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August 1, 2023
How the Middle Class Is Faring: My Long-Read Q&A with Jeremy Horpedahl
…leave a review. Pethokoukis: Before we dig into the data, I want to take a moment to talk about public perception about how America’s been doing over recent decades. There…
July 25, 2023
Why Is Economic Growth Good?
As the saying goes, there are no stupid questions. In that generous spirit, it’s certainly legitimate to ask why a continually growing economy is a good thing. Why does GDP…
July 21, 2023
Jeremy Horpedahl: Are American Families Thriving?
Does the typical American family today enjoy better living standards compared to 1985? We may have bigger TVs in our living rooms and smartphones in our pockets, but a recent…
July 7, 2023
The 21st Century Decline of Economic Freedom
From 1850 to 2020, industrialized economies went from roughly $3,000 per capita to $40,000 per capita, inflation adjusted. This was also a period of expanding economic freedom, as documented in…
June 28, 2023
Is ‘Bidenomics’ Even a Thing, Really?
The White House is saying that President Biden’s speech today in Chicago will be on the subject of “Bidenomics.” The choice to use that term is a meaningful one, according to the Financial…
June 15, 2023
Instead of ‘Late Capitalism,’ Maybe the US Economy Is Still in ‘Early Capitalism’
So how is the twilight of capitalism working out for you? What, you didn’t realize that you were living through “late capitalism”? Before I go on, let me first explain…
June 8, 2023
Oklahoma Has Approved the Nation’s First Religious Charter School. What’s That Mean?
…of this history, can you explain what Blaine Amendments are and why they’re significant? Nicole: In 1875, U.S. Rep. James Blaine of Maine sought to amend the U.S. Constitution to prohibit…
May 26, 2023
The Power of the Success Sequence
…(NLSY).1The success sequence seems like common sense. In an interview, Nobel Laureate James Heckman called the success sequence a fact, adding: “When children or young adults have a child out…
May 3, 2023
The Mainline Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Social Capitalism
Download the Dataset When Alexis de Tocqueville penned his seminal Democracy in America lauding the strength of American communities, institutions, and associations, he noted the unique status of religion. Religion,…
April 20, 2023
Religion’s Refusal to Die
…James Madison’s understanding of religion’s place, or lack thereof, in a political community. AEI’s Benjamin Storey and St. John’s College’s Michael Grenke considered the religious element of human nature through…