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.

When Ideological Bubbles Trump Economic Thinking

“That a Nobel Prize-winning economist can hold these naïve views and fail to use simple economic reasoning should give us pause about how ideology and echo chambers can dull our reasoning.” ~Paul Mueller

‘Consumer Reports’ Jettisons Objectivity on Climate Change

“Scaring the public into action simply does not work — indeed, Chicken Little can proclaim only for a short time that the sky is falling until people begin to see through the ruse that Chicken Little is really Chicken Liar.” ~David Legates and E. Calvin Beisner

April’s Disinflation Delivery

“In the first quarter of 2024, the US economy expanded at a rate of 1.6 percent per year. That’s hardly an impressive growth rate, but it’s significantly faster than money supply growth. Money looks somewhat tight.” ~Alexander W. Salter

Private Governance Will Make You Free

“Enforcement of these emergent rules can be accomplished largely by what Adam Smith called ‘propriety,’ rather than by armed employees of the state.” ~Michael Munger

Sloppy Utopia

“The book is irrelevant in the exact meaning of that word: It does not answer the question it sets for itself, does not rise to the task of chronicling the big economic changes of the extended twentieth century, does not adequately and accurately capture a believable grand narrative.” ~Joakim Book

AIER Everyday Price Index Rises for Fifth Consecutive Month

“April’s core CPI data represents the lowest of 2024 and may signal the resumption of disinflation, particularly where shelter costs are concerned. Despite some favorable signs, though, there remains a persistent inflationary pressure in certain categories.” ~Peter C. Earle

Japanese Immigrant Exclusion: 100 Years Later

“Scientists and academics nationwide embraced these outward intentions to divide the ‘desirable’ immigrants from those more susceptible to crime, disease, and incompetence.” ~Will Sellers

Is The Fed Manipulating the Market?

“We cannot just look at the Fed’s target rate to determine whether it is manipulating the market. We must consider its target rate relative to the natural rate.” ~Bryan Cutsinger

Substitution Effects and Steering-Wheel Daggers

“Because of substitution effects, we should always be aware that outcomes quite different from those that seem most obvious are possible. Mandating greater automobile safety might reduce traffic fatalities. Or it might not.” ~Donald J. Boudreaux

Illiberal Youth Threaten Freedom

“Like National Socialist youth, individual rights mean nothing to young people today. The loss of talented people with different opinions was a plus for the Nazis.” ~Barry Brownstein

Importing Votes, Not Steel 

“Cooperation between conglomerates can be swept aside by the government for political gain. Ultimately, it is the public who pays for these political plays.” ~Stefan Bartl

Climate “Reparations” Numbers Are Rigged

“Human living standards have improved in unprecedented ways over the past 300 years. These remarkable improvements in human welfare are not limited to wealthy, developed economies but are enjoyed around the world.” ~Paul Mueller

Every Village a Republic

“Article I, Section 10 might protect local communities from federal abuse, as intended by the Founders, but offers no tools to simultaneously protect ourselves from local tyrannies.” ~David Gillette and Thaddeus Meadows

Chairman Powell and The Fed’s Limits

“Congress should applaud Chairman Powell’s candor on uncertainty and strongly support his principle of operating the Fed within the limits of its mandate.” ~Alex J. Pollock

The Magic Food Cupboard

“Every small aspect of the work that people do to deliver and stock those Whole Foods grocery shelves is noble, in its own way. Dismissing the parts as meaningless fails to understand the power of the larger system.” ~Michael Munger

The Bourgeois Deal Brought Us More than Pie in the Sky

“We didn’t need a worker’s revolution to get and enjoy pie in the here and now… Innovation and profit-seeking in a society that embraced the Bourgeois Deal made workers so much more productive that the pie grew. A lot.” ~Art Carden

The Wasteful Cruelty of “Stakeholder Capital”

“When institutional investors vote to destroy the wealth of Chevron, they vote to destroy the dreams of single mothers in Wisconsin, pensioners in California, and small business owners in Nebraska.” ~Jeremy Kidd

Is Argentine Disinflation Sustainable?

