About This Blog

Ludwig von Mises (1881-1973) was the greatest economist of my time. His greatest works can be accessed here at no charge.

Mises believed that property, freedom and peace are and should be the hallmarks of a satisfying and prosperous society. I agree. Mises proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the prospect for general and individual prosperity is maximized, indeed, is only possible, if the principle of private property reigns supreme. What's yours is yours. What's mine is mine. When the line between yours and mine is smudged, the door to conflict opens. Without freedom (individual liberty of action) the principle of private property is neutered and the free market, which is the child of property and freedom and the mother of prosperity and satisfaction, cannot exist. Peace is the goal of a prosperous and satisfying society of free individuals, not peace which is purchased by submission to the enemies of property and freedom, but peace which results from the unyielding defense of these principles against all who challenge them.

In this blog I measure American society against the metrics of property, freedom and peace.

Thursday, November 10, 2016

When Bubbles Burst



November 8, 2016


November 9, 2016

Nowadays it's easy to live in a bubble. Today if a man has a computer and internet access he can build an imaginary world of his choosing and live in it seemingly unscathed by reality. Examples are everywhere and infamous. Anthony Weiner is only the latest specimen.

Yesterday one had to be filthy rich -- or regal -- to live insulated from life's slings and arrows. Kings and Queens lived in bubbles of opulence exacted from their subjects and bubbles of turbulence created by their own imaginary demons. If reality drew too close, it could be commanded away by the wagging of a pinky finger adorned by a ruthless and powerful ring.

Political sycophants and their adoring press are today's version of royalty. They live in Washington, D.C. in tax-built palaces surrounded by ideological moats and fanatical armies of partisans that scour the hinterlands for unguarded loot that they can shower upon their benefactors in exchange for favors and a fair share of the good life.

And then there are our coddled youngsters who ensconce themselves in a dorm room in the belly of an ivy-covered bunker and dream up ideal rules for the rest of us to live by, rules guaranteeing perfect justice, rules which only they are wise enough to enforce, justice which only they are educated enough to distribute in appropriate and equal measure, as we the peons toil on the hardscrabble earth producing what life, reality and our betters demand from us.

But every once in a long while the stars align, the heavens smile and the bubbles burst. The Kings lose their heads, the politicians lose their positions and the youngsters lose their pacifiers.

And Anthony Weiner? He loses his computer.

However, Weiner will quickly recover. He's already diligently fashioning himself another fantastical life in a new bubble prescribed for him by a compassionate culture. He's exorcising his demons in a clinic for those afflicted with the disease of sexual deviancy.

How long will it be, I wonder, before all the bubbles are repaired and all our lives return to normal?

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

One Last Simple Question For Those Still Planning To Vote For Hillary Clinton

As reported by CNN, Hillary Clinton said she and Bill Clinton were "dead broke" and had "no money" when they left the White House in January, 2001.

After their stint in the White House, Hillary served in the US Senate for eight years and served as Secretary of State for four years. Bill has lived the life of a retired US President.

Yet today, 15 years later, a simple Google search reveals that Hillary Clinton has a net worth of $31.3-million and that she and Bill have a total net worth of $111-million.

How does something like that happen?

We all know that it is possible for great sports figures, actors and entrepreneurs in business to earn many millions of dollars in the private sector in this great country of ours in a short period of time. But the Clintons are not great sports figures, actors or entrepreneurs. They are ex-politicians and "public servants."

Donald Trump is, supposedly, worth $3.7-billion. But he is an entrepreneur. He has built a huge business. He has created thousands of private sector jobs and built hundreds of buildings. The Clintons have built nothing.

$111-million is a lot of money. How exactly did they earn it?