by Richard W. Rahn | Aug 12, 2019
World economic growth is slowing, and a global recession may be in the making. Rational and compassionate people look at a recession as bad news, but not wealthy “comedian” Bill Maher, who wants a recession in his belief that it would cause voters to get rid of...
by Richard W. Rahn | Aug 6, 2019
Back in the early 1980s during the Cold War, I was with a friend in East Berlin. As the noon hour approached, we started looking for someplace to have lunch. We soon discovered that all the restaurants were closed from noon to 1 p.m. “so the workers could eat.” This...
by Richard W. Rahn | Jul 30, 2019
The latest estimates are that approximately 30 percent of the global government bond issues are now trading in negative territory. Last week, Swiss 50-year borrowing costs fell below zero percent, which means that Switzerland’s entire government bond market now trades...
by Richard W. Rahn | Jul 23, 2019
“In France, everything is denied except what is permitted. In the U.S., everything is permitted except what is denied.” Neither statement is entirely true, of course, but the ability of individuals to take care of themselves when government fails does vary...
by Richard W. Rahn | Jul 16, 2019
Did you ever see some old stock certificates from more than a half-century ago? Many of them would have an engraving of a factory spewing smoke from one or more chimneys. This was meant to imply industrial might with an enterprise that employed many workers. Now, if...