Quote of the Day

Collectivism doesn't work because it's based on a faulty economic premise. There is no such thing as a person's "fair share" of wealth. The gross national product is not a pizza that must be carefully divided because if I get too many slices, you have to eat the box. The economy is expandable and, in any practical sense, limitless.
– P.J. O'Rourke

Cliche of the Day

There's no such thing as a free lunch.

Quote of the Day

The truth is that economic competition is the very opposite of competition in the animal kingdom. It is not a competition in the grabbing off of scarce nature-given supplies, as it is in the animal kingdom. Rather, it is a competition in the positive creation of new and additional wealth.
- George Reisman

Guest Authors

As I began the process of creating this blog, I didn't think I'd be fired up or motivated enough to come up with enough interesting posts on my own. So I asked my husband and 2 of our libertarian friends to contribute whenever possible. So finally we have our first guest writer post. See below. :-)

Quote of the Day

Too many people think that economics is this subject that should wait until the university level. But it can't wait that long.
- Robert Duvall

Quote of the Day

Government cannot make man richer, but it can make him poorer.
– Ludwig von Mises

The Foundation for Economic Education

"FEE’s vision—the ideal we are striving to achieve—is a world where people flourish in a free and civil society. In such a world the individual’s creative, productive energies are unleashed; private property and the sanctity of contract are upheld; the use of force is confined to protecting the peace; competitive markets allocate scarce resources; and honesty is universally regarded as the best policy in both public and private affairs."

"Politics is not our bailiwick. Indeed, we seek to de-politicize life. We want to enlighten public discussion by emphasizing that there is (and ought to be) much more to life in a free and civil society than the political apparatus. We do not advise politicians how to employ the use of force, but rather we make the case against the initiation of force, period."

From What We Believe
By Lawrence Reed (President of the FEE)

(Great article)

P.S. Definition for bailiwick (cuz I for one definitely had to look that up...)

Reading List

Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity
Basic Economics
Freakonomics 
Healing Our World in an Age of Aggression

Quote of the Day

Economic depression cannot be cured by legislative action or executive pronouncement. Economic wounds must be healed by the action of the cells of the economic body - the producers and consumers themselves.
- Herbert Hoover

Quote of the Day

There is only one boss--the customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.
- Sam Walton

Quote of the Day

It is impossible to understand the history of economic thought if one does not pay attention to the fact that economics as such is a challenge to the conceit of those in power.
- Ludwig von Mises.

Quote of the Day

A creative economy is the fuel of magnificence.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Quote of the Day

Economics is not about goods and services; it is about human choice and action.
- Ludwig von Mises

Quote of the Day

Fundamentally, there are only two ways of coordinating the economic activities of millions. One is central direction involving the use of coercion – the technique of the army and of the modern totalitarian state. The other is voluntary cooperation of individuals – the technique of the marketplace.
– Milton Friedman

Quote of the Day

Most economic fallacies derive...from the tendency to assume that there is a fixed pie, that one party can gain only at the expense of another.
– Milton Friedman

Money 101

I don't know how many people would find an Economics lecture interesting enough to sit at home and watch it online but apparently I am one of those people. I just started watching The Origin, Nature and History of Money, given by Lawrence W. Reed of the FEE. Since I'm still relatively new to the free market scene, I'm vastly interested in going over the basics. And so far that's what this guy is doing. And, on a side-note, it's making me feel smarter. Which I like, since lately I've been feeling like the process of going from having one kid to having two (pregnancy, sleep-deprivation, etc.) has shrunk my brain to the size of a Fruit Loop. Perhaps I exaggerate, but it really is amazing how invigorating it can be to learn something new.

"[Money] is only useful for what it gets you in exchange, and it's supply must remain scarce in order to preform it's function."
- Lawrence W. Reed

Govt. = Bad Investment

This site calculates how much any taxpayer will contribute to various federal programs per month, per year, and in his or her lifetime. The calculator also estimates what that tax money could have generated in private investment.

(Found on Anything Peaceful the official blog of the Freeman http://www.thefreemanonline.org)

Quote of the Day

A traffic jam is a collision between free enterprise and socialism. Free enterprise produces automobiles faster than socialism can build roads and road capacity.
– Andrew Galambos

Quote of the Day

Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
– Ronald Reagan