On this marathon episode of Minor Issues, Mark stitches together four recent interviews for a fast-moving tour of today’s economy: why gold spiked while precious metals whipsawed, how ballooning US debt and rising servicing costs tilt policy toward monetization, and what that means for inflation, markets, and families. Along the way Mark explains the Austrian lens behind his calls and why using it beats siloed, headline-driven takes.

Highlights include: the recent precious metals pullback and what to watch next; the mechanics of debt monetization; distributional effects that favor asset holders over wage earners; and why hyperinflation risk is slow… until it’s fast.

"Dollar Demise and the New Era for Gold & Silver" (The Freedom Report), November 7, 2025: https://Mises.org/MI_146_A

"GOLD: You Will NOT Get A Second Warning!" (Soar Financially), October 28, 2025: https://Mises.org/MI_146_B

"Gold Ringing Alarm Bells, Silver Setting Up to Skyrocket" (Investing News), October 28, 2025: https://Mises.org/MI_146_C

"The Fed and Runaway Government Debt Undermine the Very Basis of Civilisation" (maneco64), November 1, 2025: https://Mises.org/MI_146_D

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Is silver “manipulated,” or are fundamentals doing the work? Mark Thornton sifts the evidence and finds a simpler story. Big players have gamed markets before, but the long arc of silver prices reflects structural forces: the 1960s demonetization that pushed vast coin hoards into private stockpiles, decades of shifting industrial demand, and the rise of by-product mining. Add environmental compliance and hard-to-recycle “green” uses that sequester silver, and the result is stubbornly low real prices.

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Speaking at the recent Mises Institute Supporters Summit, Mark Thornton argues that lasting reform comes from the bottom up, not from political edict. Drawing on Hayek’s “worst get to the top” insight, Mark contrasts elite-driven prohibition with the citizen-led wave of decriminalization and legalization across states and abroad. Mark also explains the role of “salutary neglect” by local officials, the Oregon backlash as a failure of property-rights enforcement—not of liberty—and the scholarly case against the drug war. The crux: markets and civil society integrate; top-down policy divides.

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