Government

Proof Is in the Dow

March 2, 2009

From Human Events “The Obama budget is nothing less than an attempt to end the ideas of Ronald Reagan.” — New York Times Adam Smith, the father of free-market economics, once stated, “There is much ruin in a nation.”  President Obama is out to prove it in his Newspeak program he calls “A New Era [...]

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Obamanomics Is Making Matters Worse

February 24, 2009

From Human Events Unfortunately, the [Keynesian] balance week is unbalanced. ~ Milton Friedman We have outlived the short-run and are suffering from the long-run consequences of [Keynesian] policies. ~ Ludwig von Mises Last week, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announced another solution to the financial crisis — his new “Financial Stability Plan.” Since the announcement, Citigroup [...]

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The Necessary Evil

August 26, 2008

Suggestion – Liberty Magazine The Necessary Evil by Mark Skousen Today libertarians spend most of their time lamenting the consequences of big government. And rightly so. Today government is less a defender of freedom and more a Hobbesian leviathan that undermines prosperity. When we do talk about limited government, it is often seen solely as [...]

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Social Security Reform: Lessons from the Private Sector

March 1, 2001

IDEAS ON LIBERTY Economics on Trial MARCH 2001 by Mark Skousen “Of all social institutions, business is the only one created for the express purpose of making and managing change. Government is a poor manager.” —Peter F. Drucker 1 In the ongoing debate over the privatization of Social Security, one story has been over-looked: The [...]

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How Many of You Are on Food Stamps?

November 1, 2000

Personal Snapshots Forecasts & Strategies November 2000 by Mark Skousen “Middle of the road policy leads to socialism.” -Ludwig von Mises At the recent San Francisco Money Show, I asked an audience of several hundred investors, “By a show of hands, how many of you are on food stamps?” Not a single hand went up. [...]

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Having Their Cake

October 1, 2000

Economics on Trial Ideas on Liberty October 2000 Having Their Cake by Mark Skousen “The duty of ‘saving’ became nine-tenths of virtue and the growth of the cake the object of true religion.” -JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES (1) In his 1920 bestseller, The Economic Consequences of the Peace, John Maynard Keynes made a profound observation about [...]

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If You Build It – Privately – They Will Come

August 26, 2000

Ideas on Liberty Economics on Trial August 2000 by Mark Skousen “Government provides certain indispensable public services without which community life would be unthinkable and which by their nature cannot appropriately be left to private enterprise.” – PAUL A. SAMUELSON If you take a course in public finance, you will invariably encounter the “public goods” [...]

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