Mises Media

Senator Tim Kaine's definition of “rights” as things created by government and human law is extremely dangerous because a government that creates rights can also abolish them. Be sure to follow the Loot and Lobby podcast at Mises.org/LL

Political elites insisted that the 9/11 attacks occurred because the US Government lacked power and authority. Unfortunately, the elites got their wish and Americans received war, economic calamity, and massive government debt in return.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/911-attacks-exposed-major-government-failure-americans-learned-wrong-lessons

Since becoming president, most of the actions taken by President Trump have been anti-economic growth, and the US economy now is sputtering. Unfortunately, Trump seems to believe that a combination of trade restrictions and inflation is what the economy needs.Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/trump-digging-his-own-economic-graveThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at https://mises.org/Hayak21Be sure to follow the Guns and Butter podcast at https://Mises.org/GB

This week, Bob takes on the hot-button debate over Federal Reserve “independence” in light of Trump's moves against Fed Governor Lisa Cook. He explains why the Fed has never truly been independent, drawing on the Treasury-Fed Accord of 1951 and the institution's long history of serving political power. Recalling Elizabeth Warren's attacks on Jay Powell to insider trading scandals among Fed officials, Bob exposes the hypocrisy of politicians and media figures who cry about independence only when it suits them. He also highlights how the Fed's structure—unanimous FOMC votes, backroom bailouts, and secrecy over bank rescues—makes it clear the central bank is not a neutral force, but a political engine of inflation and business cycles.A Comprehensive Case for Ending the Fed: Mises.org/HAP516aShould Economists Champion Fed “Independence”?: Mises.org/HAP516bThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree

On the latest episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton takes a provocative look at America's path toward hyperinflation. Mark walks through Mises's three stages of inflation, contending the US is moving from complacency to active flight from cash, and he ties today's risks to sanctions policy, BRICS efforts to bypass SWIFT with gold-leaning systems, and foreign central banks rotating from Treasuries into gold. At home, Mark sees households hedging with real estate, older savers turning to precious metals, and younger investors to crypto: classic signs of eroding demand for dollars.Additional Resources"The Gold-Silver Ratio” (Minor Issues Podcast, Episode 119) : https://mises.org/MI_119"Exorbitant Privilege: The Rise and Fall of the Dollar and the Future of the International Monetary System" by Mark Thornton (Book review, Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics): https://mises.org/MI_136_A"Exorbitant Privilege Gained and Lost: Fiscal Implications” by Zefeng Chen, Zhengyang Jiang, Hanno Lustig, Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, and Mindy Xiaolan (Journal of Political Economy): https://mises.org/MI_136_BThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at https://mises.org/IssuesFreeBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

Jonathan Newman joins Ryan and Connor this week to discuss the latest developments in Trump's campaign to “takeover” the Fed, the current state of the jobs market, and the misconceptions people have about how economists value the choice not to work.For more information and to subscribe, visit https://Mises.org/P&MPod

President Trump has deployed naval vessels off the coast of Venezuela, citing its escalation of the war on drugs. However, the true motivation for Washington's involvement in the region is likelier related to disputed oil claims affecting well-connected energy companies.Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/venezuela-military-deployment-about-cronyism-not-national-securityThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at https://mises.org/Hayak21Be sure to follow the Guns and Butter podcast at https://Mises.org/GB

Bob is joined by Dr. Peter Klein to take a look at the Mises Institute's new book, Hayek for the 21st Century. The discussion highlights Hayek's insights on tacit knowledge, why markets outperform central planners, the dangers of political power, and how monetary freedom could stop inflation. Along the way, Bob and Peter connect these timeless ideas to today's debates over technology, government control, and economic liberty. The Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree

