Chapter 1
1. “SWOT Analysis: How to Develop a Strategy for Success.” (n.d.).
2. Ovidijus (February 13, 2013).
3. DeFranco (2015).
4. Rothbard (1970).
5. Ewert (March 01, 1989).
6. Rothbard (1982).
7. Sherman (May 15, 2019).
8. Bier (September 04, 2015).
9. Goldfine (September 28, 2020).
10. Koenen (September 19, 2013).
11. Crews (May 26, 2020).
12. Sorkin (May 15, 2019).
13. von Mises (1988).
14. Shiller (October 09, 2015); Krugman (December 22, 2018); Stiglitz (May 03, 2019).
15. Higgs (1987).
16. Evans (2004).
17. “Top 30 Innovations of the Last 30 Years.” (n.d.) Some of the innovations are part of our everyday experience include, the Internet, PC/laptop computers, mobile phone, email and a couple dozen more.
18. “Top 30 Innovations.” (n.d.).
19. “America’s Most Innovative Leaders.” (2019).
20. “Top 30 Innovations.” (n.d.).
21. “Our History.” (n.d.).
Chapter 2
1. Tucker (January 16, 2011).
2. Moen and Tallman (n.d.).
3. Google “everything bubble” and an enormous number of links to books, essays, and commentaries highlight the “bubbly” economy and financial markets since the Great Recession.
4. Steelman (October 28, 2020).
5. Jahan, Mahmud, and Papageorgiou (2014; pp. 53–54).
6. Rothbard (1983; p. 282).
7. Rothbard (1983; pp. 252–281).
8. Hazlitt (1959; p. 6).
9. Ebeling (November 01, 2004). See also Rothbard (n.d.). pointed out “The General Theory was not truly revolutionary at all but merely old and oft-refuted mercantilist and inflationist fallacies dressed up in shiny new garb, replete with newly constructed and largely incomprehensible jargon.”
10. Hazlitt ([1960] 1977).
11. Friedman (1992; p. 49).
12. Friedman (1992; pp. 47–49).
13. According to the Federal Reserve, “Before May 2020, M2 consists of M1 plus (1) savings deposits (including money market deposit accounts); (2) small-denomination time deposits (time deposits in amounts of less than $100,000) less individual retirement account (IRA) and Keogh balances at depository institutions; and (3) balances in retail money market funds (MMFs) less IRA and Keogh balances at MMFs.
“Beginning May 2020, M2 consists of M1 plus (1) small-denomination time deposits (time deposits in amounts of less than $100,000) less IRA and Keogh balances at depository institutions; and (2) balances in retail MMFs less IRA and Keogh balances at MMFs. Seasonally adjusted M2 is constructed by summing savings deposits (before May 2020), small-denomination time deposits, and retail MMFs, each seasonally adjusted separately, and adding this result to seasonally adjusted M1.
“For more information on the H.6 release changes and the regulatory amendment that led to the creation of the other liquid deposits component and its inclusion in the M1 monetary aggregate,” see the H.6 announcements and Technical Q&As posted on December 17, 2020. Source, https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/M2#0.
Also, “M1 includes funds that are readily accessible for spending. M1 consists of: (1) currency outside the U.S. Treasury, Federal Reserve Banks, and the vaults of depository institutions; (2) traveler’s checks of nonbank issuers; (3) demand deposits; and (4) other checkable deposits (OCDs), which consist primarily of negotiable order of withdrawal (NOW) accounts at depository institutions and credit union share draft accounts. Seasonally adjusted M1 is calculated by summing currency, traveler’s checks, demand deposits, and OCDs, each seasonally adjusted separately.” Source: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/M1.
