Mises Daily Email

Wednesday, November 19, 2025

For decades, central banks (including the Federal Reserve) have intervened in economies to force down interest rates over and over again. This has fueled relentless increases in prices for both consumer goods and assets. Yet, the consumer just keeps buying expensive cars, appliances, and opulent meals while dining out. How do they afford it? One reason is the proliferation of an economy based on “buy now pay later” (BNPL). Midsize family cars are now $60K? Just buy now pay later. People are even now taking out loans to buy sandwiches with new apps like Klarna. As you might guess, there’s a downside to this, and today at mises.org, Hunter Smathers looks at the new Fed-fueled reality of BNPL.

And what to do about high prices? Connor O’Keeffe today examines some of the ways we can solve the affordability crisis.

Ryan, Editor-in-Chief

The Hidden Costs of “Buy Now, Pay Later” Culture

Hunter Smathers

The modern debt culture—underwritten by the Federal Reserve’s expansionary policies—not only harms capital development, but it also encourages short time preferences, which diminishes the structure of production.

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Government Intervention, Not BlackRock, Is To Blame For The Housing Crisis

The rent is too high.

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Origins of the Welfare State in America

Murray Rothbard traces America’s welfare state to Progressive-era alliances using “compassion” to centralize power.

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The Real Affordability Agenda

Politicians of both parties ignore the real cause of price inflation: the Federal Reserve. Unless this is addressed, the affordability crisis will remain.

The Logic of Monetary Collapse: A Rejoinder to Hülsmann

The question is if a currency can stop being money when demand collapses, regardless of its quantity.

A Note on Exchange-Rate Notations

A student asked why the exchange rate notations that Hülsmann uses in his class are different from what he found in the financial press.

Economic and Social Consequences of Inflation

As Karl-Friedrich Israel explains, inflation isn’t just about rising prices.

WATCH NOW

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