Hayek’s Warning We Ignored: Government Planning Doesn’t Fix Economies/Video report courtesy of StosselTV.
Opinion
By John Stossel
Politicians say they can “fix” the economy. But economists Friedrich Hayek and Ludwig von Mises pointed out how government “fixes” lead to bigger problems. Hayek and Mises predicted the fall of the Soviet Union. They warned that centrally planned economies fail. But today, socialism is popular again. New York and Seattle have elected socialist mayors. Many politicians still believe that government can manage the economy—an idea popularized by economist John Maynard Keynes. Keynes was revered. Politicians love his arguments. But Hayek and Mises warned that government intervention leads to inflation, instability, and boom-bust cycles.
They were right. Ryan McMaken of the Mises Institute @misesmedia explains why we should read Hayek and Mises today.