Money and Finance
- Jim Grant Lecture: Hazlitt, My Hero
The Henry Hazlitt Memorial Lecture, sponsored by James Rodney. Recorded at the 2014 Austrian Economics Research Conference in Auburn, Alabama, on 20 March 2014. Includes an introduction my Joseph T. Salerno. Link [H/T Mises] ................ Related...
- Wsj Book Review: "the Believing Brain"
Thanks to Daniel for passing this along. Superstitions arise as the result of the spurious identification of patterns. Even pigeons are superstitious. In an experiment where food is delivered randomly, pigeons will note what they were doing when the pellet...
- Howard Marks Memo: Will It Work?
The other day, my son Andrew – college senior and credit-analyst-to-be – asked whether I think Treasury Secretary Geithner is doing the right things. As has happened before, his question elicited a fatherly response that grew into this memo. When...
- Greg Mankiw - How To Write Well
This is directed toward writing about Economics, but the tips relate to writing about any subject, especially when you likely have more knowledge about that subject than the reader. ERP Writing Guidelines Stay focused. Remember the take-away points...
- Weekly Roundup - April 19, 2014
One of my favorite parts about spring here in Texas is getting to see all of the wildflowers blooming. Our state flower is the Texas Bluebonnet and for good reason too, those things pop up everywhere. We even have some in our backyard at our new...
Money and Finance
John Mauldin: The Lion in the Grass
I have been captivated by the concept of the seen and the unseen in economics since I was first introduced to the idea. It is a seminal part of my understanding of economics, at least the small part I do grasp. The idea was first written about by Frédéric Bastiat, who was a French classical liberal theorist, political economist, and member of the French assembly. He was notable for developing the important economic concept of opportunity cost. He was a strong influence on von Mises, Murray Rothbard, Henry Hazlitt, and even my friend Ron Paul. He was a strong proponent of limited government and free trade, but he also advocated that subsidies (read, stimulus?) should be available for those in need, "... for urgent cases, the State should set aside some resources to assist certain unfortunate people, to help them adjust to changing conditions."
Today we'll explore a few things we can see and then try to foresee a few things that are not so obvious. This is a condensation of a speech I gave earlier this afternoon in Singapore for OCBC Bank, called "The Lion in the Grass." The simple premise is that it is not the lions we can see that are the problem; but rather, in trying to avoid them, it is often the lions hidden in the grass that we stumble upon that become the unwelcome surprise.
- Jim Grant Lecture: Hazlitt, My Hero
The Henry Hazlitt Memorial Lecture, sponsored by James Rodney. Recorded at the 2014 Austrian Economics Research Conference in Auburn, Alabama, on 20 March 2014. Includes an introduction my Joseph T. Salerno. Link [H/T Mises] ................ Related...
- Wsj Book Review: "the Believing Brain"
Thanks to Daniel for passing this along. Superstitions arise as the result of the spurious identification of patterns. Even pigeons are superstitious. In an experiment where food is delivered randomly, pigeons will note what they were doing when the pellet...
- Howard Marks Memo: Will It Work?
The other day, my son Andrew – college senior and credit-analyst-to-be – asked whether I think Treasury Secretary Geithner is doing the right things. As has happened before, his question elicited a fatherly response that grew into this memo. When...
- Greg Mankiw - How To Write Well
This is directed toward writing about Economics, but the tips relate to writing about any subject, especially when you likely have more knowledge about that subject than the reader. ERP Writing Guidelines Stay focused. Remember the take-away points...
- Weekly Roundup - April 19, 2014
One of my favorite parts about spring here in Texas is getting to see all of the wildflowers blooming. Our state flower is the Texas Bluebonnet and for good reason too, those things pop up everywhere. We even have some in our backyard at our new...