Is Hans-Hermann Hoppe a firebrand revolutionary, or something very different? On this episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton traces Hoppe's American debut in 1986 and follows the controversies that later made Hoppe a lightning rod. The case here is straightforward: Hoppe isn't a political revolutionary aiming to remake society by seizing state power; he's a natural-rights theorist whose analysis—grounded in property, history, and Austrian economics—argues for social cooperation without a predatory state. Hoppe is an exacting analyst of what works, not an architect of upheaval.Additional ResourcesA Life in Liberty: Liber Amicorum in Honor of Hans-Hermann Hoppe, edited by Jörg Guido Hülsmann and Stephan Kinsella (PDF): https://mises.org/MI_135_A Or, purchase the book online: https://mises.org/LiberAmicorum"Understanding the timing and outcome of the Russian Revolution: a public choice approach” (Journal of Public Finance and Public Choice)" by Gregory Dempster, Robert B. Ekelund, Jr., and Mark Thornton: https://mises.org/MI_135_B"Rent Seeking as an Evolving Process: The Case of the Ancien Régime" (Public Choice) by Robert. B. Ekelund, Jr., and Mark Thornton: https://mises.org/MI_135_C"A Theory of Socialism and Capitalism” by Mark Thornton (in Property, Freedom, and Society: Essays in Honor of Hans-Hermann Hoppe): https://mises.org/MI_135_DThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at https://mises.org/IssuesFreeBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

San Francisco politicians have made it so difficult to build new housing that a black market for apartments has emerged. "San Francisco Has A Black Market for Housing. That's as Bad as It Sounds." by Chris Calton: https://Mises.org/RR251_AFree Book: Get your copy of Hayek for the 21st Century, featuring Hayek's classic essays on liberty, knowledge, and markets. Claim yours at https://mises.org/Hayek21Be sure to follow Radio Rothbard at https://Mises.org/RadioRothbardRadio Rothbard mugs are available at the Mises Store. Get yours at https://Mises.org/RothMug PROMO CODE: RothPod for 20% off

Assistant editor Joshua Mawhorter joins Tho Bishop and Connor O'Keeffe on the Power and Market Podcast. The three discuss Trump's acquisition of a stake in Intel, consider how monetary policy contributes to a lot of the national health problems MAHA is focused on, and react to Jerome Powell's Jackson Hole speech.For more information and to subscribe, visit https://Mises.org/P&MPod

The federal government taking an ownership stake in Intel is neither a promising new approach to governance nor an unprecedented leap into economic fascism. It's simply Trump embracing the corrupt status quo he ran against with a superficial rebrand.Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/real-problem-trumps-intel-dealThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at https://mises.org/IssuesFreeBe sure to follow the Guns and Butter podcast at https://Mises.org/GB

On this episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton responds to Charlie Kirk's “most controversial take” on cannabis and drug policy. Mark contrasts Kirk's opposition to reclassification with the long history of prohibition as a Progressive project, showing how state intervention—not liberty—is responsible for urban decay, social breakdown, and the failures of drug policy. Drawing on examples from alcohol and cannabis prohibition to today's welfare state, Mark argues that addiction is fueled less by markets than by the permissive culture and coercive power of government."Should America Reclassify Weed?" (Charlie Kirk Show): https://mises.org/MI_134_A"Drug Warriors Claim Colorado Going to Pot" by Mark Thornton: https://mises.org/MI_134_B"The Oregon Problem: It's Not Drugs! It's the Socialistic Political Culture" by Mark Thornton: https://mises.org/MI_134_C"The Oregon Problem" (Minor Issues Podcast): https://mises.org/MI_48"Measure 110 and Property Rights" (Minor Issues Podcast): https://mises.org/MI_55The Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at https://mises.org/IssuesFreeBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

In his underappreciated work The Mystery of Banking, Murray Rothbard first explained how a regime of "free banking" would put strict limits on the ability of the private commercial banks to reduce their reserve ratios and inflate the money supply. Then Rothbard showed that the textbook operation of a central bank systematically neutralized the market's safeguards, and paved the way for credit expansion by a cartel of privileged private banks.The Mystery of Banking by Murray N. Rothbard: https://mises.org/HAP514a"How Private Banks Can Create Money, But Not Like the Fed Can" (Human Action Podcast): https://mises.org/HAP514bThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century Get your free copy at https://Mises.org/HAPodFree21st Century Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree

Economist Jeff Degner joins Ryan McMaken to discuss how inflationary monetary policy has changed our culture, and the family with it. Free Book: Get your copy of Hayek for the 21st Century, featuring Hayek's classic essays on liberty, knowledge, and markets. Claim yours at https://mises.org/Hayek21 Be sure to follow Radio Rothbard at https://Mises.org/RadioRothbardRadio Rothbard mugs are available at the Mises Store. Get yours at https://Mises.org/RothMug PROMO CODE: RothPod for 20% off

