A new controversy–well, not really new, just renewed–has now taken the stage regarding President-Elect Donald Trump’s transition. This one concerns the “flavor” of his cabinet choices, taken collectively. The media and Democrats are trying to figure out (1) what they tell us about Trump and (2) what the supporter–stakeholders think about the choices. Those are […]
Archives
-
Trump’s Trumps
15 Dec 2016
-
Talking Trade – I, Woollen Coat
16 Nov 2016
During the campaign, president-elect Trump was occasionally Narcissistic, evidenced political Inexperience, was sometimes Thin-skinned, and often Short tempered (NITS). However, his acceptance speech sought “… to bind the wounds of division”. Since the election he has had a long meeting with President Obama and has been conferring with members of the Republican Party. Donald J. Trump has […]
-
Mr. Trump blames bad trade deals as helping the Chinese profit at the U.S.’s expense. Undoubtedly we could have better trade deals, if we made them one-page long rather than the monstrosities that Washington normally cooks up. Nevertheless, I remain convinced that on balance free trade agreements are beneficial, leading to higher standards of living […]
-
Do immigrants import their economic (and political) destiny? And is there any correlation between a past (in some nation) that is anti-market, undemocratic, untrusting and the present state of the nations to which they have migrated in sufficient numbers? That first sentence is the title of an article in Evonomics: The Next Evolution of Economics, […]
-
The Great Enrichment and Inequality
12 Aug 2016
I have been reading the third in a trilogy of books by Deidre McCloskey on economic history and economic thought, but each one having a powerful point of application for our economy and our well-being today. The trilogy is massive, running to about 2,000 pages in three volumes. This third volume is Bourgeois Equality (University […]
-
I have so far avoided taking any position on the two main candidates for president. For my colleague Mark Smith, don’t worry, I will. I intend to continue the path of avoidance in this blog. Today I would like to examine and evaluate each candidate’s economic program. I say nothing about their personal morality, or […]
-
Dem’s have annointed their choice for our elite ruler, Republicans have theirs. Which elite do you want?
27 Jul 2016
It’s a frustrating choice to be sure, but let’s take a few minutes to think about what Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton have in common. At root, they and their supporters think they have the right to direct our lives in very important ways. They differ, of course, in the specifics of how they want […]
-
Globalism versus Globalization
22 Jul 2016
President Obama has shown his true colors again. In a speech to a group of ambassadors gathered at the White House (July 15) he said this: “I think we have to step back [from the Nice attack] and reflect on what we are doing to eliminate this kind of chronic violence. It’s been a difficult several weeks […]
-
I hate to beat a dead horse, but the issue of trade keeps coming up in the news, whether from Donald Trump and the Trumpists or from Paul Ryan or from Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, all claiming to have the right position on trade and the place of the United States in the global […]
-
Goodbye EU
24 Jun 2016
Since the vote to leave the European Union is done, and Great Britain is out, I suppose I will give my opinion about it. This undoubtedly will not be shared by all. First, let me say—again—that I strongly favor free trade among nations. Having said that, the EU is very much more than an economic […]
Bert Wheeler
Jeff Haymond
Marc Clauson
Mark Caleb Smith
Tom Mach