Economics in One Lesson: Part 1 | Walter Block

Recorded during the 2008 Mises University, Jeffrey Tucker interviews Walter Block on the topic of Henry Hazlitt's classic book "Economics in One Lesson." This is the first in a series of twelve interviews with leading Austrian Economists discussing each chapter of Hazlitt's book.

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News & Politics

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• Hazlitt
• One
• Lesson
• Walter
• Block
• Mises
• Institute
• Interview
• Freedom
• Liberty
• Property
• Peace
• Auburn

[bcsizemore]

Why shouldn't we raise the minimum wage to $50.00 an hour? If you can answer that rationally, then you will understand why we should not have a minimum wage.

[zsylvana]

In what way do von Mises and on Hayeks theoris gives us tools to analyze,for exampel: commodities, equities (stocks), residential mortgages, commercial real estate, loans, bonds), an index (e.g., interest rates, exchange rates, stock market prices, consumer price index (CPI) — inflation derivatives and such that plain vanilla economists deals with all day long?

[ElJefer]

@tridentmovies The point is why is it moronic to have a $1000/hr minimum wage?

[tridentmovies]

@bcsizemore

I agree there should not be a minimum wage, but your argument doesn't go over with opponents, because they'll say 50 d/h is unnecessarily damaging, whereas a "reasonable" minimum wage is necessary for decent living conditions without taxing the employer too much. Even dumb leftists can see why 1000$ an hour is moronic, while a minimum wage of 1$ an hour is reducing someone a virtual slave. Disregarding obvious logical differences will not help convince them.

[tridentmovies]

@tridentmovies

For evidence of my claim that the U.S. is not even in the TOP 30 of murder rate, look for "List of countries by intentional homicide rate" on Wikipedia. The propaganda and lies idiots like SpaceWalkTraveller swallow from their masters can easily be disproven by the facts, and they should be put in their place for the mindless sheep they are.

[tridentmovies]

@SpaceWalkTraveller

Yeah sure. Except that America is NOT functioning in the way that the "slob" would like to see it function.

So for you to conflate what the "slob" says with the way America is now, is typical for a moron who doesn't know what logic is.

P.S. Drug taking is personal choice (alien concept to you) and "crime rate" means nothing because fascist governments can make ANYTHING a crime if they want to.

U.S. is not even in the TOP 30 of "highest murder rate", idiot.

[IrishLibertyLover]

@SpaceWalkTraveller Or you could take Singapore (home to the freest economy on the planet) which has the lowest murder, crime and drug abuse rates

[Imperativism]

@SpaceWalkTraveller SpaceWalker: I've never been high in my life, but I recognize a basic moral principle you're too evil to acknowledge: I don't have the right to violate people's basic right to their own bodies by obstructing what they can and can't put into it. There are millions of artists who use mind altering compounds to accelerate creativity, just as there are millions of athletes you use steroids to enhance their performance.

[Imperativism]

@coturnix19 Simply saying there is no contradiction doesn't make it so there is no contradiction. You're wrong. There is. Raising minimum wage doesn't stimulate the economy. It takes money employers spend on their businesses and gives it to employees who then spend it at other people's businesses - who's prices now cost more because it's now more expensive to produce their goods. Raising minimum wage damages the economy. And that's the contradiction.

[coturnix19]

@Imperativism It will stimulate economy, but it won't make people richer. And there is no contradiction - economy is not the same as wealth or quality of life.

[coturnix19]

@SpaceWalkTraveller

Highest murder rate - that's a blatant lies.

Highest drug taking - do you include alcohol?

Highest crime rate - only in liberal cities full of minorities