On this episode of Power and Market, the roundtable talks about a new brewing scandal involving the Fed, revisits the conversation on nationalizing Washington, DC, and the new "golden age" of the Smithsonian.For more information and to subscribe, visit https://Mises.org/P&MPod

Few really understand why these blue cities are crime-ridden. It's not merely a lack of resources or even progressive ideology. At the root of the problem are governments working hard to maintain a monopoly on a service they then refuse to provide.Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/trumps-dc-takeover-missing-pointThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at https://mises.org/IssuesFreeBe sure to follow the Guns and Butter podcast at https://Mises.org/GB

As central bankers descend on Jackson Hole for their annual gathering, Mark Thornton explores the history, politics, and pageantry of the world's most exclusive monetary policy conference. From its origins as a small agricultural meeting to a global elite summit shaped by Paul Volcker's love of fly fishing, the event now serves as a stage for off-the-record conversations, coordinated strategies, and public displays of “confidence.” With the US economy facing stagflation, debt explosions, and political pressure on the Fed, the real drama lies not in the official speeches, but in the private exchanges among the world's leading “money printers.”See also "About the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium" (Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City): https://mises.org/MI_133_AThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at https://mises.org/IssuesFreeBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

In his important lectures on the history of political thought, historian Ralph Raico examined five myths that many still believe about classical liberalism and the origins of modern ideology. Be sure to follow Radio Rothbard at https://Mises.org/RadioRothbardRadio Rothbard mugs are available at the Mises Store. Get yours at https://Mises.org/RothMug PROMO CODE: RothPod for 20% off

William L. Anderson joins Tho and Connor this week to discuss Trump mobilizing federal agencies to clean up the crime-ridden city of DC and his recent book review of Margaret Roberts' Blowback: The Untold Story of the FBI and the Oklahoma City Bombing.For more information and to subscribe, visit https://Mises.org/P&MPod

A new July report shows Trump and the GOP Congress have joined forces to drive up federal spending to the highest levels since covid. The federal debt also just passed $37 trillion.Be sure to follow the Loot and Lobby podcast at Mises.org/LL

According to the neo-conservative war hawks, every so-called enemy is the Next Hitler and every year is 1939. The failure to seek new conflicts abroad is equated to the failure of Great Britain and France to stand up to Hitler before World War II broke out.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/every-year-1939-war-hawks

Bob explains the mechanics of modern banking and how liabilities and assets on bank balance sheets differ from popular assumptions. He shows how interest rates and central bank policy shape lending and deposit behavior, and why private companies move money differently than commercial banks. Bob also critiques the perspectives of Richard Werner, Steve Keen, and George Selgin, showing where their explanations align or fall short.Bob's Infineo Article, "A Biz vs. a Bank vs. the Fed": Mises.org/HAP513aThe Charts Used in this Episode: Mises.org/HAP513bThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree

The US and its Western allies may scoff at this challenge, but it only became possible due to high-handedness (to use the kindest word imaginable) and outright illegality of US actions.Original article: https://mises.org/power-market/more-thoughts-brics-and-gold-versus-us-and-dollar

The hackneyed argument for government regulation of speech -- yelling "FIRE" in a crowded theater -- has always been a red herring. As Murray Rothbard wrote, private property rights should be front-and-center when dealing with free speech issues.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/you-cant-yell-chicken-jockey-crowded-theater-except-when-you-can

The media is spinning President Trump‘s “trade deals” as a “victory” for the White House. Yet, when we break down these “deals” into their particulars, we find that American producers and consumers will be worse off than before.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/tariffs-wont-spawn-good-trade-deals

In both cases, the use of nationalism and patriotism by Brazilian governments reveals a recurring strategy: appealing to national pride to divert attention from self-inflicted crises.Original article: https://mises.org/power-market/ambiguous-nationalism-patriotism-brazilian-politics

