Minor Issues
Succinct economic commentary by Dr. Mark Thornton, senior fellow at the Mises Institute.
Filtered episodes(5)
- StandardSummaries onlyThe Fed’s New Face, Same Old Game
Published Jun 20, 2026
Mark Thornton examines Kevin Warsh’s first Fed meeting and argues that despite the tough rhetoric, nothing fundamental has changed. The Federal Reserve still exists to keep government borrowing cheap, protect banks and Wall Street, and manage appearances while real inflation erodes household purchasing power.Mark explains why real interest rates are already low or negative, how Fed liquidity continues to fuel asset bubbles, and why AI, data centers, government debt, and stock-market leverage all
- StandardSummaries onlyWar, Easy Money, and the Working-Class Squeeze
Published May 23, 2026
Mark Thornton replays his wide-ranging Kitco News interview with Jeremy Szafron, connecting today’s “two economies” to Ludwig von Mises’s Austrian business cycle theory. Easy money and credit inflation lift asset owners, big corporations, and government finance, while working families get the bill through higher prices and weaker real wages. They discuss late-cycle signals in tech and AI and broader corporate credit, and how war-driven energy shocks feed into a wider commodity surge. Mark also b
- StandardSummaries onlyUnderinvested Commodities, Overhyped AI: Reading 2026 the Austrian Way
Published Dec 29, 2025
Mark Thornton appears on Metals and Miners with Gary Bohm. They explore the Federal Reserve's policies, geopolitical impacts, commodity underinvestment, AI's economic role, precious metals like gold and silver, stock market valuations, and the path to prosperity through free markets. Mark shares Austrian economics perspectives on the 2026 outlook, deflation benefits, and why government intervention fails.Be sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues
- StandardSummaries onlyLooking Back and Forth
Published Dec 20, 2025
The Minor Issues year-end episode: what 2025 really taught us and what 2026 may bring. Mark Thornton revisits tariffs, inflation, metals, and interest rates; recaps his Bitcoin vs. Gold contest; and explains why a steepening yield curve could arrive even as the Fed cuts short rates. Mark also maps the risks of an un-inversion and why today’s calm in CRE, private credit, and AI capex may mask fragility. Looking ahead, Mark previews the 2026 prediction contest: Stocks vs. Manure.Be sure to follow
- StandardSummaries onlyBlack Swans, Sequestered Capital, and the Next Bust
Published Sep 13, 2025
On the latest episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton argues that “black swans” aren’t root causes but announcement effects of imbalances created by the Fed’s cheap-credit booms. He highlights Ball State economist James McLure’s idea of sequestered capital—R&D, financial innovations, and opaque private assets shielded from public information—which proliferate under artificially low rates. From the Dutch Tulip Bubble and 1929 investment trusts to today’s candidates—hedge-fund private deals, AI dat