14. Jahan and Papageorgiou (2014).
15. Freidman (n.d.; p. 48).
16. Rothbard (1963; p. 31).
17. Rothbard (2020; 191ff).
18. Gwartney (2020).
19. Ibid.
20. Shostak (June 25, 2002).
21. Ettlinger and Linden (August 01, 2012).
22. Rothbard (June 09, 2004).
23. Rothbard (n.d.).
24. Mises ([1912] 1971; pp. 261–275).
25. For a comprehensive bibliography of scores of books and essays in the Austrian tradition, see https://mises.org/search-mises?search=business%20cycles.
26. Oppers (2002).
27. Oppers (2002; p. 8).
28. Mises (July 30, 2014).
29. McIntyre (March 28, 2009).
30. Earle (October 20, 2020).
31. A Google search of the topic resulted in nearly 700 million hits.
32. Rothbard (n.d.; p. 186ff).
33. Bregu (April 30, 2020).
Chapter 3
1. Shostak (November 10, 2020).
2. Lewis (2011).
3. Fleckenstein and Sheehan (2008); and Stockman (2013).
4. Pring (October 08, 2020). Pring points out, “MA [moving average] crossovers by this highly cyclic indicator are then used as buy signals for the stock market. The chart tells us that all six previous signals were followed by a long-term equity rally. In that respect, the thick arrows point up cycles that experienced a recession, whereas the thin ones reflect four slowdowns in the growth rate of the economy. Slowdowns occur where the economy’s growth rate decelerates, but not sufficiently to result in a recession. Note that the two recession-associated signals were followed by the longest and strongest advances.”
5. Buffett indicator (March 11, 2021).
6. Shostak (March 27, 2017).
1. DiLorenzo (2002).
2. Erickson (December 01, 2020).
3. Erickson (n.d.).
4. Ibid.
5. Rothbard (n.d.).
6. Rothbard (n.d.).
7. Ibid. 14ff.
8. Ibid. 22–24.
9. Ibid. 26.
10. Richards and Sablik (December 01, 2020) and (Rothbard 2002).
11. Richards and Sablik (n.d.).
12. Rothbard (n.d.;159 ff).
13. Rothbard, A History, 186.
14. Ibid. 188ff.
15. Moen and Tallman (December 01, 2020).
16. Moen and Tallman (n.d.). “The Panic of 1907.” An overview of the trust companies’ operations reveal they provided substantial liquidity to the stock market and thus encouraged speculation, a hallmark of previous banking panics.
17. Ibid.
18. Ibid.
19. Ibid.
20. Rothbard (n.d.; p. 240).
21. Richardson and Romero (December 04, 2015); and Rothbard (n.d.; 252 ff).
22. Rothbard (2017), especially Chapter 9, “The National Civic Federation: Big Business Organized for Progressivism.”
23. Rothbard (n.d.; p. 258).
24. (Jim Powell, Wilson’s War: How Woodrow Wilson’s Great Blunder Led to Hitler, Lenin, Stalin and World War II (New York: Crown Forum, 2005).
25. Grant (2015), Chapter 4, Kindle.
26. Grant, The Forgotten Depression, Chapter 4, Kindle.
27. Friedman and Schwartz (1963; pp. 189–239), for their description of the early years of the Federal Reserve, especially the contraction of 1920–1921, 231–239.
28. Rothbard (1983), and “The Forgotten Real Estate Boom of the 1920s,” accessed, December 07, 2020, www.library.hbs.edu/hc/crises/forgotten.html.
29. Shostak (June 12, 2020) and Shostak (April 06, 2020). Also Thornton (July 10, 2017) and (Thornton September 13, 2013).
30. Aliber and Kindleberger ([1978] 2015).
31. Aliber and Kindleberger (n.d.; p. 19).
32. Ibid. 19.
33. Ibid. 78.
34. Ibid. 143.
35. Shiller (2015).
36. Shostak (November 19, 2013).
37. Fleckenstein with Sheehan (2008; p. 32).
38. Stockman (December 02, 2020); Insana (December 01, 2020).
Chapter 5
1. I am indebted to Hunter Hastings for these insights. Hastings recounts the experience of entrepreneur B. Luddy in an e-mail to me, March 12, 2021. “When Luddy’s tradition metal gauge for his metal bending business (restaurant ventilation systems) increased in cost by 60%, he innovated and sourced a new metal form a new location with a thinner gauge and superior performance, when the ‘industry standard’ told him it couldn’t be done.”
