MARKETS

Fake Banks and Real Banks

We observe a run on deposits in a commercial bank, then observe that the same thing can happen to other financial institutions, then mistakenly assume these institutions are essentially the same.

Commodity Speculation in a Free-Market

Speculative activity, of course, is not limited to anticipating just future scarcities. Rather, it seeks in general to balance consumption and production over time by accumulating stocks of commodities and regulating their rate of consumption.

The Landlord Shrugged

Government officials love to loudly proclaim the great benefits that tenants will enjoy by restricting and controlling landlords. The folly of their schemes will become clear when they discover that the landlord shrugged.

The “Right to Return”

Like all forms of subsidies, the “right to return” takes from some—taxpayers—to provide benefits to others—low-income households.

Money Creation: Who Cares?

Commercial banks do not lend out other peoples’ money. On the contrary, banks create new money every time they make a loan.

Unleash the Swarm in Housing Production

If we unleash the swarm, if we restore freedom to property owners, we will see an immense increase in housing production. Property owners could convert single-family homes into duplexes, build a cottage or “granny flat” in the back yard, or do any number of other things to increase the supply of housing.

Inflation: Unemployment and Inflation (5 of 5)

In 1936, in his General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, Lord Keynes unfortunately elevated this method--the emergency measures of the period between 1929 and 1933--to a principle, to a fundamental system of policy. And he justified it by saying, in effect:...

Inflation: Labor Unions and Wages (4 of 5)

If inflation is bad and if people realize it, why has it become almost a way of life in all countries? Even some of the richest countries suffer from this disease. The United States today is certainly the richest country in the world, with the highest standard of...