Category: Series

Is your financial life really private? In this eye-opening episode, Cato Institute's Norbert Michel and Nicholas Anthony take us deep into the world of financial surveillance, starting with the 1970 Bank Secrecy Act. What was originally sold as a tool to catch tax cheats has quietly evolved into a sprawling system of government oversight—with banks and financial institutions acting as unwitting watchdogs. From suspicious activity reports to the third-party doctrine, Norbert and Nicholas explain how the erosion of Fourth Amendment protections has happened largely out of public view. They break down the law’s legacy, how it expanded post-9/11, and why $10,000 isn’t the large sum it once was. But there's reason for optimism. With growing public awareness, privacy-focused tech, and new reform legislation finally on the table, change might be within reach. If you thought your bank account was your business, think again—this episode will make you see it in a whole new light.

Show Notes:

Norbert Michel and Jennifer J. Schulp, "Revising the Bank Secrecy Act to Protect Privacy and Deter Criminals" Policy Analysis No. 932, July 26, 2022

Nicholas Anthony, "The Right to Financial Privacy" Policy Analysis No. 945, May 2, 2023

Norbert Michel, "The Bank Secrecy Act Is a Bigger Threat than FISA" Forbes, April 17, 2024

Nicholas Anthony and Naomi Brockwell, "The Illusion of Financial Privacy" Reason.com, May 30, 2024

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Britain‘s Labour Party won an overwhelming victory at the last election, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer has already following the script of Labour when it was run by communists. Already, a large number of wealthy taxpayers have left the country for lower tax havens.

Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/labour-party-undermining-british-economy

Original article: https://mises.org/power-market/why-phrase-jewish-state-propaganda

As housing prices have skyrocketed in Ireland, the government did what governments do all too often: impose rent controls. Such interventions into the housing market have created downstream effects that continue to encourage even more intervention.

Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/emphasizing-mirage-downplaying-reality

Central planning thwarts Iran’s economy. Many Iranian government officials blame their nation’s economic demise on Western countries sanctions and not their policy choices.

Original article: https://mises.org/power-market/irans-central-planning-policies-harm-its-economy

After more than fifty years of U.S. government-sponsored housing finance, Why has home ownership not increased and why are houses unaffordable?

Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/after-50-years-us-government-sponsored-housing-finance-why-are-houses-so-unaffordable

Voters in last week‘s Democratic Primary in New York City had to choose between a socialist and a crony capitalist. They chose the socialist. Fifty years ago, Establishment politicians drove the city into de facto bankruptcy. A new generation of political elites are doing the same.

Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/half-century-after-new-york-citys-fiscal-collapse-citys-politicians-have-learned-nothing

Contrary to popular myth, every Republican president since and including Herbert Hoover has increased the federal government's size, scope, or power. Over the last one hundred years, of the five presidents who presided over the largest domestic spending increases, four were Republicans.

Original article: https://mises.org/mises-daily/republicans-and-big-government

The Republican insistence on increasing military spending is the main reason Congress cannot cut taxes without increasing the debt, making cuts in domestic welfare programs, or both.

Original article: https://mises.org/power-market/big-beautiful-bill-military-industrial-complex