2. Cain and Stone (November 23, 2020).
3. Salerno (2011).
4. Corrigan (December 11, 2002).
5. Skousen (December 19, 2020).
6. Read (March 03, 2015).
7. Heng, Yu, and He (July 2005).
8. Rothbard ([1962] 1993).
9. Heng, et al. (n.d.; p. 158).
10. Wanklyn and Hochman (December 15, 2020).
11. Guillot (December 15, 2020).
12. “The Importance of Effectively Managing Raw Materials Inventory,” (March 05, 2019).
13. “The Importance of Effectively Managing Raw Materials Inventory.” (n.d.).
14. Ibid.
15. Livingston (May 18, 2020).
16. Robert Wenzel writing in his daily economic and financial analysis, EPJ Daily Alert, has been making this point in the last half of 2020 in his subscription. Wenzel passed away on May 25, 2021 and his insights about the economy will be greatly missed.
17. LePan (August 02, 2019).
18. Ge, Pan, Zuo-Jun Shen, Wu, Yuan, and Zhang (2019).
19. Irwin (December 17, 2020; R13).
20. Davis (December 17, 2020; R5).
21. Lee (October 15, 2020; B13).
1. What should be the appropriate public policies that contribute to a robust economy has been debated for decades. Suffice it to say, less government interference in the marketplace beyond protecting property rights and prosecuting fraud would yield the optimal output of goods and services for both consumers and producers. In other words, the costs of complying with dubious government rules and regulations as well as heavy taxation take away scarce resources from the mission of every business.
2. For readers who want to drill further down into the employment data, see the following tables and accompanying charts. This comprehensive database will provide employers with the long-term trends in all sectors of the economy. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/release/tables?rid=50&eid=4881#snid=5361
3. These actions can also apply to a pandemic lockdown, which began in early 2000 as governors and mayors mandated business shutdowns. The pandemic “recession” was the result of deliberate public policies, which contracted economic activity, and not the consequence of the Federal Reserve “tightening” money and credit conditions to ward off an overheated economy.
4. “What is the Difference Between a Furlough, a Layoff, and a Reduction in Force?” December 23, 2020.
5. Zeidner (May 02, 2020).
6. Gelles (November 06, 2020).
7. “Out of Work in America.” (October 23, 2020).
8. Uviebinene (December 26, 2019).
9. Williams (December 23, 2020).
10. Uviebinene (n.d.).
11. Ibid.
12. Williams (n.d.).
13. Seth (January 07, 2020).
14. “High Five: The Best Examples of Intrapreneurship in Action.” (August 13, 2015). Also see, Smedley (March 12, 2014).
15. “Five Insights Into Intrapreneurship.” (January 04, 2021).
16. “Five Insights Into Intrapreneurship.” (n.d.).
17. Crippen (September 13, 2013).
18. Patrick (December 23, 2020).
19. Burley (December 23, 2020).
20. Cheng, Dohrmann, Kerlin, and Ramaswamy (July 03, 2018).
21. Feintzeig (October 12, 2020, p. A11).
22. Walden (June 05, 2019).
1. McMaken (April 08, 2014).
2. “Economics of Value vs. Economies of Scale.” (February 01, 2021).
3. Bylund and Hastings (December 03, 2019).
4. Quain (November 08, 2018).
5. Quain (n.d.).
6. Adams (December 19, 2017).
7. Dakin (November 06, 2018).
8. “The Advantages and Disadvantages of the International Expansion.” (November 05, 2019).
9. Jackson (February 01, 2021).
10. French (July 17, 2018).
11. Rennert and Schnabl (April 22, 2019).
12. Patel (February 25, 2021).
13. “Our Values.” (February 10, 2021).
