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 Case For Diplomacy and Engagement Over Brinkmanship
“We must light the way with our example through engagement, trade, and a commitment to walking what we talk. With darkness and chaos on the rise in every corner of the globe, we must feed the flame of liberty and broadcast it across the night, not shut it off.” ~ Ethan Yang
$9 Reading Glasses, $16 Sunscreen, and the Genius of Economic Growth
“‘Green’ is generally expensive. That’s ok, but we generally will only swallow big expenses like $16 sunscreen if we feel we have the means to swallow these expenses. In short, ‘green’ living and energy are most likely to thrive in a real market if and when Americans have the means to pay more for what’s ‘cleaner.'” ~ John Tamny
More Government Debt as Far as the Fiscal Eye Can See
“What is the ethics, James Buchanan asked, of a fiscal system under which incentives exist and come into play that enable the current generation of taxpayers and recipients of government programs to shift part of the burden to pay for them to future generations?” ~ Richard M. Ebeling
The Invisible Hand Relies Upon Visible Prices
“Prices are among the visible results of the invisible hand’s successful operation, as well as the single most important source of this success. The market’s invisible hand, in short, alone makes possible – yet equally depends upon – visible market prices.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux
Consumer Confidence Remained Strong in July
“Consumer attitudes remained at favorable levels in July as easing government restrictions continue to boost economic activity and job prospects.” – Robert Hughes
Biden’s Rescue Act Targets Americans’ Freedoms
“At some point, the federal government’s ability to carpet bomb citizens with free money will fizzle out. In the meantime, the biggest mistake Americans could make is to permit politicians to absolve themselves by giving away more of other people’s money.” ~ James Bovard
A Conversation On Wall Street and Dangerous Monetary Policy
“On this episode of the Authors Corner, Ethan Yang sits down with former hedge fund manager and founder of Signals Matter, Matt Piepenburg, to discuss his book Rigged to Fail. Matt brings his years of experience in the financial industry and his academic scholarship to offer a nuanced discussion on financial markets and the Federal Reserve.” ~ AIER
The Race to Win Covidfinity
“It doesn’t much matter what the future ‘threat’ will look like, or how damaging the Delta or Epsilon variants currently seem. I’m afraid of Omega, the last letter of the Greek alphabet. Though, I don’t think it’ll be a string of a pretty lame coronavirus, but something considerably worse.” ~ Joakim Book
Unemployment Over the Business Cycle
“Without significant monetary and regulatory reform, our recovery from the Covid-19 recession will not only not fix these negative conditions, but will only set up the U.S. for our next recession, one that will almost certainly be even more severe.” ~ Robert F. Mulligan
Durable-Goods Orders Rose in June as Core Capital-Goods Hit a Record High
“Manufacturers’ new orders for core capital goods hit another record high in June. The strong showing is a positive sign for the overall outlook.” – Robert Hughes
How a Psychic Healer Blog Convinced the Government to Fund “Long Covid” Research
“The doors have, sadly, been thrown wide open to psychic healing and alternative wellness gibberish. Lockdowner scientists have, in turn, given these suspect claims and defective survey designs a welcome home in the most prestigious institutions of journalism, government, and the ivory tower.” ~ Phillip W. Magness
‘Zero Covid’ Experts Put Grandkids at Risk
“We should learn from this episode, though. Worse pandemics will emerge, perhaps even where some tough restrictions are justified. But we need to learn how to fight pandemics without permanently altering our way of life.” ~ Adam Creighton
New Single-Family Home Sales Fell Again in June
“New-home sales fell again in June and supply conditions eased a bit. Rising prices, and somewhat higher mortgage rates should continue weighing on activity.” – Robert Hughes
US Militarism Abroad is Hypocritical and Counterproductive
“Much like big government activism fails here at home, overconfidence in military intervention has only promised failure abroad. A pivot towards a more humble foreign policy based on cooperation as well as shared leadership, much like it would for domestic policy, will yield a much safer world for freedom and democracy.” ~ Ethan Yang
Prices Have Work To Do, Even in Pandemics
“It has been the government’s failure to not let market prices work at all and instead address the pandemic with command-and-control policies that have created shortages, thwarted innovation, and distributed vaccines based not on what will most internalize the spillover benefits of vaccination but based on political considerations about who should enjoy the private benefits of vaccination.” ~ Art Carden
What About “Whataboutism?”
“When the cry of ‘Well… what about X?’ arises in argumentation, it is a good time to step back and evaluate the claim through the eyes of others. It may be that the claim holds no merit. Alternatively, it may open our eyes to bigger problems that we’ve failed to notice.” ~ Anthony Gill
Is Inflation Merely Catching Up?
“The price level today is greater than what it was expected to be in the absence of a pandemic and what the Fed implicitly said it would be given its two-percent inflation target. The price level has more than caught up with expectations. The question, now, is whether it will continue to grow so rapidly, remain elevated, or subside.” ~ William J. Luther
The False Promise of Sanctions and Isolation
“Our current approach of alienation and intimidation only promises disappointment on both sides. Although there is no guarantee that warming relations would result in the liberal democratic reforms that the US desires for Cuba, anything would be better than the lose-lose policy of economic warfare.” ~ Ethan Yang