“Milei’s lack of political support in Congress adds to the uncertainty surrounding his ability to successfully pass deregulatory reforms… it is premature to declare victory on the fiscal and inflationary fronts in Argentina.” ~Nicolás Cachanosky

Take the Government Out of GDP 

“Tax revenues are harvested from private citizens by means of coercion and extractive measures… Paying taxes to remain free of incarceration or not face withering financial penalties is hardly indicative of cooperative exchange. ” ~Tom Savidge and Peter C. Earle

Bitcoin Mining and Icelandic Bananas

“Stranded energy and unused electricity are magnets for bitcoin miners, as they take electricity that can’t readily be used for other purposes and turn it into one of the world’s most liquid and globally transferable assets.” ~Joakim Book

The New Zimbabwean ZiG: Sixth Time a Charm?

“Even the most faithfully implemented commodity-backed money standard is fundamentally predicated on the integrity and competence of its overseers.” ~Peter C. Earle

Parity in Labor Transparency

“If workers are going to grant a labor union the extensive powers over them that federal law has authorized, workers should be able to know whether the ‘coworkers’ advocating the union are paid representatives of Big Labor. ” ~Michael Watson

Will Caitlin Clark Be Grossly Underpaid?

“There simply isn’t enough demand for seats at, merchandise related to, and streaming of women’s sports to support WNBA players at NBA salaries.” ~Art Carden

A Better Model Won’t Fix The Fed

“The whole point of expectations-responsive monetary policy is to remove the discretionary and technocratic elements from central banking. Disappointingly but unsurprisingly, the Fed is doing the opposite: doubling down on discretion and technocracy.” ~Alexander W. Salter

Why Even Insiders Underestimate Markets’ Power

“There tend to be more and better substitution possibilities known to both buyers and sellers than we recognize from the outside of those exchange relationships.” ~Gary M. Galles

Competition Can’t Be Perfect

“Since if something is perfect, it must be desirable, a new generation of attorneys is attempting a wholesale takeover of antitrust enforcement.” ~Michael Munger

Breaking the Shackles of Socialism in Africa 

“A new generation of Africans (Wade labels them the Cheetah Generation) are rejecting socialism and embracing entrepreneurship and markets as the path to human flourishing.” ~Marcus Witcher

Business Conditions Monthly February 2024

“Amidst mixed economic data reminiscent of most of the past two years, there are pockets of strength which are nevertheless overshadowed by inflation concerns and speculation regarding monetary policy actions in the coming quarter or two.” ~Peter C. Earle

Elon’s X Marks the Spot in Brazil

“Brazil is facing its greatest struggle for freedom of speech since the end of the military regime… Freedom of speech has been effectively limited without due process, and contrary to the Constitution.” ~Ricardo Gomes

Why Haven’t We Whipped Inflation Yet?

“The best we can do is recalibrate models when we get new data. But that’s like driving the car while looking out the rearview window…hardly ideal for knowing how to adjust your steering.” ~Alexander W. Salter

Nippon Acquisition of US Steel 

“Despite its shrunken condition, the Japanese suitor looks to infuse new life into this former behemoth with an infusion of cash, technology, and vision. Blocking this acquisition will result in losses to shareholders, workers, and our economy.” ~Joel Griffith

ESG Puppeteers

“Climate financiers are not capitalists. They are corporatists who think the government should direct private industry. They want to work with government officials to benefit themselves and hamstring their competition.” ~ Paul Mueller

The Colorblind Counterattack

“How on earth could the ideas of Frederick Douglass and MLK find themselves labeled ‘white supremacist’? Two authors have shaken off the shellshock, and now stand ready to fight back.” ~GianCarlo​​​​ Canaparo

The Justice of an All-Volunteer Military

“A person who voluntarily enlists in the military obviously believes that that employment option is the best one for him or her. In exchange for his or her performance of military duties, that soldier or sailor is paid.” ~Donald J. Boudreaux