Mises Institute

6 days ago | mises.org | Daniel Lacalle

On April 23rd, I participated in a conference at the European Parliament on the future of nuclear energy with experts from all over Europe, where I warned that, with the current energy policies, blackouts will be the norm, not a coincidence. The shortsighted and sectarian policy of the activists who populate the government has led us to the worst blackout in the history of Spain. We have been without communication or electricity for nearly eleven hours.

1 week ago | mises.org | Ryan McMaken

On Wednesday, the Federal reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee left the target federal funds rate unchanged at 4.25-4.5 percent. The FOMC statement on the current policy, released on Wednesday, reads (my emphases in bold):Although swings in net exports have affected the data, recent indicators suggest that economic activity has continued to expand at a solid pace. The unemployment rate has stabilized at a low level in recent months, and labor market conditions remain solid.

2 weeks ago | mises.org | Laurence Vance

Beginning with George Washington, who took the oath of office for the first time in 1789, a total of 45 men have held the title of president of the United States of America. Less than half of them were elected to a second term: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Calvin Coolidge, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Dwight D.

2 weeks ago | mises.org | Ryan McMaken

One of the most popular essays we’ve ever published at the Mises Institute is Murray Rothbard’s “Anatomy of the State.” It’s a great and succinct introduction to the institution that we now call “the state” and explains how the state is a unique type of governance built on coercion and war. Perhaps most importantly, Rothbard explains why the state is not synonymous with society, with the nation, or with any private or voluntary group of individuals.

2 weeks ago | mises.org | Ryan McMaken

There’s a lot of conflicting information about the immediate cause of the recent mega-blackouts in Spain and Portugal. The governments in those countries claim the causes are “still unclear” after the largest blackouts in history. Given the rather spotty record of truth-telling by national governments, I suspect the causes of the blackouts are clear to those who are in a position to know.