Daily economy news from the American Institute for Economic Research: data, stories, research, and articles touching on economics, politics, culture, education, policy, opinion, technology, markets, healthcare, regulation, trends, and much more.
The Government Shouldn’t Decide Who May Practice Law
“Legal licensure wouldn’t be a matter of concern if it were not backed up with the power to exclude and punish anyone who dares to compete with the guild.” ~ George Leef
Gulliver’s Travels in Washington, D.C.
“Perhaps, like the King on the Island of Laputa, our elite need a reminder of the danger of wielding such power. Unlike Swift’s protagonist, we are not gullible.” ~ Caroline Breashears
How Airline Regulations Hurt Passengers
“The DOT might think they’re helping, but they’re really not. Airline passengers are far better off when they, not bureaucrats, decide how airlines are run.” ~ Patrick Carroll
Reflections Sparked by A New Jersey Turnpike Rest Area
“I’m confident that everyone at the New Jersey Turnpike rest area, if pressed to think seriously about this feature of the liberal market order as he or she surveyed fellow rest-area visitors, would heartily applaud.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux
How Thomas Aquinas Desacralized the State
“McCormick illustrates that Aquinas’s De Regno provides us with a politics that takes liberty and virtue seriously—but always together and never apart. And that should matter to anyone, religious or otherwise, who refuses both nihilism and collectivism.” ~ Samuel Gregg
AIER Leading Indicators Index Falls to 29, Signals Broadening Weakness
The AIER Leading Indicators Index is well below neutral, signaling broadening weakness in the economy and sharply elevated levels of risk for the outlook. Caution is warranted.
The Progressive Left and the Push to Reset the Federal Reserve’s Legal Mandates
“It is puzzling why former Federal Reserve officials have not vocally denounced these developments for what they are: a direct attack on capitalism, free market driven investment, and Federal Reserve independence.” ~ Paul H. Kupiec
Markets vs. Marxism and “Stakeholder Capitalism” | Samuel Gregg & Kate Wand (Video)
“Dr. Samuel Gregg and Kate Wand explore how government interventions such as protectionism and tariffs do not provide incentives to be creative and lead to higher prices, cronyism, and inefficiency.” ~ AIER
New ‘Hunger Winter’ Looms as Europe Prepares to Shiver
“The democracies are riven with culture wars and other indulgences as Europe’s crisis is in the making. For much of the rest of the world, a new Hunger Winter looms. Many will be cold this winter, others will be hungry. Untold numbers will die.” ~ Llewellyn King
Prices Rose Even Faster In June
“Inflation has been too high for too long. Bringing inflation back down should be the Federal Reserve’s top priority.” ~ William J. Luther
Hannah Arendt’s Chilling Thesis on Evil
“As Arendt explained, ‘Going along with the rest and wanting to say ‘we’ were quite enough to make the greatest of all crimes possible.'” ~ Lawrence W. Reed
Big Upside Surprise for the July Jobs Report
“Payrolls posted a strong gain in July, though other labor market indicators are still questionable. Sustained price pressures, an intensifying Fed tightening cycle, and ongoing fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine are significant risks for the economy.” ~ Robert Hughes
Compassion Compromised by Contradictions
“Advocates for minimum wages and rent controls justify both as compassionate. But they ignore both logic and the far from compassionate violations of employers’ and landlords’ property rights imposed.” ~ Gary M. Galles
It Doesn’t Get Much Worse Than ‘Build Back Better’
“Americans should be alarmed. The bill has the potential to handcuff innovation in one of the most critical and successful sectors of the American economy.” ~ Peter J. Pitts
The Lottery Life: Creating Lucky Housing Winners at the Expense of Everyone Else
“Inexpensive new housing can be built again if only the government will get out of the way. End the ‘Lottery Life’ in housing and watch market entrepreneurs do the rest.” ~ Raymond C. Niles
Facebook Fact-Checks Recession Analysis | Phillip Magness on Fox News (Video)
“Phillip Magness, Research and Education Director at AIER, discusses the censorship tactics enacted against him after he shared a post regarding the White House’s attempts to redefine ‘recession.'” ~ AIER
Weekly Initial Claims Increase for the Fourth Time in the Last Five Weeks
“Weekly initial claims rose again, continuing the recent upward trend. Sustained elevated rates of price increases, aggressive Fed tightening, and a softening labor market are major risks for the economic outlook.” ~ Robert Hughes
Price Stability and the Fed
“Politics is compromise. Half a loaf is better than no loaf at all. Price stability is the half-loaf of monetary policy rules. It seems foolish to go hungry simply because haute cuisine is unaffordable.” ~ Alexander William Salter
