"There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
Ideas about how an economy works. Organized ideologies about economies go by names like Keynesianism, neoclassical economics, socialism, etc., etc.
One month after the U.S. general election of 2020, the probable presidential winner appears to be Joe Biden. To be sure, Republicans are crying foul over possible massive electoral fraud in … Read More
In June, 2016 and September, 2018, I wrote posts that compared the economies of all countries on Earth for which data was available. My purpose was to examine which of … Read More
When George Floyd was killed, seemingly with deliberation, by a policeman in Minneapolis, MN, almost universal condemnation followed. This censure came from both sides of the American ideological divide. Yet, … Read More
I was reading an essay in Foreign Affairs magazine recently entitled The Broken Bargain. It was about the multifarious populist and nationalist revolts among Western electorates over the last few … Read More
The worldwide pandemic of COVID-19 has replaced the trade war with China as the dominant influence on the U.S. economy. Coronavirus lockdowns are destroying the economy. Not that the pandemic … Read More
The world has completely changed in less than half a year. Because of an irresponsible Chinese Communist Party, the Chinese coronavirus (COVID-19, also known as the Wuhan virus) has been … Read More
The distress and uncomprehending dismay in the faces of Democratic Party members shown above speak volumes. It was taken on the election night of November 8, 2016, and records their … Read More
Almost two years ago, I produced the plots above as evidence for Western economic stagnation. If anything, the situation for European stagnation is only getting worse. The purpose of this … Read More
One of the proudest achievements of Donald Trump and the Republicans was the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of December 2017. In fact, many neoliberals would argue governments should never … Read More
Some U.S. Treasury yield curves have become inverted. This means the yield of a long-term Treasury bond (say the 10-year Treasury) is less than the yield of a short-term bond. … Read More
Trade war with China has created great corporate uncertainties about the international supply chains of U.S. companies. These uncertainties have caused American companies to pull back from investments to produce … Read More
Recently, I read an article by Richard W. Rahn about public hoaxes. Although he wrote mostly about the Trump Russian collusion delusion, the most important part of his essay was … Read More
The much feared trade war with China is the least of the problems we have with that great nation. The People’s Republic of China appears to be hardwired to seek … Read More
American progressives have a real problem. Somehow, they must figure out how to finance the huge new social programs they would like to impose on us. Lately, a number of … Read More
Differing views about taxes generate much of the anger between the American Left and Right. Progressives, insisting government should be the major tool for solving social and economic problems, look … Read More
The vicious ideological warfare between the Left and the Right is caused by one salient question: Just how useful is government in solving social and economic problems? A subsidiary issue … Read More
2017 GDP per capita by Nation in constant 2010 U.S. Dollars. St. Louis Federal Reserve District Bank / GEOFRED In June of 2016, I wrote a post comparing economies of … Read More
The progressive view of American corporations dating from the late 19th century. The Robber Barons, seated on bags of millions of dollars, are supported upon the backs of the workers. … Read More
Evolution of the Atlanta Federal Reserve’s GDPNow estimate for real GDP growth in Q3 2018. The current estimate for Q3 growth is 4.4 percent. Atlanta Federal Reserve District Bank / … Read More
Real GDP growth rate from 2010 to the second quarter of 2018. Red line is the linear trend from Q4 2011 to Q1 2017. The green line is the linear … Read More
Peter Navarro and Larry Kudlow, Donald Trump’s top advisors on foreign trade. Left: Prof. Peter Navarro Wikimedia Commons / White House Right: Larry Kudlow Wikimedia Commons / … Read More
Time evolution of the Atlanta Federal Reserve’s GDPNow estimate for Q2 GDP growth, as of May 31, 2018. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta / GDPNow The plot above emphasizes again … Read More
Using a compass and a map to find one’s desired direction. Wikimedia Commons / Audrius Meskauskas Echo chambers for different ideological orientations abound throughout the modern world. One can see them … Read More
U.S. Trade Balance as a percent of GDP and Trade Policies from 1895 to 2015 Wikimedia Commons / James4 The plot above is highly suggestive of what has caused our … Read More
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump pose for a photo with Chinese President Xi Jingping and his wife, Mrs. Peng Liyuan, Thursday, April 6, 2017, at the entrance … Read More
Percent change in personal income excluding current transfer payments. The red line is the linear trend over the last two years of Obama’s administration, while the green line is the … Read More
A NATO naval fleet including warships from five nations. In four descending columns, from left to right: ITS Maestrale (F 570), De Grasse (D 612); USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74), … Read More
Bethlehem Steel (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania facility pictured) was one of the world’s largest manufacturers of steel before its closure in 2003. Wikimedia Commons / Jschnalzer By now, you have almost certainly … Read More
World Map of the GINI Index, published on Wikipedia.com in 2014. The darker a nation’s color, the larger its GINI index and therefore the more unequal its income distribution of … Read More
Ten-year moving time-averages of Northern EU countries’ GDP growth rates. All have currently fallen below 2% growth, with the exception of the Republic of Ireland, which in 2016 had 4.2% ten-year moving average … Read More
