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November 4, 2024
Again, Tariffs Didn’t Make American Manufacturing Great
…that America “in the 1890s was probably the wealthiest it ever was” because of its tariff system. First, per capita GDP is, conservatively, seven times higher today than in 1900. That Trumpian…
February 12, 2024
Millennials Are Doing Better than You Probably Think
…calculating the percent change in median income from each generation to the next. The goal: to gauge economic mobility by determining whether each generation as a whole has surpassed the…
November 30, 2023
A Valuable New Perspective on America’s War on Poverty
…This relative measure adjusts yearly thresholds in line with median income changes. “The dramatic reduction in poverty by 2019 based on President Johnson’s absolute 1960s standards suggests that policymakers might…
September 12, 2023
Please, Gen Z Aren’t “Doomed to be the First Generation of Americans Who Will Grow Up with a Lower Standard of Living Than Their Parents”
…the 19th-century British historian and politician, Thomas Babington Macaulay: “On what principle is it that with nothing but improvement behind us, we are to expect nothing but deterioration before us?”…
August 1, 2023
How the Middle Class Is Faring: My Long-Read Q&A with Jeremy Horpedahl
…a family of four, or a family plan, which is something a little over $20,000. But that’s not how the median family buys their health insurance. The median family is…
July 7, 2023
The 21st Century Decline of Economic Freedom
…the new analysis, “Economic freedom, 1850–2020: New evidence” by economic historian Leandro Prados de la Escosura. There are two important things to note about that chart. First is the definition…
June 15, 2023
Instead of ‘Late Capitalism,’ Maybe the US Economy Is Still in ‘Early Capitalism’
…LC, at least as it applies to the American economy. This is a big one: According to calculations by AEI economist Michael Strain, real median wages grew by 34 percent from 1990…