14. Guynn (April 10, 2012).
15. Stevens and Gasparro (June 16, 2017).
16. Kubota (March 27, 2018).
17. Stoll (November 27, 2020).
18. Stoll (n.d.).
19. Buffett (October 16, 2008).
Chapter 8
1. Carter (January 03, 2021).
2. Hastings and Klein (March 20, 2019).
3. Hastings and Klein (n.d.).
4. Bylund (July 23, 2018).
5. Bylund (n.d.).
6. McMaken (March 13, 2019).
7. “Annual business survey release provides data on minority and women owned businesses.” (February 08, 2021).
8. Esposito (May 2019).
9. Sweeney (April 21, 2019).
10. Sweeney (n.d.).
11. Sullivan (July 23, 2003).
12. Ward (April 20, 2020); Duff (February 08, 2021).
13. Crockett (April 11, 2020).
14. The 2020 pandemic has had widespread impacts on small businesses around the country. Several were profiled at the end of 2020. Cowley and Haimrel (December 25, 2020, p. B6–7).
15. I am indebted to Hunter Hastings for pointing this out. Email, March 02, 2021.
16. Obviously selling the business during a business cycle boom would maximize the value to the owner.
17. Lorber (September 11, 2008).
18. Thornton (2018). Also, see https://mises.org/library/housing-bubble-4-easy-steps
19. Thornton, Skyscraper Curse, 177ff.
20. D’Angelo (August 10, 2020).
21. King (September 06, 2020, 6L).
22. Simon (August 20, 2020).
23. Simon (n.d.).
24. Charles (April 29, 2018).
25. “13 Types of Insurance of Small Business Owners Should Have.” (February 09, 2021).
26. Pacheco (July 31, 2020); and Rockeman, Pickert and Saraiva (October 11, 2020).
Chapter 9
1. Rothbard (1983), 193ff.
2. Rothbard (1983).
3. Kleintop (2021).
4. Cooke, Rose, Otrok, and Owyang (April 16, 2015).
5. Aliber and Kindleberger (2017, p. 200ff).
6. Aliber and Kindleberger (2015).
7. Ibid. 341.
8. Ibid. 357.
9. Ibid. 341.
10. United States Census Bureau (December 2020).
11. United Nations (2021).
12. Bertolo (2016).
13. Bertolo (2016).
14. Ibid.
15. Hannon and Jeong (2021).
16. Hannon and Jeong (2021).
17. Hess (2021).
18. Hess (2021).
19. Bobrow (November 11, 2020).
20. Bobrow (2020).
21. Ibid.
22. Warren Buffett’s Letter to Shareholders (February 02, 2021).
23. CNBC (February 02, 2021).
24. Zweig (August 29–30, 2020; p. B4).
25. Export-Import Bank of the United States (February 02, 2021).
26. Office of the United States Trade Representative (February 02, 2021).
Chapter 10
1. Stockman (2013).
2. Smith and Earle (November 20, 2019).
3. Smith and Earle (n.d.).
4. PitchBook (2021).
5. Bylund (July 18, 2018).
6. CNBC (March 11, 2021).
7. CNBC (July 22, 2020).
8. Peterman (June 22, 2020).
9. Bresciani-Turroni (1968) is a classic case study of the German Weimar hyperinflation of the early 1920s.
10. Woods, Jr., (October 11, 2006).
11. Nielsen (Fall 2005).
12. von Mises (1966) and Rothbard (1983) and other works that can be found here.
13. Most economists point out that deflation is “bad” for the economy because it gets out of control as consumers delay spending waiting for lower prices and thus production slows down as demand is reduced.
14. Williams (August 14, 2020).
15. Macovei (October 17, 2019) and Schnabl and Murai (February 25, 2021).
16. Beilfuss (August 17, 2020; p. 30).
17. Farrell (August 25, 2019).