American culture can teach us historical lessons without us even realizing it. We are all familiar with the chorus of the song, “Sixteen Tons” where it goes, “I owe my soul to the company store”. The song describes the mining “company towns” of the day. Due to the isolation of these towns, the low amount…
Ever since the Housing Bubble of 2008 imploded, many Austrian economists, authors, and spokesmen have come out to announce that hyperinflation was just around the corner. The concerns of a hyperinflation scenario had much to do with the Federal Reserve’s policy of Quantitative Easing (QE). The Fed had exploded its balance sheet to unprecedented levels since the…
The recent Scottish independence elections had raised certain hopes among libertarians and anarchists. Their desire to see a free and independent Scotland (and a smaller Great Britain) enraptured images of Mel Gibson playing “Braveheart” William Wallace and a proud people, once again donning their kilts and marching to the pipes, taking up the cause for…
We’ve all heard experts, pundits and talk show hosts pontificating about gold and silver. We’ve heard examples of their so called “intrinsic” value, about how gold and silver retain their value over time. Aside from any intrinsic value, this is accurate, except when these people attempt to make price comparisons of goods in gold or…
The Blue Collar Economist 