How to Really End ESG
Russell Greene
September 13, 2024
“It’s incumbent upon ESG critics to advocate an alternative vision, not merely to fall in line with convention.” ~Russell Greene
Daily Economy
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.
Tariffs ‘Protect’ Insiders, While Americans Pay the Price
Vance Ginn
September 13, 2024
“The best way to address unfair trade practices is not through blanket tariffs but by expanding trade with allies and non-hostile nations.” ~Vance Ginn
From ‘Taxachusetts’ to ‘City Upon a Hill’
Thomas Savidge
September 12, 2024
“Tax and spending reform takes more than ‘electing the right people.’ It must be politically profitable for the wrong people to make the right choices.” ~Thomas Savidge
Selling a House in Jersey: a Personal Story of Transaction Costs
Paul Mueller
September 12, 2024
“Sellers see fewer dollars from their sales while dealing with time-consuming headaches. Buyers see higher home prices.” ~Paul Mueller
AIER’s Everyday Price Index Eases Marginally in August 2024
Peter C. Earle
September 11, 2024
“Inflation in the United States will end 2024 above the Fed’s target range.” ~Peter C. Earle
Moderate Inflation Affirms Fed’s Path to Easing
Alexander W. Salter
September 11, 2024
“The Fed should ignore the political noise and follow the data. Central bankers failed to curb inflation, but that doesn’t mean they should deliberately make the opposite mistake now.” ~Alexander W. Salter
Unity in Disunity
Gary Galles
September 11, 2024
“When ‘unity’ means government policies will substitute for choices we would make for ourselves, it means domination, even though we do not want to be dominated.” ~Gary Galles
Remembering the Truly Forgotten
Peter C. Earle
September 11, 2024
“Money and finance are the font and essence of modernity. I honor and praise the memory of the professionals who worked in the World Trade Center.” ~Peter C. Earle
Overhaul for the Uninsured?
James Capretta
September 10, 2024
“Full reliance on a public budgeting system for providing access to medical care is a certain prescription for millions of disappointed patients.” ~James C. Capretta
Kroger Invests $1B in Antitrust Defense
Noah Gould
September 10, 2024
“Consumers would be better served if companies could spend more time on improving their services and less on fending off litigation.” ~Noah C. Gould
Lose the Political Informality
Donald J. Boudreaux
September 9, 2024
“Politicians’ first-name basis… is a mercenary maneuver to gain our confidence on the cheap. It is literally a con game.” ~Donald J. Boudreaux
Harris’s ‘Joy’ Would Cost US Dearly
Alexander W. Salter
September 9, 2024
“Economists have a duty to point out just how destructive these proposals are.” ~Alexander W. Salter
Tax Cryptocurrencies as Money, Not Property
Gerald P. Dwyer
September 6, 2024
“Treating cryptocurrencies like property for tax purposes discourages people from using them like monies.” ~Gerald Dwyer
The Fed’s Balance Sheet Feeds Bailout Culture
Paul Mueller
September 6, 2024
“It appears that Fed officials came to believe that they had the authority and power to do whatever they deem necessary to ‘fix’ the economy.” ~Paul Mueller
‘Reagan’ Biopic Fails the Man and the Moviegoer
Jack Butler
September 5, 2024
“Those who have longed for a satisfactory depiction of Reagan’s made-for-the-movies life will have to keep waiting.” ~Jack Butler
College Football’s Lesson About Political Economy
Art Carden
September 5, 2024
“College football fandom is a microcosm of the problem of a political economy. It shows that people are willing to pay a price to make their enemies suffer.” ~Art Carden
Is America’s Cultural Glue Weakening?