After the tragic 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, the FBI rolled out the same "lone nut" narrative about who did it. However, much evidence exists to show that FBI informants and agents embedded with white supremacy groups may well have been involved.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/oklahoma-city-bombing-lesson-government-lawlessness

The disheartening and frustrating fact is that Russia is in a much stronger negotiating position now than they were earlier in the war, when Western officials convinced Ukraine to walk away from peace talks and fight.Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/trump-putin-meeting-how-we-got-hereRegister for the 2025 Mises Institute Supporters Summit in Delray Beach, Florida, October 16–18: https://mises.org/ss25Be sure to follow the Guns and Butter podcast at https://Mises.org/GB

Having warned of the rise of national socialism and having fled the German army's march into Austria, Ludwig von Mises was in an excellent position to analyze Nazi economic doctrine.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-daily/etatism-protectionism-and-demand-lebensraum

From seminary classrooms to Supreme Courts, a network redefined justice, democracy, and freedom in the name of social control. Many goals of the Foro de São Paulo, launched in 1990 by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Fidel Castro, sadly, are being realized.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/silent-war-latin-america-how-foro-de-sao-paulo-subverted-liberty-within

When presidents Trump and Putin meet this Friday, the political and military landscape is much different than it was when war broke out more than three years ago and Putin was willing to talk about a real cease fire. Thanks to western dishonesty, Ukraine's future is bleak.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/trump-putin-meeting-how-did-we-get-here

Following World War II, President Truman helped produce the modern national security state by creating the Central Intelligence Agency. Only later did Truman regret what he did, as the CIA turned into a monster that could never be tamed.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/harry-truman-founding-father-national-security-state

Original article: https://mises.org/power-market/you-created-jobs-robots

How do we define liberty? Hayek saw it as the absence of most (but not all) coercion, but that depends upon how one defines “coercion.” Murray Rothbard believed that Hayek was too willing to accept forms of coercion that were anti-freedom.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/meaning-coercion-hayekian-philosophy

Mainstream economists claim that they can use econometric models to emulate human action and, thus, create an economic laboratory. These models, however, cannot tell us about cause-and-effect, which is vital to understanding praxeology and economic behavior.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/can-econometric-models-fulfill-role-economic-laboratory

Original article: https://mises.org/power-market/jamaicas-beaches-and-property-rights

Long a constitutional monarchy with ties to Great Britain, many in Jamaica are looking to end the old relationship and become a republic. But is this movement simply a reaction to anti-colonialism, and what kind of constitution would the new republic create? So far, no answers.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/will-jamaica-become-republic

Bob takes on a proposal for New York City to run its own grocery stores, dismantling the historical myths, economic fallacies, and rhetorical tricks behind the idea. From Flint's water crisis to “food deserts,” he explains why government control will create shortages, low-quality food, and wasted resources.The Jacobin Article, "Municipal Grocery Stores Are Sensible and Obvious": Mises.org/HAP512aThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Murray Rothbard's, What Has Government Done to Our Money? Get your free copy at Mises.org/HAPodFree

What happens when a society consumes its seed corn? What is capital consumption, and why does it matter? In this episode, Mark Thornton examines how inflation, deficit spending, and distorted market signals quietly erode the productive assets that fuel economic growth. Drawing on Austrian economics and insights from investor Rick Rule, Mark explains how governments and central banks incentivize the misuse of capital, leading to stagnation, underinvestment, and long-term decline. Understanding this unseen destruction is key to making sense of today's economic malaise.See also "Rick Rule: Shortages In Key Natural Resources To Define Next Decade": https://mises.org/MI_132_ARegister for the 2025 Mises Institute Supporters Summit in Delray Beach, Florida, October 16–18: https://mises.org/ss25Be sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

A relic of the Cold War, the US embargo and travel restrictions to Cuba violate American freedoms and they accomplish nothing to end Cuba's communist regime or win freedom for Cubans. Yet, this failed policy has persisted for nearly 65 years with no end in sight.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/us-travel-restrictions-cuba-violate-freedoms-americans-and-cubans

What do we mean by equality? F.A. Hayek believed that equality under law and the socialist belief of material equality were opposed to each other. Furthermore, he held liberty to be necessary for civilization itself to flourish.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/equality-under-hayekian-rule-law