‎”I do not ask that you place hands upon the tyrant to topple him over, but simply that you support him no longer; then you will behold him, like a great Colossus whose pedestal has been pulled away, fall of his own weight and break in pieces.” -Étienne de La Boétie

According to Bloomberg, banks are beginning to push short sales consistently for the first time since foreclosures began to pile up back in 2008. Prices really began to fall before the financial crisis, as early as mid-2007 in some places, but banks have long placed numerous obstacles in the way of homeowners who tried to sell their homes for what they were actually worth in the marketplace. Those of us who have worked with real estate agents who do short sales have heard nothing but complaints for years about how banks will stall and prevent short sales in a variety [...]

“It’s 1980 Again” by Doug French To ask the question if 2012 is 1980 all over again answers the question as to why returning to gold is imperative. The nightmarish economic outcomes caused by being, as Jim Grant says, on a “PhD standard” demand change, and more people realize it each and every day. “How to Think: An Introduction to Logic” by David Gordon My online course on logic at the Mises Academy has one main emphasis: how to analyze arguments, especially arguments about philosophy, politics, and economics. I’ve found that many, if not most, writers on these subjects fall [...]

Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk was an economist, lawyer, finance minister, teacher, and a founding figure of the Austrian School of economics. Born in 1851 in the city of Brno in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Böhm-Bawerk was initially trained as a lawyer at the University of Vienna. During his education, he first read Menger’s Principles of Economics and it immediately transformed him into an economist. Although he never studied economics under Menger directly, he quickly became an adherent of his work. FULL ARTICLE by Mattheus von Guttenberg

A governmental easy-money policy has many repercussions. Currency debasement, the enabling of unnecessary wars, and increases in the size of federal power are among them. And political interference into monetary affairs always leads to economic distortions. These distortions in turn lead to government imposition of rules, regulations, taxation, and tariffs, all of which favor a handful of powerful and influential corporations to the detriment of small- and medium-sized businesses. And easy money leads to the impoverishment of the middle and lower classes and an increase in government dependence. How can anyone who has come to depend on his government for [...]

“Withholding Consent from the Khan” by Peter C. Earle Rather than utilize the suspicious paper chits issued by the Khan’s local governor, Tabrizians either fled the city or remained and subsisted on emergency food stores, sometimes raiding the gardens of neighbors who had left. Merchants refused to transact or trade; tents in bazaars stood empty. “Minimum-Wage Rates” by Ludwig von Mises The market wage rate tends toward a height at which those eager to earn wages get jobs and those eager to employ workers can hire as many as they want.

My son was upset when he returned home from his minimum wage job at a local grocery store. Seems he was confronted with, “The assistant manager is hopping mad about something you did,” as soon as he entered the door. His mind raced. What had he done? He took a breath, composed himself, and headed toward her office. And she was mad. Turns out my son — who is new to the job — had taken only a 15-minute break instead of the state-mandated 30-minute break on three separate occasions — an offense the assistant manager said could cost the [...]