Ryan McMaken
Lew Rockwell
Colorado, United States
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Past articles by Ryan:
Job Growth Surges Again, Fueled by the Fed's Huge Monetary Overhang
The Bureau of Labor Statistic (BLS) released new jobs data on Friday. According to the report, seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs rose 311,000 jobs (seasonally adjusted) in February, which was nearly 100,000 jobs above expectations. The unemployment rate rose slightly from 3.4 percent to 3.6 percent (month over month) but this partly reflected a rising labor participation rate which rose to… → Read More
The 'Meritocracy' Was Created by and for the Progressive Ruling Class
The American Left has decided that the so-called meritocracy is a bad thing. In a typical example from the Los Angeles Times this week, Nicholas Goldberg points to a number of issues exploring how merit is not actually the key to power and riches in America: The United States is supposed to be a meritocracy. The story goes that if you work hard and play by the rules, especially with regard to… → Read More
Why Madison and Hamilton Were Wrong About Republics
The debate between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists in the late eighteenth century was fundamentally a debate over whether or not Americans wanted or needed a large national state. Thus, in their effort to push ratification of the new constitution, the Federalists employed a wide variety of arguments designed primarily to convince the public that the United States, as it stood in 1787,… → Read More
When the Private Sector Is the Enemy
Last Wednesday’s House Oversight Committee meeting provided some much-needed insight into how corporate personnel at Twitter (before Elon Musk’s takeover) had essentially turned the company into an adjunct of the federal government and its intelligence agencies. Present to testify were high-ranking company personnel who oversaw Twitter during the covid panic and in the early days of the Hunter… → Read More
Another Recession Sign: Part-Time Work Is Growing Faster than Full-Time Work
The Bureau of Labor Statistic (BLS) released new jobs data on Friday. According to the report, seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs rose 517,000 jobs, which was well above expectations. The words used by the media to describe the report included “stunner” and “wow.” President Joe Biden claimed the number proves his administration has delivered economic prosperity. The administration has also… → Read More
The Fed Is a Purely Political Institution, and It's Definitely Not a Bank.
Those who know Wall Street lore sometimes recall that Fed chairman William Miller—Paul Volcker’s immediate predecessor—joked that most Americans believed the Federal Reserve was either an Indian reservation, a wildlife preserve, or a brand of whiskey. The Fed, of course, is none of those things, but there’s also one other thing the Federal Reserve is not: an actual bank. It is simply a… → Read More
The Constitution Failed. It Secured Neither Peace nor Freedom.
If one cares to look, it’s not difficult to find numerous columns written for mainstream news outlets announcing that the US Constitution has failed. This ought to raise the question of “failed to do what?” The answer depends largely on the one claiming the constitution has failed. On the Left, claims of constitutional failure generally revolve around the idea that the constitution doesn’t… → Read More
Southwest's Meltdown Reminds Us We Must End Airlines' Corporate Welfare
Southwest Airlines experienced an enormous meltdown over the Christmas holiday week last month, cancelling thousands of flights, and losing track of—or outright losing—countless pieces of luggage. The airline was full of excuses, of course. → Read More
Money-Supply Growth Turns Negative for First Time in 33 Years
Money supply growth fell again in November, and this time it turned negative for the first time in 33 years. November’s drop continues a steep downward trend from the unprecedented highs experienced during much of the past two years. During the thirteen months between April 2020 and April 2021, money supply growth in the United States often climbed above 35 percent year over year, well above… → Read More
The Four Worst Trends of 2022
On this episode of Radio Rothbard, Ryan McMaken and Tho Bishop look back at 2022 and touch on some of the worst and underappreciated trends of the year. For those interested in a more holiday-themed episode, check out last year's debate on the virtues of Ebenezer Scrooge (Mises.org/RR_45). → Read More
Why the US Regime Allows Self-Determination for Foreigners, But Not for Americans
Opponents of secession in the United States often choose from several reasons as to why they think no member state of the United States should be allowed to separate from the rest of the confederation. Some anti-secessionists say it’s bad for national security reasons. Others oppose secession for nationalistic reasons, declaring that “we”—whoever that is—shouldn’t “give up on America.” For the… → Read More
The Housing Boom Is Already Over. Get Ready for Even Higher Prices.
As mortgage rates have risen this year, the demand for home purchases has fallen. That has spelled trouble for the home construction business. Homebuilder confidence dropped for the 10th straight month in October. The decline in builder sentiment reflects what economist Ian Shepherdson describes as “housing … in free fall. So far, most of the hit is in sales volumes, but prices are now falling… → Read More
The Election Won't Change Much in DC. The Real Battle Is Now in the States.
The votes are still being counted, but one thing is already clear: very little will change in Washington after this election. The House of Representatives will likely be controlled by Republicans, but the majority enjoyed by the GOP in the House will be small. This will provide a veto over some of the worst legislation being pushed by the Biden administration, but history has made it abundantly… → Read More
The Red Wave that Wasn't
On this episode of Radio Rothbard, Tho Bishop and Ryan McMaken break down the results of this year's midterms. American anxiety over inflation and crime failed to create the red wave many expected. → Read More
"Antidemocratic" Just Means "Something the Regime Doesn't Like."
“Democracy” is the new “revolutionary.” In the old Marxist regimes, anything that displeased the regime was said to be contrary to “the revolution.” For example, in the Soviet Union, national leaders spoke regularly of how the nation was in the process of “a revolutionary transformation” toward a fu → Read More
Housing Is Getting Less Affordable. Governments Are Making It Worse.
The average square footage in new single-family houses has been declining since 2015. House sizes tend to fall just during recessionary periods. It happened from 2008 to 2009, from 2001 to 2002, and from 1990 to 1991. But even with strong economic-growth numbers well into 2019, it looks like demand for houses of historically large size may have finally peaked even before the 2020 recession and… → Read More
Breaking Away: The Case for Secession, Radical Decentralization, and Small Polities
Breaking Away differs from countless other books on secession and decentralization in that it considers examples and benefits of secession and radical decentralization in a much broader historical, geographical, and theoretical context. → Read More
On Secession and Small States
[This article was adapted from a talk delivered at the 2022 Supporters Summit in Phoenix, Arizona.] The international system we live in today is a system composed of numerous states. There are, in fact, about 200 of them, most of which exercise a substantial amount of autonomy and sovereignty. They are functionally independent states. Moreover, the number of sovereign states in the world has… → Read More
August's Price Inflation Soared, and That Means Earnings Fell Yet Again
The federal government’s Bureau of Labor Statistics released new price inflation data today, and the news wasn’t good. According to the BLS, Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rose 8.3 percent year over year during August, before seasonal adjustment. That’s the seventeenth month in a row of inflation above the Fed’s arbitrary 2 percent inflation target, and it’s six months in a row of price… → Read More
How Monarchs Became Servants of the State
European monarchs come and go, but the American media—no doubt largely due to the fact the British speak and write in English—follows the British monarchy more closely than others. American pundits didn’t have much to say when King Juan Carlos of Spain abdicated in 2014 in the wake of an embezzlement scandal. But it’s only been a few hours since the death of Queen Elizabeth II, and the… → Read More