Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Ryan McMaken

“Decades before the Marxists came along, the classical liberals exposed how some classes exploit other classes. Through taxes and inflation, government regimes transfer wealth from the more productive members of society to the less productive ones. For at least two centuries, political theorists have attempted to identify and understand the ways that various social and economic classes have interacted within this system of state exploitation. … Among these classes we also find a group that is often ignored, or at least it is infrequently mentioned. It is the class small enterprise: the owners of small factories, the artisans, and the shopkeepers. Or, to use a term more frequently found outside the United States: the petite bourgeoisie.” (02/16/26)

https://mises.org/mises-wire/brief-history-petite-bourgeoisie

Source: Independent Institute
by Craig Eyermann

“2025 was a good year for the stock market. Americans who invested in a broad market index like the Standard and Poor 500 did really well. But not as well as 29 members of the U.S. Congress who beat the market in 2025. Beating the market is not easy and beating an index like the S&P 500 in 2025 means getting gains of more than 16.8%. Unusual Whales compiled a report on the members of Congress whose investments beat that return in 2025. I compiled the chart below from the report to focus on the 29 members of Congress whose investment portfolios grew by more than 16.8% last year.” (02/16/26)

https://www.independent.org/article/2026/02/16/congress-beat-stock-market-2025/

Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen

“On June 5, 2015, Kathy Ruemmler, then a corporate lawyer for Latham & Watkins but just one year removed from her stint as White House counsel for Barack Obama, emailed her good friend Jeffrey Epstein. Ruemmler, who was once under consideration to become Obama’s attorney general, wrote, ‘I am working on a PR strategy for MJ White v. Elizabeth Warren.’ Epstein responded, ‘Good[.] mj is good.’ And Ruemmler followed on in a response, ‘Yes, and EW is the worst.’ This is the perfect Jeffrey Epstein email, with as much explanatory power about this man, and more important the world he associated with and cultivated, than anything to do with child sex abuse. It shows that there is in fact an Epstein class, which not only believes in their own personal impunity, but seeks to protect their fellow travelers as well.” (02/17/26)

https://prospect.org/2026/02/17/epstein-files-email-kathy-ruemmler-elizabeth-warren-class-war/

Source: The Bulwark
by Will Sommer

“Perpetual Trumpworld figure Steve Bannon is taking a lot of heat this month as newly released Jeffrey Epstein files show he maintained close ties with the notorious sex trafficker, even after many of Epstein’s worst crimes were exposed. But that’s not the only perilous legal matter on Bannon’s plate. The influential conservative podcaster also finds himself in hot water for his management of the disastrous ‘Fuck Joe Biden’ cryptocurrency.” (02/16/26)

https://www.thebulwark.com/p/steve-bannon-lawsuit-memecoin-fjb

Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton

“The history of ‘President’s Day’ is a convoluted one. (Isn’t everything with government?) Legally, for the FedGov, it is officially still ‘Washington’s Birthday’ and just the calendar date was changed back in 1971, from 22 February to the third Monday in February. (Many States have officially changed the name; the common title reflects the popular belief that it also replaced any celebration of Honest Abe’s birthday (12 February) honored ‘all POTUS.’ Yup, even Nixon.) But since most of us treat this like ‘All Presidents’ Day’ (and absolutely nothing to do with the idea behind All Saints’ Day), let us look back at one of the few POTUS that has some really good things to say about him. Thomas Jefferson.” (02/16/26)

https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/02/16/looking-back-on-presidents-day/