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.
“Frank Bruni has reached the phase in life where the young activists of his own team are alarming him with their crusading zeal and over-the-top methods.” ~Rachel Lu
“Reforming the administrative state and rewriting statutes and regulations is hard work, requiring careful policymaking, talented people, and consensus-building. It’s not the product of gimmicks like Schedule F and databases of inexperienced people.” ~Thomas A. Firey
“The road ahead remains uncertain, though, with potential outcomes ranging from a slow, steady economic rebalancing to sluggishness or even a recession.” ~Peter C. Earle
“Market-like responses to dissatisfaction with schools are heavily muted by subsidies. The Biden administration is working for wide cancellation of student debt, which would squelch even these limited market forces.” ~Neal McCluskey
“Why not give the central bank a wider berth, if it helps to stabilize the economy? Because it doesn’t actually help. Interest rates are a distraction.” ~Alexander W. Salter
“While not perfect by any means, the Magna Carta was the first example of a bloodless revolution in which the rule of law and rights in contracts lead to the advancement of civilization.” ~Will Sellers
“Compared to ballot voting, moving has larger individual impacts, which mean greater incentives to acquire knowledge; it provides a better signal to both the country you’re leaving and the one you’re joining.” ~Joakim Book
“The best defense of economic freedom rests not on statistics calculated yesterday, but rather the enduring knowledge of human nature at the heart of Western civilization.” ~Michael Lucchese
“The primary focus should be on enhancing economic freedom, as it is the key mechanism that enables individuals to elevate themselves out of poverty.” ~Vincent Geloso
“Imposing new costly regulations will not make housing more affordable — unleashing the housing supply by deregulating zoning and overly strict building codes will.” ~Louis Rouanet
“Stiglitz believes ‘education’ should be explicitly designed to attack property rights and to weaken the sense of American exceptionalism, the tradition of classical liberalism.” ~Michael Munger
” By returning to principles of fiscal responsibility and market-driven activity, America can navigate away from the fiscal abyss and toward a future of economic stability and prosperity.” ~Vance Ginn
“McKinsey allegedly tried to help Purdue tailor its sales efforts…. There’s nothing mysterious or nefarious about this. To do otherwise would be inefficient and wasteful.” ~ David R. Henderson and Charles L. Hooper
“Myths and hyperbole aside, the weakening US-Saudi relationship is one instance amid a growing trend of diminishing US influence in global currency markets and international finance.” ~Peter C. Earle
“What these stories all have in common is that these nations rose from poverty by embracing a common formula: more economic freedom and free trade… not international aid or central planning.” ~Jon Miltimore
“Freedom money, wielded by its users and resistant to capture, identification, and censorship, doesn’t dispel unfair laws or make evil rulers go away — but almost nothing else does that either.” ~Joakim Book
“Just about every economist knows publicly financed stadiums are boondoggles that, if anything, imperil cities’ financial positions.” ~Art Carden
“Just as the FOMC was slow to adjust policy when inflation surged in late 2021, it will be slow to adjust policy as inflation returns to and falls below its target in 2024.” ~William J Luther
“This uptick triggers the Sahm Rule, a real-time recession indicator, suggesting that the US economy is in, or is nearing, a recession.” ~Peter C. Earle
“Thanks to a complex web of CSR initiatives, aid and development programs, progressive intergovernmental agencies, and the do-good posturing of political elites, businesses will further be ensnarled to ESG.” ~Kimberlee Josephson
“The prospects for market liberalization in the EU aren’t good. We can expect more business as usual, if with some important marginal cuts (notably on the EU’s aggressive and expensive environmental agenda).” ~Nikolai Wenzel
“We have seen the rise of the military-industrial complex, the creation of the national security state, and a bloated military that is second to none, but with a price tag to match.” ~Andrew Byers
“Overturning Chevron should encourage lower courts to police agency assertions of power more closely, but it will not constrain the administrative state so long as Congress persists in enacting broad, poorly written statutes.” ~Jonathan H. Adler
“The American edition of her memoir is a warning Liz Truss extends to Americans — don’t let the administrative state get out of control and do your level best to reduce the powers it already has.” ~Iain Murray
“The arrogance of those who wish to unleash the dogs of antitrust on CurrentlyDominant, Inc. prevents them from asking important follow-up questions.” ~Donald J Boudreaux
“Minimum wages and workplace regulations protect some people, alright, but not the workers. Instead, these rules protect anyone who provides a substitute for the labor that workers bring to the table.” ~Art Carden
“If you care about poverty, then you should encourage positive views about high levels of wealth. A country with people who think positively about the wealthy is more likely to implement market reforms which will make it easier for people to generate wealth.” ~James Hartley
“Instead of taking two percent (say) of the liquidated value of the wealth, the state would simply take ownership of the wealth, in place… In a relatively short time, the government literally takes substantial ownership of all successful private businesses.” ~Michael Munger
“The bottom line is that fast food prices are high because demand for fast food remains high, despite those higher prices.” ~Jon Miltimore
“Prices today are 8.9 percentage points higher than they would have been had the Fed hit its 2-percent inflation target since January 2020.”
“Perhaps Trump’s goal is simply to eliminate the federal income tax. If so, then he should advocate for doing that and only that. Eliminating the income tax would, in fact, make Americans richer in after-tax dollars.” ~David Hebert
“Raising economic growth prospects through policy is difficult. But Britain is now so far behind the United States and the technological frontier, that removing self-imposed barriers to growth could have delivered a meaningful boost to the country’s GDP level.” ~Ryan Bourne
“Blaming high housing prices on private equity because they ‘bought up all the available homes’ is like blaming high food prices on grocery stores because they bought up all the available food.”
“The battle for safeguarding individual rights over financial information and freedom from undue government control must encompass all forms of financial transactions, whether digital or physical.” ~Nicolás Cachanosky
“Regulations often have significant compliance costs and operational challenges. The regulatory burden can stifle innovation and deter investment, particularly in industries struggling with economic headwinds.” ~Vance Ginn
“Those of us who want to keep government small and strictly limited — and, hence, who want individuals to make whatever peaceful choices they wish — are far outnumbered by individuals who distrust markets to deliver enough of the goods to enough of the people.” ~Donald J. Boudreaux
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