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.

AIER’s Editorial Policy.

How Can We Stop Serving Students So Poorly?

“Efforts to improve things with charter schools have shown some great results, and vouchers are attractive as a means to make educators more responsible to parents than to administrators. But we are still in the early stages of a very long struggle.” ~Gary M. Galles

ESG as an Artifact of Zero Interest Rate Policy

“The reasons attributed to billions of dollars leaving the ESG sector include concerns about greenwashing and political backlash. That the flight of funds coincides almost perfectly with the start of inflation and turned negative shortly after the Fed began its contractionary policy bias is either not noticed or considered.” ~Peter C. Earle

A Short Guide to ESG: History

“Browsing the websites of ESG-advocating organizations gives the sense that ESG is cutting edge, technologically sophisticated, a wise investment strategy, and the road to increasing profitability.” ~Paul Mueller

Universal Basic Income? Universal High Income?

“Where would the money come from, existing program cuts, higher existing taxes, new taxes, and/or new money creation? Would a UBI simply displace the current hodge-podge of income transfers or add yet another layer?” ~Robert E. Wright

How Did the Social Justice Movement Take Hold?

Join Kate Wand and Barry Brownstein as they discuss the ideological roots of the contemporary social justice movement, emerging from a zero-sum political philosophy of grievance.

Economic Growth Remains One Way Out of Historical Tensions

“When the future looks bright and living standards are rapidly improving, old grudges and tensions lose their relevance. We end up forgetting them because the things ahead look so much more enticing.” ~Vincent Geloso

The Fed Delivered Disinflation

“Most prices are higher today than they would have been had they grown at an average rate of 2 percent since January 2020. We oughtn’t pin a medal on an arsonist’s chest for putting out a fire he started.” ~Alexander W. Salter

AIER’s Everyday Price Index Declines Most Since December 2022

“The October inflation release provides a welcome respite from resurgent price increases over the past few months. But while the most recent CPI and EPI readings relay a positive state of affairs in the resumption of disinflation, challenges and uncertainties persist.” ~Peter C. Earle

Underdog States Improve Their Business Tax Climate

” As they continue to reduce tax burdens, they create environments where individuals and businesses can retain more of their earnings, which invites innovation, improves the quality of life, and encourages moving to those states.” ~Vance Ginn

Before Moving From DC, Move Federal Employees from San Francisco

“To enforce coordination within the federal executive and between federal agencies and state governments — correcting a fatal flaw in Nixon’s original plan — the President should appoint a representative to each state capital.” ~Charles Keckler

Does Everybody Gain?

“Large gains are enabled by protecting individuals’ rights to cooperate with anyone on whatever terms they would find acceptable, combined with others’ rights to say no to whatever offers they find unacceptable.” ~Gary M. Galles

A Short ESG Guide: Terms

“While I have attempted to clarify the ESG advocates’ terms, the devil is in the details. One of the weakest parts of ESG is the ambiguity and disagreement, even among its advocates, as to how to define and measure many of their objectives.” ~Paul Mueller

How Can We Stop Serving Students So Poorly?

“Efforts to improve things with charter schools have shown some great results, and vouchers are attractive as a means to make educators more responsible to parents than to administrators. But we are still in the early stages of a very long struggle.” ~Gary M. Galles

ESG as an Artifact of Zero Interest Rate Policy

“The reasons attributed to billions of dollars leaving the ESG sector include concerns about greenwashing and political backlash. That the flight of funds coincides almost perfectly with the start of inflation and turned negative shortly after the Fed began its contractionary policy bias is either not noticed or considered.” ~Peter C. Earle

A Short Guide to ESG: History

“Browsing the websites of ESG-advocating organizations gives the sense that ESG is cutting edge, technologically sophisticated, a wise investment strategy, and the road to increasing profitability.” ~Paul Mueller

Universal Basic Income? Universal High Income?

“Where would the money come from, existing program cuts, higher existing taxes, new taxes, and/or new money creation? Would a UBI simply displace the current hodge-podge of income transfers or add yet another layer?” ~Robert E. Wright

How Did the Social Justice Movement Take Hold?

Join Kate Wand and Barry Brownstein as they discuss the ideological roots of the contemporary social justice movement, emerging from a zero-sum political philosophy of grievance.

Economic Growth Remains One Way Out of Historical Tensions

“When the future looks bright and living standards are rapidly improving, old grudges and tensions lose their relevance. We end up forgetting them because the things ahead look so much more enticing.” ~Vincent Geloso

The Fed Delivered Disinflation

“Most prices are higher today than they would have been had they grown at an average rate of 2 percent since January 2020. We oughtn’t pin a medal on an arsonist’s chest for putting out a fire he started.” ~Alexander W. Salter

AIER’s Everyday Price Index Declines Most Since December 2022

“The October inflation release provides a welcome respite from resurgent price increases over the past few months. But while the most recent CPI and EPI readings relay a positive state of affairs in the resumption of disinflation, challenges and uncertainties persist.” ~Peter C. Earle

Underdog States Improve Their Business Tax Climate

” As they continue to reduce tax burdens, they create environments where individuals and businesses can retain more of their earnings, which invites innovation, improves the quality of life, and encourages moving to those states.” ~Vance Ginn

Before Moving From DC, Move Federal Employees from San Francisco

“To enforce coordination within the federal executive and between federal agencies and state governments — correcting a fatal flaw in Nixon’s original plan — the President should appoint a representative to each state capital.” ~Charles Keckler

Does Everybody Gain?

“Large gains are enabled by protecting individuals’ rights to cooperate with anyone on whatever terms they would find acceptable, combined with others’ rights to say no to whatever offers they find unacceptable.” ~Gary M. Galles

A Short ESG Guide: Terms

“While I have attempted to clarify the ESG advocates’ terms, the devil is in the details. One of the weakest parts of ESG is the ambiguity and disagreement, even among its advocates, as to how to define and measure many of their objectives.” ~Paul Mueller