It was fun while it lasted

Well, at least we had a century. Yes, the 20th century was America's. This country dominated, pretty much, the entire century. But, we let our unfettered free market get hammered by taxation and regulation. And, beginning in 1913, we began to print money through the Federal Reserve and whack away at the gold standard. Now our money is not backed by anything and the dollar is worth only 4 cents.

The bottom line? Unless we embrace unbridled free market capitalism again, and limit the two things that destroy wealth faster than anything else, taxation and regulation, we're done. Read this article that posted on prudentbear.com today. The European Union and China may be eating our lunch sooner than we think.

Are Mules Smarter Than Politicians?

The above was the title of a great article written by Lawrence Reed for The Free Market, a publication of the Ludwig von Mises Institute. Every issue is short and to the point, explaining Austrian economics and de-bunking the statist view of the world held by many citizens and, of course, almost all politicians.

This particular article (June, 1990 issue) is one of my favorites because it succinctly explains both the cause of the stock market crash, the Great Depression, and FDR's New Deal (affectionately nicknamed the Raw Deal). The title about mules being smarter than politicians refers to the crazy policies of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, an agency that ordered the destruction of crops and livestock. Farmers had a tough time getting the mules to trample the crops, since they had been trained to walk between the rows.

The issue is not archived at mises.org for some reason, so if you want a copy just ask in the comments section and I'll send you one. Occasionally I'll lend a copy of The Free Market to another professor. Many interesting responses and lots of questions, to say the least.