“What will you say about Trump and his tariffs if he gets high-tariff countries to zero?” Trump supporters have asked the previous question endless times since “Liberation Day” and surely before. The answer is simple: we’ll be worse off. We will be because the question is nonsensical. Americans will be the losers of Trump’s […]
Even If Trump Gets Them to ‘Zero,’ Americans Will Be Worse Off Read More »
Presidents get the dollar they want, and George W. Bush wanted a weaker one. Bush’s departure from the Reagan/Clinton era of a largely strong, stable dollar as a measure of constant objective value was one of his worst policy decisions, and it’s one that no president subsequent to Bush has chosen to reverse. When
George W. Bush Lit Dollar Fire On Which Trump Throws Match Read More »
“Acouple employees left for the rest of the day. They were pretty rattled.” Those were the words of multi-restaurant owner and Georgetown Events Hospitality Group president Bo Blair, in a Washington Post report by Tim Carman, Warren Rojas, and Maria Luisa Paul. Blair was referencing the arrival of ICE agents at various restaurants in town, including at
The ICE Raids Are Anti-Business, Anti-Conservative, and Anti-American Read More »
From the minute the money is spent, government spending slows economic growth. That’s because central planning of resources is central planning of resources. That government spending is an economy-sapping tax requires mention as economists and economic pundits speculate on who will blink first in response to a mindless tariff war, Donald Trump or Xi
Xi Jinping May Be An Authoritarian, But He’s Not a Magician Read More »
“You better let me take this. They’d never believe it coming from you.” That’s legendary New York Times editor R.W. Apple at the end of a particularly expensive dinner with Times colleague Joseph Lelyveld. Though Lelyveld had extended the dinner invitation to Apple, and had chosen the venue, Apple’s spending resume included “the world’s
Book Review: Graydon Carter’s ‘When the Going Was Good’ Read More »
He may still turn things around, but it’s a shame about President Trump and the economy. All he had to do was nothing, and what they refer to as “the economy” would be soaring now. Of course, Trump wouldn’t be president if he had it within him to do nothing. Which is why every president
It’s In the Pessimism and Policy Errors That Recovery Can Be Found Read More »
“Macroeconomics” purpports to break “economies” down to cities, states, and countries. Remember this as economists react with horror to President Trump’s surface, or actual economic ignorance. They rightly disdain his worship of tariffs, but do so without ever bothering to contemplate their own magic, one that presumes to measure the “economies” of cities, states,
“Macroeconomists” Don’t Despise Trump, They Despise “Macroeconomics” Read More »
High prices beget low prices. It’s the high prices that summon more supply, more innovative production processes that ultimately result in lower prices, and often both. That high prices foretell lower prices rates more discussion as Republicans and conservatives rush to anoint former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh as the next Fed Chairman. They seemingly
Kevin Warsh Seen as Another Trump Adult: That’s Dangerous Read More »
Noah Smith led off his recent “apology” to libertarians with a truncated list of things he’s long disagreed with libertarians about. For instance, he claims (without evidence) that a society defined by a lack of public goods would be poorer (would be” is operative since no such society exists). Addressing the poorer angle first,
To Libertarians, Noah Smith Was More Patronizing Than Apologetic Read More »
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a worthless number. The previous truth isn’t a defense of Donald Trump after the 0.3% Q1 GDP decline. Instead, it’s a defense of reason that requires the reasonable to routinely point out the ridiculousness of the most cited number in the fraud that is “macroeconomics.” To see why GDP
GDP: A Worthless Number Meets Mindless Economic Policy Read More »
