I was chatting with my tobacconist the other day — I have no rabbi, no priest, no minister, no imam, no chiropractor, and no lawyer, but I do have a tobacconist — when it struck me that my trade deficit with his shop is astronomical. How could I have let this happen?
Tag: wealth
Thinking Outside of the Box
The box that has failed throughout history is called politics. Most solutions have been sought through the ballot box with little success. I believe that the ideology of Voluntaryism is that very “outside of the box thinking” that must be studied, understood and then implemented by the masses in order to accomplish the goals of peace, freedom, harmony and prosperity that we all desire.
America Needs More Robin Hoods
Robin Hood is a model of an ethical outlaw. He broke bad laws by doing what was right for the right reasons. His story has been misrepresented. In the original tellings he didn’t “rob from the rich and give to the poor,” but took back property that had been stolen through taxation and returned it to its rightful owners.
First They Came for Backpage
In 2016, after a court slapped down the attempts of Kamala Harris (D-CA), then attorney general of her state and now a US Senator, to prosecute Backpage for “pimping,” I suggested that merely dismissing the charges was not enough. I am still of that opinion.
The Promise of Economic Equality
In a world where individuals always differ enormously in personal attributes and circumstances, in personal conduct and social constraints, it is difficult to think of anything more unfair than ensuring that in spite of all these differences, everyone ends up with the same income or wealth.
Sitting on the Sidelines is No Longer an Option
I believe we are nearing a watershed moment in human history. We will either break our chains and free ourselves once and for all or we will squander this opportunity, surrender our arms, and accept our enslavement as a permanent condition.
Against the Whole Concept and Construction of the Balance of International Payments
The location of the trading partners has no economic significance whatsoever. Trading entities enter into exchanges voluntarily, each one in each transaction anticipating a gain from the trade. Hence, in expectational terms, every such trade entails a gain from trade, or in other words an addition to the trader’s wealth.
How I Try to Help Crypto Without Being a Techie
I’ve been in love with crypto and its world-shaking potential since I first heard about it around 2012. I bought some Bitcoin not long after, and was always excited for an excuse to use it or give it away. I was in it for the philosophy and potential to expand human freedom and prosperity, not really as an investment vehicle.
The Two Types of Socio-Economic Problems
If the problem is real and the government undertakes to solve it, the result in nearly every case will be that special interests, especially the government itself, will be further empowered and enriched and, on top of this insult to justice and prosperity, the real problem will be made worse rather than solved, setting in motion further calls for government intervention and creating an endless chain of action and reaction leading toward a leviathan state.
The Welfare State: Where’s the Freedom and Responsibility?
The number of people on benefits is growing, while the relative number of people supporting those benefits is decreasing. There was a time when there were no benefits, and people were expected to exercise personal responsibility regarding their financial situation. Now, as much as 70% of American families receive more from the government than they pay in taxes. This is not sustainable, any more than it is moral.