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December 14, 2023

The Myth of the 1%

The skewing of income toward the top 1% of earners has become a central issue in American politics, with both Republicans and Democrats proposing higher taxes on the rich. But new research finds that it may not be true, suggesting that policymakers would do better to focus more on helping the working class. WASHINGTON, DC—For…

October 27, 2023

What Happened to the American Dream?

In the agonized debates over how it can possibly be that Donald Trump has such a strong chance of being returned to the White House in 2024, it’s important to stress the ways in which the Trump economy, before the arrival of Covid, departed in positive ways from the trends of the last half-century. Trump’s presidency was…

September 29, 2023

How Well Is Rural America Doing? You’d Be Surprised

Elizabeth Currid-Halkett’s ‘The Overlooked Americans’ rejects grim depictions of rural life. “Why are we so divided?” That’s probably the most asked question in American politics, especially since that Divider-in-Chief descended the golden escalator and announced that he alone could bring an end to America’s decline. Donald Trump’s election, however, is not the origin of America’s almost decadelong cosmopolitan-country sneer fest. It’s been…

September 18, 2023

A GOP Plan to Raise the Minimum Wage Is Also a Bid for Immigration Reform

Republicans have talked a lot in recent years about becoming a “workers party,” without having much of an agenda to match the rhetoric. A new Senate proposal aims to start changing that. The bill would raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $11 per hour while also requiring employers to check that their employees are legally…

September 15, 2023

Why Industrial Policy Fails

With Democrats and Republicans alike supporting a shift from free markets toward government planning, the United States has clearly entered a new era of economic policymaking. Yet all the reasons why such strategies generally fail to make good on politicians’ promises are as valid as ever. WASHINGTON, DC – Industrial policy is all the rage…

September 15, 2023

What Does a Good Economy Look Like?

In the past couple of weeks, I’ve written one column arguing that the economic situation for working class America is now better, relative to a decade ago, than some pessimistic populists make it sound, and another arguing that the eating-away at American wages because of inflation explains some important measure of President Biden’s political difficulties. I think both of…

August 21, 2023

Four Shocking Truths about the American Economy! (Well, Shocking to Some.)

I recently wrote a brief essay, “Generative AI and Economic Growth,” for Exponential View, the great newsletter by Azeem Azhar. And I knew one particular passage would be sure to raise eyebrows: A lengthy and fundamentally solid expansion would allow the economic progress of the pre-pandemic period — falling inequality, rising real wages across the income…

August 4, 2023

The Racial Wealth Gap: Myths and Realities

The racial wealth gap has become a central component of claims of systemic racism and one of the core justifications for reparations. The main focus has been on housing market dynamics. Supreme Court Justice Jackson made reference to the racial bias of 1940s federal housing policies in her dissent on the college affirmative action case….

July 21, 2023

Why Freedom Conservatism Matters

On July 13, a group of journalists, policy wonks, and political activists opened a new front in the war for American conservatism. One-hundred-twenty-two signatories, led by Avik Roy of the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity and John Hood of the John William Pope Foundation, affirmed 10 principles that define “Freedom Conservatism.” It’s a meaningful…

July 19, 2023

Americans Aren’t Buying Bidenomics—Because They’ve Heard the Lies Before

President Joe Biden is desperately trying to sell Americans on Bidenomics, but they’re not buying it. Recent polls show only 39% of US adults approve of Biden’s economic leadership, and a majority of the country has disapproved of his overall job performance for almost two years. At this stage of a presidential administration, only Jimmy Carter had…