Author Archives: It's a Learning Problem

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About It's a Learning Problem

Welcome to my blog! This blog is being created so that I can make my own meager contribution to the advancement of human liberty. I believe that the advancement of liberty is a learning problem and not a teaching problem. My goal is simply to learn. As I learn, I hope to share what I’ve learned with you. It is my hope that in giving, I will receive. As Leonard Read said: “Why is this simple solution so little recognized, as if it were a secret; or so hesitatingly accepted, as if it were something unpleasant? Why do so many regard as hopeless the broadening of the single consciousness over which the individual has some control while not even questioning their ability to stretch the consciousness of others over which they have no control at all? Most of the answers to these questions are as complex as the psychoanalysis of a dictator or the explanation of why so many people dote on playing God. Leaving these aside, because I do not know the answers, there stands out one stubborn but untenable reason: the widespread but desolating belief that the world or the nation or society could never be “saved” by the mere salvaging of private selves. People say, “There isn’t time for such a slow process,” and then, to speed things up, they promptly hurry in the wrong direction! They concentrate on the improvement of others, which is a hopeless task, and neglect the improvement of themselves, which is possible. Thus, the world or the nation or society remains unimproved.”

Hazlitt on Inflation…

Inflation itself is a form of taxation. It is perhaps the worst possible form, which usually bears hardest on those least able to pay. On the assumption that inflation affected everyone and everything evenly (which, we have seen, is never … Continue reading

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Man’s 6,000 Year Obsession…

So today I’ll be pivoting from the long term case for optimism to the short term problems that face the economy. Anyone who has studied monetary history, even the basics of monetary history, should be able to recognize, broadly speaking, … Continue reading

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The case for optimism…

My few readers may have noticed a pattern in the posts I’ve made and the articles I’ve linked to so far. That pattern is in pointing out the negative aspects of the current economic and political situation that we find … Continue reading

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What if we’re an emerging market…

Kuppy has interesting takes on macro themes that a lot of people aren’t even considering. Because they’re outlier views, they’re obviously low percentage outcomes. But, as the odds of these types of outcomes rise, it’s important to think through the … Continue reading

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Inflation…

Think about this the next time you hear some talking head at the Fed talk about their inflation “target.” Inflation is theft, pure and simple. It’s worse than theft in many ways because of the subtlety and deception of it. … Continue reading

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Where does the world’s oil come from…

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“Saving” Social Security…

Jacob Hornberger takes on one of the sacred cows of politics. It’s easy to be critical of nearly everything that government does, but it’s important to think through what the actual solutions would be if government returned to it’s proper … Continue reading

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Change is coming…

Erik Townsend had an interesting guest on this week.  Louis-Vincent Gave covers several important topics and his perspective resonated with me. Among other things, they cover: The current state of the economy in China. US media has been saying that China’s … Continue reading

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Rule of 72…

The rule of 72 is a great mental tool that a lot of non-financial people aren’t aware of. It’s something I’ve used repeatedly when thinking about investment returns. Here’s a neat graph laying out the concept with some additional info … Continue reading

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Canadian Oil Thesis…

Shubham Garg is an incredible source of information if you’re interested in the oil space, especially the Canadian oil space. I’m increasingly convinced that this is one of those set-ups that has risk/reward characteristics that you rarely see as an … Continue reading

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