Archive for Robert P. Murphy
Robert Murphy, an adjunct scholar of the Mises Institute and a faculty member of the Mises University, runs the blog Free Advice and is the author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Great Depression, the Study Guide to Man, Economy, and State with Power and Market, and the Human Action Study Guide.
The Depression You’ve Never Heard Of: 1920-1921
When it comes to diagnosing the causes of the Great Depression and prescribing cures for our present recession, the pundits and economists from the biggest schools typically argue about two different types of intervention. Big-government Keynesians, such as Paul Krugman, argue for massive fiscal stimulus—that is, huge budget deficits—to fill the gap in aggregate demand. [...]
18Nov2009 | Robert P. Murphy | 1 comment | ContinuedGovernment Must Keep Track of Derivatives?
Regardless of what caused the crisis, government efforts to regulate derivatives will only lock in undesirable aspects of the current market and ensure that politically connected players reap artificial gains. It is absurd to ask politicians to promote financial integrity and sound accounting. They are the worst violators of these principles on the planet.
17Jun2009 | Robert P. Murphy | 3 comments | ContinuedOil Prices Are Rigged? It Just Ain’t So!
In reality, all prices are determined by supply and demand, properly defined. Outside investors with lots of money can certainly influence prices, but there are always risks. Funds that had large “long” bets on commodities took a bath as oil fell from its July 2008 high of $145 down to well below $50 a few months later. Futures markets allow producers and consumers to hedge against needless risk by locking in prices, and they allow speculators with superior foresight to improve the allocation of resources over time. Our Time authors think they’ve shown that the oil market is rigged, but it just ain’t so!
21May2009 | Robert P. Murphy | 2 comments | ContinuedDid Deregulated Derivatives Cause the Financial Crisis?
For a few months in 2008 I naively thought that the disastrous financial “rescue” actions led by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson would at least be counterbalanced by widespread recognition that our economic turmoil had been government’s handiwork.
How wrong I was. By the time of this writing, the mainstream press had delivered the “consensus” judgment that [...]
Nationalization of the Mortgage Market
Breaking down the mortgage market breakdown and how it’s all the government’s fault.
1Dec2008 | Robert P. Murphy | 2 comments | ContinuedPoliticians Eye the Oil Market
Robert Murphy is the author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Capitalism.
With oil prices setting records every week and gas prices topping $4 per gallon, voters are getting increasingly angry. This naturally makes the politicians nervous, so they do what they can to divert blame from themselves at all costs. Two easy targets are “Big [...]
Can the Feds Save the Housing Market?
Government Solutions Will Only Make Matters Worse
1Jun2008 | Robert P. Murphy | 2 comments | ContinuedAre CEOs Paid Too Much?
One of Reader’s Digest’s more popular sections is “That’s Outrageous!” When the feature spotlights government pork-barrel projects, absurd zoning restrictions on homeowners, or illogical regulations on small business, libertarians can applaud. Unfortunately the October 2005 issue featured a column that focused on “outrageous” CEO packages, an enduring controversy. The writer, Michael Crowley, displayed precious little [...]
1Oct2006 | Robert P. Murphy | 1 comment | ContinuedHurricane Katrina Shows that Government Is Too Small? It Just Ain
By now everyone is aware of the almost inconceivable
incompetence of the Federal Emergency Management Agencys (FEMA) response to Hurricane Katrina.Those who cherish liberty might think this episode would bolster their cause.However, as usual the states intellectual bodyguards have attempted to use this disaster to justify ever higher budgets and even more dictatorial powers.
What’s Wrong with the Poverty Numbers
Robert Murphy teaches economics at Hillsdale College and is an adjunct scholar at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy in Midland, Michigan.
Last fall the U.S. Census Bureau released its annual report on poverty in the United States. The report indicated that the number of people below the official poverty line had risen from 32.9 million [...]
Markets Arent Efficient? It Just Aint So!
In his August 22 Washington Post piece, “What’s New About This Economy?” Michael Kinsley summarizes the prevailing orthodoxy among economists:
In the church of economic theory, as in that other church, the central symbol of the faith is a cross. Only this one is tilted and looks like an “x” not a “t.” As any communicant [...]
The Origins of the Public School
Hardly anyone disputes the contention that the modem public school is seriously flawed. Test scores continue to be poor while metal detectors are found in the more violent schools. Welfare-state liberals argue that schools in poor areas need more money to place them on an equal footing with their richer counterparts. Conservatives usually reply that [...]
1Jul1998 | Robert P. Murphy | 0 comments | Continued-
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Book Reviews
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The End of Prosperity: How Higher Taxes Will Doom the Economy–If We Let it Happen
By Arthur B. Laffer, Stephen Moore, and Peter J. Tanous
