Connor O'Keeffe

Guns and Butter

News EN ↓ 86 episodes

Weekly commentary by Connor O’Keeffe, examining some of the biggest stories in the news through an Austro-libertarian lens.

Author

Connor O'Keeffe

Category

News

Podcast website

mises.org

Latest episode

Jul 9, 2026

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Episodes

Is This Country Having Its Socialist Moment? 09.07.2026

Democratic socialist candidates are becoming a serious political challenge in Democratic Party primaries. Have Americans suddenly become convinced by the arguments in favor of command economies, or is there something deeper going on? Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/country-having-its-socialist-moment 2026 is the Year of Rothbard—Murray's 100th birthday—and we're celebrating by...

Greenspan Was The Perfect Fed Chair. That Is Not a Compliment 24.06.2026

The Fed Chair’s job isn’t to stabilize the economy. It’s to use prestige, technical jargon, and mind-numbing dullness to cover for the central bank’s expropriation of the American people. And Alan Greenspan excelled at that. Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/greenspan-was-perfect-fed-chair-not-compliment 2026 is the Year of Rothbard—Murray's 100th birthday—and we're celebrating b...

The Musk Trillionaire Panic Is a Distraction 17.06.2026

Elon Musk becoming the world’s first trillionaire has triggered a familiar round of progressive outrage. But the imprecise focus on wealth distribution obscures the real issue: how much of modern wealth is acquired through politics rather than production. Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/musk-trillionaire-panic-distraction 2026 is the Year of Rothbard—Murray's 100th birthday—and...

Warsh’s Concerning Interest in Redefining “Inflation” 03.06.2026

Although it's true that many government-driven price hikes in recent years aren’t “inflation” in the strict sense, the pain they cause is just as real. Warsh’s push to narrow what the Fed counts as inflation—so it can justify even more inflation—is alarming. Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/warshs-concerning-interest-redefining-inflation 2026 is the Year of Rothbard—Murray's 100...

Trump’s Iran Predicament Is His Own Fault 03.06.2026

Trump is trapped in a genuinely difficult situation as he tries to reach a deal with Iran. But it is a crisis of his own making. Also, the establishment figures now condemning him should not be allowed to pretend they had nothing to do with it. Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/trumps-iran-predicament-his-own-fault 2026 is the Year of Rothbard—Murray's 100th birthday—and we're ce...

A Rothbardian Case Against Bad Data Center Policy 20.05.2026

AI has created enormous demand for new data centers, and many communities do not want them nearby. The Rothbardian answer is not blanket permission or blanket prohibition, but a property-rights framework and the return of market forces that government policy has largely displaced. Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/rothbardian-case-against-bad-data-center-policy 2026 is the Year o...

Progressives and Conservatives Are Wrong About Taxing the Rich 13.05.2026

Both progressives and conservatives show a complete unwillingness or inability to distinguish between those who got rich by genuinely creating value by serving others and those who are getting rich by expropriating wealth through force. Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/progressives-and-conservatives-are-wrong-about-taxing-rich 2026 is the Year of Rothbard—Murray's 100th birthday...

How Antitrust Populists Drove Spirit Airlines Out of Business 06.05.2026

Antitrust populists claimed blocking the Spirit–JetBlue merger would protect competition and consumers. But their effort led to an intervention that strengthened the very oligopoly they set out to fight. Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/how-antitrust-populists-drove-spirit-airlines-out-business 2026 is the Year of Rothbard—Murray's 100th birthday—and we're celebrating by giving...

The American People Should Not Be Forced to Fund Israel’s Atrocities 15.04.2026

This Tax Day, as the American public reflects on what our government is using our money for, there is growing opposition to the behavior of the Israeli government. Yet we’re all still forced to send it some of our hard-earned tax dollars. Enough. Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/american-people-should-not-be-forced-fund-israels-atrocities Be sure to follow the Guns and Butter po...

The Economic Destruction of Trump’s War Goes Far Beyond High Gas Prices 08.04.2026

This war is not just making energy more expensive, it’s knocking out the higher order goods the global structure of production depends on. This has already locked in dangerous shortages in critical industries like healthcare, food production, and much more. Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/economic-destruction-trumps-war-goes-far-beyond-high-gas-prices Be sure to follow the Guns...

