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…
October 5, 2023
Do 60 Percent Of American Workers Have Insecure Jobs?
American Compass has a new survey out in which it finds, among other results, that “only 40 percent of workers have secure jobs.” This is the latest attempt by the outfit to portray the American economy as in dire need of “rebuilding.” The report summarizing the findings is titled, “Labor Market Not Yet Working for…
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 25, 2023
America Remains a Shining Beacon for the World
The Pew Research Center’s new study on Americans’ view of politics offers a sober reminder of just how negative our politics has become heading into the 2024 election. Regrettably, 65 percent of Americans state they always or often feel exhausted when thinking about politics. Plus, many Americans say that the political process is dominated by wealthy, special…
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…
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”
One could easily fill all the waking hours in the day—and non-waking hours, too!—with pointed responses to all the bad economic opinions expressed on social media. That said, I like to dip in every now and then with a humbly offered counterpoint. This week’s 9/11 anniversary, for example, meant the recycling of this passage from…
September 5, 2023
Trump’s Tariffs Won’t Address the Trade Deficit
Last month, the Washington Post reported that former president Donald Trump plans to enact a 10 percent tariff on all imports if reelected. After facing sharp criticism, Trump defended his proposal in a letter to the Wall Street Journal. He argued that the trade deficit is a “loss” for the US economy and that his tariffs would be the “best way” to…
September 5, 2023
Trump’s Tariffs Won’t Address the Trade Deficit
Last month, the Washington Post reported that former president Donald Trump plans to enact a 10 percent tariff on all imports if reelected. After facing sharp criticism, Trump defended his proposal in a letter to the Wall Street Journal. He argued that the trade deficit is a “loss” for the US economy and that his tariffs would be the “best way” to…