In many ways, President Trump is a policy tumbleweed. He doesn’t seem able to remain focused for very long on a single issue. However, this vacillation does not seem to be the case with his economic nationalism. He does seem able to focus on protectionism; whether he is attempting to restrict immigration or global trade, […]
Archives
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Some Thoughts on Free Trade
12 Mar 2018
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Mr. Trump targets American Consumers and American Workers on behalf of special interests
01 Mar 2018
I love American Steel. And American Aluminum. I am a casual purchaser of metal, but frequently enough that I have an account at the local Dayton office of ALRO Steel. I am a novice welder and car builder, which means I need raw materials to work with. American metals are far higher quality to […]
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A Brief History of Trade
26 Feb 2018
This weekend I was able to listen to a Cato Institute podcast featuring Douglas A. Irwin’s new book Clashing over Commerce. The book highlights the politics undergirding the history of international trade protectionism in the United States. I found Irwin’s discussion with interviewer Caleb Brown to be helpful and to shed a little light on […]
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All economics, all the time
06 Feb 2018
At least in this post…this is a lightening round of some of the issues in the news: Yes the markets are getting whipsawed, even with today’s big move back up. Not surprising; valuations using conventional metrics (such as the market price to earnings multiple) have been extremely high compared to history. One can make the […]
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Trump Trolls for Trouble, but Trade Tricked him!
29 Jan 2018
Ok, I promise I’ll stop quite the # of posts with “TR”, but this is a good counter to the bad news on trade we discussed last week. On Friday of last week, the U.S. International Trade Commission dealt a blow to Cronyism, Mr. Trump and that largest of corporate cronies, the Boeing Corporation. In […]
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Our Political Parties Vacillating Position on Free Trade / Populist Anti-Free Trade Is Nothing New
29 Jan 2018
Mary Ann and I are cleaning out our attic. Boxes and boxes of old children’s toys, various and sundry other stuff arranged in no particular order are being sorted and donated to Goodwill or moved to the ever expanding trash pile. This Saturday morning, we were reminiscing over a set of dishes neatly packed away […]
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Aahh the perils of a populist president. But at least I can try to think of more words that start off with TR.* So yesterday Mr. Trump declared war on most of America and a few foreigners to support a few jobs in the solar cell and washing machine industries. Let’s just review the standard […]
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But don’t smile, you are too. Let’s get to the good losing first. This time of year, there will be many hopeful losers, as membership at Jenny Craig and health clubs will be on the rise. But that’s not the only way one can be a loser and be happy about it. I’m a real loser […]
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The “Better Deal” is Another Raw Deal
28 Jul 2017
The Democratic Party, recognizing that it has lost touch with many of its former constituents, rolled out its “Better Deal” this week in Virginia. We have now had Teddy Roosevelt’s “Square Deal,” Franklin Roosevelt’s more famous (or infamous) “New Deal,” Harry Truman’s “Fair Deal,” and now the latest “deal” for the American people. All of […]
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I have discovered a very good way to learn about a topic is to read about something related – the topic serves as a foundation or is always in the background. For example, a good way to learn about the rise of the Nazis in the inter-war period in Germany is to read about something […]
Bert Wheeler
Jeff Haymond
Marc Clauson
Mark Caleb Smith
Tom Mach