The Middle Class Warms to Bitcoin
Thirty-five-year-old Ryan Williams may not be able to explain the intricacies of Bitcoin or tell you how the blockchain works. […]
Business & Economics
Price Gougers Actually Help Solve the Problem of Scarcity
Whenever there is a natural disaster, we see two things: the best in human generosity, courage and resilience and the […]
To Fight Cronyism, We Need a Separation of Business and State
In my 30-plus years in Washington, I’ve lived through some very bad pieces of legislation. George H.W. Bush’s betrayal of […]
Why It’s Useless for the Federal Reserve to Target Inflation
One of the leading policy guideposts for central banks and many monetary policy proponents nowadays is the idea of “inflation […]
The Private Sector is Coming to Texas’s Rescue
Because of a hurricane of claims of price gouging in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, the private sector in Texas […]
Amazon Kills the Fed’s Inflation Target
Amazon’s purchase of high-end grocery retailer Whole Foods was approved last week. That the federal government had any role at […]
Child Labor Was Wiped Out by Markets, Not Government
In 1938 the US government passed the Fair Labor Standards Act mandating a forty hour work week, establishing a minimum […]
Twelve Economic Concepts Everyone Should Know
When I tell people that I work at the Foundation for Economic Education, they sometimes ask: “What economic ideas should […]
To Be A Happy Person, Understand Marginal Utility
I’m at dinner and the hostess serves me pie for dessert. I gobble it up. Then the hostess says, “Would […]
Afghanistan and the Sunk Cost Fallacy
For a few blissful moments on Monday afternoon, there was peace in this country. No matter your race, religion, or […]
The Real Scandal Is the EPA’s Diesel Policy, Not Volkswagen
You’ve probably heard about the Volkswagen emissions scandal. The official story is that engineers at VW faked emissions test results […]
The Great Recession, 10 Years Later
What we now know was one of the worst post-World War II economic and financial crises began about ten years […]
It’s Literally Insane to Unleash Government against Opiates
This week, Donald Trump focused all his energy on addressing the opiate crisis. Calling for enhanced “law and order” tactics, […]
The Psychological Appeal of Blockchain Technology
In the following paragraphs I will attempt to explain my quick observations of how current relational templates are mirrored by […]
The Soviets Tried to Run an Economy without Market Prices
In a recent Free Thoughts podcast, Cato scholar Andrei Illarionov, former economic advisor of Vladimir Putin, brought up a peculiar […]
Where Do Prices Come From?
Very few of us have the opportunity to experience the heart of what makes our civilization work. Crypto-asset markets are […]