Articles | Page 196

AIER Leading Indicators Index Posts Sudden Drop, Risks Rise

“AIER’s Leading Indicators Index dropped to 46 in February. Disruptions to labor supply, shortages of materials, and logistics bottlenecks continue to pressure prices. Falling new Covid cases had the potential to support businesses’ efforts to expand production, but turmoil surrounding the Russian invasion of Ukraine has launched a new wave of disruptions. The outlook has become highly uncertain and extreme caution is warranted.” ~ Robert Hughes

The Economic Way of Seeing

“Recognizing the ability to see what isn’t there as something that makes many of economics’ graphical tools so useful can ground the understanding of those who teach economics, as well as those who take it.” ~ Gary M. Galles

Tolkien’s Nuanced View of Government

“Tolkien admitted late in life–after serving in the infantry in WWI, anxiously seeing his son fly for the Royal Air Forces in WWII, witnessing the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and watching the rise of communism–that he had almost become an anarchist.” ~ Henry T. Edmondson III

Punish the Russian Government, Not the Russian People

“Instead of thinking of new ways to punish Russians, Americans and others of goodwill should look for ways to help Ukrainians. Aiding refugees and allowing them into America would be good places to start.” ~ Doug Bandow

Government Greed

“Perhaps the biggest fail of them all is that many Americans whose real incomes are declining but whose nominal incomes have increased will be forced on 15 April to pay higher real taxes. Come to think of it, government isn’t greedy. It’s rapacious.” ~ Robert E. Wright

Are Gold Rubles Gold or Rubles?

“The loss of citizens’ purchasing power over decades was scarcely enough to drive states to introduce monetary reforms. It is not surprising that a newly-cast pariah state is embracing gold in a desperate bid to recapture some semblance of normalcy.” ~ Peter C. Earle