Author: Thomas L. Knapp

Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Angelo Monaco

“The classic virtue of thrift — once celebrated as a moral cornerstone of self-reliance, discipline, and stewardship — has largely been cast aside by a modern economic system designed to punish it. For centuries, saving was viewed as a quiet duty to one’s family and future, a practice that paired material restraint with ethical responsibility. Today, however, our financial architecture actively undermines this morality. Persistent inflation erodes the purchasing power of uninvested savings, while hyper-financialization and record-low interest rates reduce traditional thrift to a losing strategy. In a culture driven by immediate gratification and an economic engine fueled by perpetual consumer debt, the deliberate act of saving is no longer a protected path to security, but rather a virtue systematically penalized by the very system that once relied on it.” (08/06/26)

https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/what-is-in-your-wallet-not-very-much/

Source: Law & Liberty
by Edwin van de Haar

“Many classical liberals see themselves as myth busters. In particular, they take aim at those myths that erroneously link a big state and collectivist action with welfare and prosperity. No thinker is too prominent or a theory too grand to be undermined by proper and sound classical liberal analysis. And rightly so. Yet many classical liberals are blind to their own myth, which is the idea that trade or commerce fosters, or leads to, peace. Admittedly, they share this misconception with some of the great names in the wider liberal tradition, such as Mill, Cobden, Kant, and Montesquieu. Yet they were erroneous nonetheless.” (08/06/26)

https://lawliberty.org/book-review/war-peace-and-free-trade/

Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger

“With the soaring popularity and electoral success of democratic socialists, the question naturally arises: Will the CIA employ its power of assassination to rectify this problem?” (08/06/26)

https://www.fff.org/2026/08/06/will-the-cia-assassinate-democratic-socialists/

Source: EconLog
by Clifford A Bates Jr.

“The law of diminishing marginal utility is one of the foundational principles of economics, but its significance extends far beyond the marketplace. The principle states that as a person acquires additional units of a good, the satisfaction gained from each successive unit tends to decline. The first glass of water relieves intense thirst, the second provides comfort, and the third offers only modest enjoyment. While economists developed this concept to explain value and choice, it also reveals a deeper truth about human existence.” (08/06/26)

https://www.econlib.org/econlog/human-flourishing-and-marginal-utility

Source: Washington Post
by Matthew Lynn

“He was saving the bond market. Or laying the groundwork for a new currency system. Or rescuing a major bank from imminent collapse. The internet has plenty of wild theories about why Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent intervened in currency markets to prop up the value of the Japanese yen on Friday after it hit a 40-year low. Yet the real explanation is probably a lot simpler — and, unfortunately, a lot more worrying. … Bessent is a hedge fund guy. More specifically, he is a Soros Fund Management guy. He worked there through the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s, and the firm’s bet against the British pound earned $1 billion a few years earlier. Big currency bets are what he does best. In effect, he is playing the currency market because, well, that is what you do.” (08/06/26)

https://archive.is/2Sah6