David Rose
September 4, 2024
“Not so long ago in America it was considered rude to ask anyone other than one’s inner social circle which positive moral actions they undertook. But it now happens every second of every day.” ~David Rose
DNC Celebrates ‘Freedom,’ But Not Liberty
Gary Galles
September 4, 2024
“As the DNC has just demonstrated so well, a host of rhetorical abuses can find a foothold in offering so many freedoms but so little liberty.” ~Gary M. Galles
$35 Trillion — and Counting
Peter C. Earle
July 31, 2024
“Interest payments on the debt alone surpass the budgets of many major federal agencies combined. At this point, federal debt service costs amount to approximately $900 billion, which is 17 percent of total federal spending.” ~Peter C. Earle
Ruminations on Income Inequality
Donald J. Boudreaux
July 31, 2024
“Many of today’s low-income workers will be tomorrow’s middle-income workers; and many of these workers will be among the country’s highest-income earners sometime in the future.” ~Donald J. Boudreaux
Hurricanes and Other Evil Winds
Paul Schwennesen
July 31, 2024
“Extreme headlines fit a generally understood narrative and are far more likely to be absorbed by the public. This selective attention pushes a bias toward extremism in climate reporting that significantly inflames the political climate.” ~Paul Schwennesen
Labor Isn’t Value
Art Carden
July 30, 2024
“The labor theory of value is wrong. Just because you worked hard at something doesn’t mean you have produced anything worthwhile.” ~Art Carden
Why the ‘Green Economy’ Is Suddenly in Retreat—in EU, US, and on Wall Street
Jon Miltimore
July 30, 2024
“Green parties and environmentalists have had success largely by getting people to focus on the desired effect of their policies (saving people from climate change) and to ignore the costs of their policies.” ~Jon Miltimore
Red States, Blue States: A Tale of Two Economies
Vance Ginn
July 29, 2024
“States like Texas and Florida, prioritizing low taxes and minimal regulation, have created environments where businesses can thrive. This is reflected in their strong job growth and relatively low unemployment rates.” ~Vance Ginn
Against YIMBY Leninism
Jason Sorens
July 29, 2024
“Some people truly value restrictive land-use governance. They should be able to impose these strict rules on themselves, so long as they leave their non-consenting neighbors alone.” ~Jason Sorens
Business Conditions Monthly May 2024
Peter C. Earle
July 27, 2024
“Ongoing data noise driven by pandemic policies, unstable prices, Fed rate hikes, consumer fatigue, and stubborn disinflation early in the year, in combination, broadly suggest an economy experiencing mixed signals.” ~Peter C. Earle
Inflation Remained Low in June
William J. Luther
July 26, 2024
“Despite the progress made on inflation over the last three months, and the risk of overtightening noted by Waller and Powell, the FOMC is unlikely to cut its federal funds rate target next week.” ~William J. Luther
Beware of Conflict Theories of Inflation
Nicolas Cachanosky
July 26, 2024
“This perspective emphasizes that social conflicts are the central cause of inflationary pressures. The Marxist undertones of CTIs suggest that inflation results from social injustice, implying a moral imperative for government intervention to right the supposed wrongs.” ~Nicolás Cachanosky
How Rent-Seeking Wrecks the Soul of Enterprise
Kimberlee Josephson
July 26, 2024
“The more the state becomes involved in everyday affairs, the more we move to a rent-seeking society, enabling a power dynamic based on what can be accessed rather than on what can be earned.” ~Kimberlee Josephson
Economic Observations of Beach Parking
Michael Munger
July 25, 2024
“The idea of ‘line up!’ is deeply ingrained in most of us, to the point where we are angry if someone ‘cuts’ in line ahead or, for that matter, behind us.” ~Michael Munger
How Climate Catastrophists at NOAA Mislead without Lying
E. Calvin Beisner
July 25, 2024
“When it comes to ‘missing context’ about climate change, official government agencies can be among the worst offenders, not just on social media but also on agency websites.” ~E. Calvin Beisner
The Virtues of Social Market Order: Review of ‘Abundance, Generosity, and the State’
Joakim Book
July 25, 2024
“Goods and services received gratuitously are not the same as those obtained as a right, especially when governments have extorted tax-‘payers’ at the point of a gun.” ~Joakim Book
On America’s ‘Trade Deficit’ With China
Donald J. Boudreaux
July 24, 2024
“The negative connotation conveyed by the term ‘trade deficit’ is so very useful to the protectionist cause that protectionists seem to have no interest in getting their — or their audiences’ — thinking straight about this concept.” ~Donald J. Boudreaux
Techno-Tyranny of Gilliam’s ‘Brazil’ is ‘1984’ for 2024
Paul McDonnold
July 24, 2024
“This movie that routinely appears on ‘best British film’ lists impressed me with its entertainment value, but even more with how relevant its message has become in 2024.” ~Paul McDonnold
Gen Z’s Financial Nihilism
Michael Peterson
July 23, 2024
“Not only are Gen Z Americans unprepared to reform our country’s spending programs and revive the nation’s fiscal health, they are also engaging in the very behavior that will undermine their ability to achieve the American Dream.” ~Michael Peterson
Where Will the New Jobs Come From?
Art Carden
July 23, 2024
“Technological innovations and falling trade barriers make many people more productive… We use this new wealth to create opportunities in high-skill, medium-skill, and low-skill occupations.” ~Art Carden
