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.
Subsidizing Teslas and Tuition Doesn’t Necessarily Benefit Consumers
“The best ‘free thing’ government could give us is not a bevy of subsidies and handouts, but the freedom to allow entrepreneurs, big and small, to figure out what is best for all of us.” ~ Anthony Gill
What is Market Urbanism?
“Scott Beyer’s Market Urbanism offers welcome analysis and policy solutions, clearly explaining how free market alternatives can make our cities better for all their citizens.” ~ Robert F. Mulligan
Review: It’s Not Free Speech
“Unlike Lisbon in 1755, our universities are not yet ruined, but they certainly might be if we allow them to be subordinated to politics in the way that these authors recommend.” ~ Steven McGuire
You Can’t Even Get Past Its Title Before Discovering Good Reasons To Fear AB 257
“It would harm many lower income and minority consumers and workers, as well as franchisees, in the name of helping those groups. It would also reduce workers’ freedom.” ~ Gary M. Galles
The FDA Has a Science Problem
“Holman’s departure from an agency that claims to want to reduce smoking to a tobacco company is more indicative of an underlying theme: tobacco and vaping companies are more committed to helping adults quit smoking than the FDA.” ~ Lindsey Stroud
We Can’t Breathe!
“The lucky thing is that no planning is needed for recovery, just removal of the policies restricting the free flow of funds to those willing to take calculated risks.” ~ Robert E. Wright
Andrew Jackson: Man of the People
“Jackson’s task, as his supporters saw it, was to be ‘a curative to the corrupt politics cankering Washington.’ He was sent there to drain the swamp.” ~ John Bicknell
Consumer Sentiment Improved in Early August but Remains Very Low
“Consumer sentiment ticked up in early August but hovers near record lows. Inflation expectations eased but remain a driver of weak consumer attitudes. The outlook is highly uncertain.” ~ Robert Hughes
Bug Off and Let People Enjoy Their Food
“The problem isn’t us having a ‘yuck factor’ to dignified mealworms and astounding fly larvae. The problem is them declaring such things ‘the future of food’ and telling us that our disgust is a threat to the world.” ~ Jon Sanders
Should the Federal Reserve Set its Own Goals?
“A target that is not determined solely by the Federal Reserve is less subject to changes solely due to deliberations at the Federal Reserve. It will enhance monetary policy’s effectiveness.” ~ Gerald P. Dwyer
The DIE Revolution Will Transform Tenure
“If universities start removing outspoken faculty members who are adherent to the traditional academic ethic, there will simply be no recourse within the new system.” ~ Alexander Riley
Weekly Initial Claims Increase for the Fifth Time in the Last Six Weeks
“Weekly initial claims rose again, continuing the recent upward trend. Sustained elevated rates of price increases, low consumer confidence, and aggressive Fed tightening are major risks for the economic outlook.” ~ Robert Hughes
Accounting for Inflation
“The great irony is that inflation would have been transitory if only the Fed had stabilized nominal spending. Prices would have risen above trend to reflect below-trend production and then returned to trend as production recovered.” ~ William J. Luther & Morgan Timmann
Save Your Flip Flops for the Beach
“Voters should vote their convictions and consciences as the Framers intended, and policymakers and pundits should stop flip-flopping like fish or flimsy footwear. Either way, it’s a bad look that hurts democratic discourse.” ~ Robert E. Wright
Energy Hypocrisy as Rich Countries Denying the Poor the Power to Develop
“This promised nirvana is a sham consisting of wishful thinking and green marketing. The world’s rich would never accept off-grid, renewable energy themselves — nor should the world’s poor.” ~ Bjorn Lomborg
AIER’s Everyday Price Index Falls 0.6 Percent in July
“AIER’s Everyday Price Index fell 0.6 in July, the first drop since November 2020. An intensifying Fed tightening cycle, consumer pessimism, and fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine remain threats to the economic outlook.” ~ Robert Hughes
Making Sense of the Recession
“Unemployment, for good reason, lags the onset of recessions. And assuming that a widespread burst in employment categorically signifies optimism or portends a quick resumption of economic growth is simply unwarranted.” ~ Peter C. Earle
Reich Strikes Out
“According to Reich, higher prices are due to the pandemic, which suppressed demand and created global supply chain problems, together with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China’s overzealous lockdown policies, and of course, capitalist greed.” ~ Robert F. Mulligan
