I learned about flash mobs early on in my life. One of my aunts was particularly religious. She and I end up going to church one Sunday morning probably in late 1961 or early 1962. While the mass is taking place, a mob of anti-Catholic protesters gathers around the church and blocks all exits. The angry mob makes the parishioners walk through a long serpentine of insults, screams, and spit as they exit the church.

This is from George Borjas’s heartfelt post in which he remembers living in the hell hole of Fidel Castro’s Cuba.

Another excerpt:

In the days before credit cards and electronic transfers, all transactions were made in cash. Castro quickly found a simple way of confiscating “excess” cash. The currency was changed overnight. And everyone had to turn in their old paper currency for the new paper currency, with some limits being imposed on the amount of the transactions. There was a miles-long line on what I think was a Saturday morning, as the entire Cuban population was turned into beggars for the new currency.

Notice the connection between the government’s total control of the money supply and the degree of economic freedom.

By the way, George Borjas wrote the piece on immigration for my Concise Encyclopedia of Economics. It’s here.

I disagree with George’s recent statements against allowing a lot of immigrants into the United States. But I’m SO glad that George got in.

HT2 Greg Mankiw.