit is “fiscal snake oil.” Why do
The Free Market 14, no. 10 (October 1996) Pizza deliverers have been robbed, assaulted, and killed. To protect their employees, and hold down liability losses, pizza chains like Domino’s won’t deliver pizzas in the highest crime areas. The company has cleverly developed computer software that allows its franchises to “flag” addresses that are
The Free Market 15, no. 1 (January 1997) People who advocate tax-funded school vouchers for private schools frequently hail the G.I. Bill of Rights education vouchers for World War II veterans as a model. In truth, the G.I. Bill was a budget-busting middle-class entitlement scheme that had destructive effects on higher education, and set the stage
The Free Market 15, no. 3 (March 1997) The welfare state keeps being reinvented under new labels. In 1993, the Clinton administration renewed the Bush program (dreamed up by then HUD secretary Jack Kemp) called “Moving to Opportunity” (MTO). It gave welfare recipients housing vouchers worth as much as $1,677 per month for rental housing in
The Free Market 15, no. 5 (May/June 1997) Some scientists boycotted a recent conference that examined the EPA’s draconian proposal to regulate ultra-small soot particles. The sponsoring organization, the Annapolis Center, gets corporate money. According to Harvard epidemiologist Joel Schwartz, that makes the event look “like a set-up job.” The
The Free Market 15, no. 7 (July 1997) Jack Kemp, former HUD secretary and failed vice presidential candidate, recently proved that academic leftists aren’t the only ones intolerant of politically incorrect ideas. He interrupted a luncheon speech I was giving at an academic conference by squirreling around in his seat, ostentatiously rolling his
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.