Our Problem Isn’t Kings; It’s the Presidency 01.04.2026

To call Trump’s actions king-like is to greatly understate the problem. What we actually face is a massive, self-amplifying executive branch that makes deranged presidents far more dangerous than an actual king could ever be. Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/our-problem-isnt-kings-its-presidency Be sure to follow the Guns and Butter podcast at https://Mises.org/GB

The Immorality of Trump’s War with Iran Matters 25.03.2026

Anyone who cares about American greatness must also refuse to allow us to become the kind of society that shrugs off the crimes our government commits in our name and with our money. Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/immorality-trumps-war-iran-matters Be sure to follow the Guns and Butter podcast at https://Mises.org/GB

No, We Cannot “Afford” This War with Iran Either 18.03.2026

Leftists sarcastically asking where the money for this war will come from are right about the GOP’s hypocrisy, but wrong to imply that it actually means there's plenty to spend on all these government programs. We can’t afford any of this. Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/no-we-cannot-afford-war-iran-either Be sure to follow the Guns and Butter podcast at https://Mises.org/GB

Launching a War on Iran Was No Act of Courage 11.03.2026

As recent history shows, there are few things more courageous for a president to do than face down the ever-accelerating, wealth-draining, conflict-amplifying warfare state in DC. Trump has decided to go in the opposite direction. Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/launching-war-iran-was-no-act-courage Be sure to follow the Guns and Butter podcast at https://Mises.org/GB

Trump’s War with Iran Is Even More of a Disaster than People Realize 04.03.2026

The problem with this new campaign in Iran is not merely that it will likely have bad near-term consequences, but that it represents the American government doubling down on the imperial project that is causing our accelerating national crisis. Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/trumps-war-iran-even-more-disaster-people-realize Be sure to follow the Guns and Butter podcast at http...

Trump’s Iran Buildup Is Based on a Lie 25.02.2026

If the Iranian regime were truly trying to sacrifice their entire country to commit a nation-level nuclear murder-suicide against Israel and the US, they would be acting very differently. Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/trumps-iran-buildup-based-lie Be sure to follow the Guns and Butter podcast at https://Mises.org/GB

Voter ID is Common Sense, But it Won’t Fix Anything 18.02.2026

While the Voter ID debate consumes the airwaves with political debate, the real issue is not who is elected, but the unelected elites that hold power. Even if Voter ID passes, the new law will not change the real structure of power. Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/voter-id-common-sense-it-wont-fix-anything Be sure to follow the Guns and Butter podcast at https://Mises.org/GB

People Are Not Upset Enough About the End of New START 11.02.2026

The administration dismissed concerns about the last nuclear treaty between the US and Russia formally expiring last week. But even if this isn’t an exceptionally dangerous moment in itself, the end of New START reflects an incredibly disturbing trend. Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/people-are-not-upset-enough-about-end-new-start Be sure to follow the Guns and Butter podcast a...

Everyone Agrees Our Elites Are Terrible, So Why Are We Stuck with Them? 04.02.2026

The latest release of Epstein files again highlighted how disgusted and frustrated people have grown with the current elites. Yet they remain essentially untouchable. Why? Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/everyone-agrees-our-elites-are-terrible-so-why-are-we-stuck-them Be sure to follow the Guns and Butter podcast at https://Mises.org/GB

Trump’s Embrace of Economic Leftism Will Destroy the Legacy He’s Desperately Trying to Build 28.01.2026

Trump is clearly focused on building a legacy in his second term with his domestic vanity projects and dramatic foreign interventions. But his actual legacy is shaping up to be defined by his lack of progress on affordability. Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/trumps-embrace-economic-leftism-will-destroy-legacy-hes-desperately-trying-build Be sure to follow the Guns and Butter po...

Greenland: Trump’s Folly 21.01.2026

Even hawkish foreign policy scholars admit that changing the US security setup in Greenland is unnecessary. Its supply of raw materials is also nothing special. There isn’t even a ton of money to be made for crony companies. This is purely about Trump’s ego, and it will cost taxpayers a lot. Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/greenland-trumps-folly Be sure to follow the Guns and B...

The Central Banking Establishment Is Genuinely Worried About Trump, but Not for the Reasons They Say 15.01.2026

Central bankers are not afraid Trump will “politicize” the Fed and turn it into a crony arm of the government that warps the economy to benefit those close to power. They’re afraid his blind inflationism and lack of subtlety will make it impossible to hide the fact that it already is. Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/central-banking-establishment-genuinely-worried-about-trump-no...

There Are No Good Outcomes in Trump’s Latest Attempt at Regime Change in Venezuela 07.01.2026

The Trump administration wants Americans to believe that this latest intervention into Venezuela was a quick and definitive success. But, given enough time, there is essentially no way this can go well. Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/there-are-no-good-outcomes-trumps-latest-attempt-regime-change-venezuela Be sure to follow the Guns and Butter podcast at https://Mises.org/GB

What Happened to Climate Change? 17.12.2025

Only a couple years ago, climate change was a major political issue. Now it’s strangely absent from public discourse. Why did this happen? Because, at least for now, it stopped being the most useful way for elites to justify their power grabs. Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/what-happened-climate-change Be sure to follow the Guns and Butter podcast at https://Mises.org/GB

Obamacare Was Not a Failure 11.12.2025

As Congress scrambles to extend emergency subsidies to keep Obamacare afloat, it can be tempting to view the bill that made healthcare less affordable as a total failure. But that wasn’t the true purpose of the ACA. It was always meant to prop up the faltering crony healthcare system. Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/obamacare-was-not-failure Be sure to follow the Guns and Butte...

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