The Week in Review: September 3, 2016

September 2nd is Hans-Hermann Hoppe’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Hans!

Brexit continues to look better and better. Not only has the British economy not collapsed, as was predicted by mainstream economic oracles, but the EU’s own actions continue to destroy the myth that it was primarily a free trade zone and not simply about political power. As Louis Rouanet wrote following the EU’s action against Apple this week:

It has now become clear that in many ways the European Union is a cartel of high-tax governments whose goal is to restrain tax competition. The EU’s supposedly free — this is, regulated — trade policy is none other than an excuse to homogenize the tax and regulatory regimes of the nation-states.

Of course, as Jeff Deist noted, the episode also highlights the hypocrisy of progressives, such as Apple CEO Tim Cook:

It’s a bit rich to hear Apple CEO Tim Cook suddenly become concerned over the “sovereignty of EU member states.” Cook, after all, is an outspoken progressive who presumably favors the kind of activist international tax and regulatory bodies exemplified by EU bureaucrats.

On Mises Weekends, Jeff is joined again by our friend Godfrey Bloom. The two discuss the aftermath of Brexit, the cultural divide between rural and urban voters in both the US and UK, and whether other EU-members will end up leaving the European Union as well.

And in case you missed any of them, here are the articles featured this week on the Mises Wire: