For [early immigrants] America was truly the land of opportunity. For the first time in their lives, many were truly free to pursue their own objectives. That freedom released the human energies which created the United States. There were few government programs to turn to and nobody expected them. But also there were few rules and regulations. There were no licenses, no permits, no red tape to restrict them. They found, in fact, a free market, and most of them thrived on it.
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Voices From The 2017 International Students For Liberty Conference
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In Search Of History
Tablets, said to be 200 years older than the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi ... show that the ancient kingdom of Eshnunna had wage control and price control. The news ought not to have come as a surprise. For the code of Hammurabi itself (unearthed in 1902), which was promulgated earlier than 2000 B.C., fixed prices, wages, interest rates, and fees. This makes price control at least about 4,000 years old. ...
Ironically, it is those who now wish to return to this ancient totalitarian device who are fondest of calling themselves “progressives.” They are also fond of saying that those who believe in economic liberty “are living in the nineteenth century.” These controlists have yet to learn that they themselves are still living, as the discoveries in Babylonia attest, in the nineteenth century—B.C.!
Shadow Stats Snapshot
ShadowStats alternate economic indicators are based on the methodology of noted economist John Williams, specialist in government economic reporting.
- Unemployment:
BLS: 4.05%
Shadow Stats: 21.5%
- Inflation:
November Year-to-Year: 2.87% (CPI-U*)
Shadow Stats: 9.9%
*[cpi-u is the Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation rate for all urban consumers]