Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Gregory Daddis
“The Arkansas senator’s words warning against the perils of Washington’s ‘war fever’ in 1966 are more prescient than ever. Are we listening?” (03/09/26)
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by George Ford Smith
“Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming one of the most capital-intensive industries in history. Consider: Semiconductor fabrication plants cost tens of billions of dollars. Massive data centers consume extraordinary amounts of electricity, sending power bills soaring. Specialized engineering talent commands premium wages. (Although the median salary for an AI professional is $160K annually, the top 1 percent of AI researchers receive compensation packages exceeding $1 million). Global supply chains must coordinate rare materials, precision manufacturing, and complex infrastructure. Yet discussions about artificial intelligence almost never address the most important economic variable shaping its development: money. From an Austrian perspective, the future of artificial intelligence ties directly to the monetary system that finances it. Whether AI produces sustainable prosperity or another boom-bust cycle depends less on algorithms than on interest rates.” (03/09/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/real-threat-artificial-credit-not-artificial-intelligence
Source: EconLog
by Jane Bufton
“Today marks the 250th anniversary of the publication of Adam Smith‘s An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations on March 9, 1776. Wealth of Nations remains a remarkable book, not only establishing Adam Smith as ‘the father of economics’ but laying a part of the foundation for liberal political theory.” (03/09/26)
https://www.econlib.org/econlog/happy-birthday-wealth-of-nations
Source: New York Times
“Iran’s Next Supreme Leader, and the New Lucrative Pardon Industry for Rich Offenders.” (03/09/26)
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ted Snider
“Iran has an ‘inalienable right’ to enrich uranium for civilian use, Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, told the U.S. delegation with frustration in the final round of talks before the bombs started to fall on Iran. And the U.S. has an ‘inalienable right’ to stop you, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff answered with hubris. Araghchi is right, and Witkoff is wrong. The U.S. and its partners have presented the public with a war that was caused by Iran’s refusal to compromise on its civilian nuclear program; however, as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran has ‘the inalienable right to a civilian program that uses nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.'” (03/09/26)
Source: Los Angeles Times
by Robin Abcarian
“I’m not saying definitively that going to war against Iran when there was no imminent threat is President Trump’s way of distracting attention from the case of Jeffrey Epstein and his voluminous, sordid, incriminating files. Then again, I’m not not saying it. We certainly know that Trump has mused in the past about invading Iran as a plausible response by an American president to his own domestic troubles. … Has the president achieved his presumed objective of knocking the Epstein files off the front page? Not exactly. They may have moved below the fold, as we say in the newspaper biz, but the Epstein scandal is alive and well, jamming the courts, occupying Congressional committees, sparking investigations in at least eight countries and toppling various ‘important’ people.” (03/08/26)
Source: Associated Press
“The Justice Department said Monday it has tentatively settled its antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster and parent company Live Nation Entertainment, striking a deal to ultimately lower ticket prices for consumers and end an illegal monopoly over live events in America. But some states signaled they won’t join the deal and will continue an ongoing trial. … Live Nation would pay a $280 million [bribe] and divest itself of at least 13 amphitheaters nationwide while opening its ticketing processes so competitors can share in the sale of tickets, the official said, adding that at least 10 states were expected to join the deal.” (03/09/26)
https://apnews.com/article/livenation-antitrust-justice-department-0a6ef66f497e5f626096de753bfff8ce
Source: US News & World Report
“Two brothers of one of Jeffrey Epstein’s most prominent accusers visited the sex offender’s former New Mexico ranch on Sunday for the first time to demand the Trump administration release unredacted documents to reveal the identities of men their late sister alleged sexually abused her at the property. With Epstein’s hacienda-style mansion in the background, the brothers of Virginia Giuffre, who took her own life in April, joined hundreds of protesters at a roadside rally to mark international women’s day near the gate of the ranch located 30 miles (48 km) south of state capital Santa Fe. Giuffre’s brother Sky Roberts, 37, called on the U.S. Department of Justice to release documents showing, among other things, names of visitors to Epstein’s Zorro Ranch where he and his acquaintances are accused of sexually abusing women and girls.” (03/08/26)
Source: LP Alliance
“Michigan EC meeting.” (03/08/26)
Source: Washington Post
by Megan McArdle
“The problem with government spending is that you have to pay for it. New programs often poll well when you tell people about the benefits. Mention raising taxes, however, and it’s a whole different story. But what if you didn’t have to tax reluctant voters to fund your big ideas? I mean, Elon Musk is sitting on somewhere north of $670 billion. If the government took just 5 percent of that, it would have almost $34 billion to spend on health care and child care and green energy, right? And there are almost a thousand other billionaires in the country, so pass that wealth tax and warm up the money cannons! If only it were so easy. … wealth taxes have been tried over and over, and most countries that adopted them eventually abandoned the idea, finding that such taxes were difficult to administer, caused capital flight and raised little revenue.” (03/08/26)