Mercenary Scribblings; Austrian School of Economics; Ludwig von Mises;

I just added a new link to my sidebar.

Check out Mercenary Scribblings for discussions of the "Austrian" school of economics. It has been so long since I seriously read Mises, Hayek, Hazlitt, Rothbard et. al, I feel like Rip Van Winkle trying to remember my own past as I read Mercenary's posts.

I have written sparingly of Mises, et al. here at this blog. Here is a short review of one of his books. Follow the links and "labels" for more of the same.

Ronald Reagan at the von Mises Institute

I posted most of this as a comment at another blog. I liked it so much I am going to repeat it here. I have always been annoyed that so much of the national discussion has always focused on white noise, trivialities and ad hominem attacks. There are core values underpinning the Republican party and conservatism. These values go beyond the arguments of the moment.

Michelle Malkin posted a lengthy item the other day featuring extensive quotations from a 30 year old Reagan speech before the von Mises institute, in which he discussed the role of "profits" and how the left has misused that word. But read it NOT for the implied criticism of McCain. Forget about McCain and the primaries for a moment. Read the item just to rediscover what conservatism is all about. See what issues we SHOULD be talking about instead of ad hominem attacks. Reading the item should make you optimistic (as it does for me) because it will remind you of the potential that conservative philosophy really has. It will remind you that conservatism offers the kind of basic values, deep thought and core philosophy that transcend any one campaign or any temporary battle of insults.

Michelle Malkin needs a man; Leftist proposals prolong housing market crisis

Not literally. I, too, was disappointed to discover what she really meant:

Michelle needs a man

"I need a man. A man who can say “No.” A man who rejects Big Nanny government. A man who thinks being president doesn’t mean playing Santa Claus. A man who won’t panic in the face of economic pain. A man who won’t succumb to media-driven sob stories.

A man who can look voters, the media, and the Chicken Littles in Congress in the eye and say the three words no one wants to hear in Washington: Suck. It. Up."

In fact, she has presented the only solution (not only to the real estate bubble collapse, but to the entire economy). All of these "stimulus" packages not only are going to create further federal debt and erode our currency and our future, but they are delaying the real solution - a price correction.

By bailing out the homeowners, the government is delaying the inevitable drop in prices and preventing market forces from working. If prices could drop from the ridiculous levels to which government sponsored currency inflation has driven them, those of us who have saved our money could snap up some deals. The new mortgages would reflect actual values instead of inflation inspired fantasies. The sooner we endure the pain, the better. The sooner that the fools among us lose their properties or write off inflated mortgage values (or some combination thereof), the sooner that the thrify among us can be rewarded for our thriftiness. The price correction would have the added benefit of allowing the normal volume of sales to go forward, instead of this stalemate that has resulted from expectations of bailout or a vain attempt by individuals to hold on to unrealistically expensive homes.

All of us are going to have to go back to square one to counter the "stimulus" propaganda over the next few months. If the idea of a price correction scares you, take a look at the following short, simple books.





By educating yourself now, you are preparing for the onslaught so that you won't find yourself swept up by "stimulus" hysteria. Learn the basics so you can be the man Michelle wants you to be.