Trump Announces Escalating Tariff Up to 25 Percent on Mexican Goods
Plus: unlicensed diet tips in court, California takes aim at independent contractors, and more...
Economics
Trump Trade Advisor Peter Navarro Says Trade Deficits Hurt Jobs and Growth. Here's Why He's Wrong.
Navarro's Wall Street Journal op-ed looks more like a deliberately deceptive attempt to argue that limiting imports will boost economic growth. It won't.
The Foolish Economic Agenda of Kamala Harris
Another bad idea from the Democratic presidential hopeful.
China's Threat To Restrict Exports of Rare Earth Minerals to the U.S. Is an Empty Bluff
China's 2010 export restrictions on rare earth compounds failed then, and they would fail now
If You Think Having Too Many Choices Is Tyranny, Wait Until You Have Too Few
Articles complaining "there is too much stuff" may be the one thing of which we have too many.
Pete Buttigieg, Democratic Capitalist
The good news: Capitalism is working its way back to the Democratic mainstream. The bad news: This capitalism comes with a whole lot of government.
Trump Says China Is Paying for His $16 Billion Tariff Bailout to Farmers. That's Simply Not True.
This might seem like nothing more than a snooze-worthy debate over semantics or economic theory or government P.R. strategies. But it matters a lot.
Buttigieg Would Lift 'Counterproductive' Tariffs, Which Are Just Taxes on Americans
"Tariffs are taxes on Americans—and we talk as if that's not the case; we forget that Americans are paying them," says Pete Buttigieg. That shouldn't be noteworthy, but unfortunately it is.
Trump's Immigration Plan Could Use Some Work
Still, it's better than the administration's previous proposals to cut legal immigration in half.
House Freedom Caucus Too Busy Scolding Justin Amash To Care About Today's Bipartisan Budget Apocalypse
What's the point of a "limited government" bloc that doesn't limit government?
Late Capitalism or Latest Capitalism: Game of Thrones Edition
Ads for sandwiches, toilet paper, condoms, and more riffing off Game of Thrones show how market culture is a glorious "perpetual meaning machine."
Trump Doubles Down on Ineffective Tariffs, Further Harming U.S. Farmers and Consumers
As messy as things are, they could get uglier still.
If You Think Capitalism Is Dying Because Two Companies 'Control 90 Percent of the Beer Americans Drink,' Go Home, You're Drunk
Obituaries for the benefits of free markets are as numerous as they are wrongheaded.
The White House Says Your Toyota Is a National Security Threat
Trump isn't putting any tariffs on imported cars right now, but the White House has released a report that effectively allows the president to do that any time he chooses.
It's Time for a Course Correction in the Trade War
Trump's strategy was never going to be a winning one.
Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang Is Wrong About the Future of Work
If the past is any sort of guide to what comes next, his fears about a jobless economy (and his policy prescriptions to fix it) are completely misplaced.
Tweet From Country's Largest Labor Org Encourages Workers to 'Seize the Means of Production'
The AFL-CIO's Twitter account appears to endorse a workers' revolution.
Trump's Malignant Mercantilism
The president’s double-talk about tariffs reflects his economically ignorant conviction that exports are good and imports are bad.
All That Is Solid Dissolves Into Amazon…and That's a Good Thing
Capitalism isn't conservative when it comes to social and economic life. It provides exactly the sort of "bold, structural changes" socialists want but inevitably botch.
Stung by Tariffs, Farmers Seek Bailouts and More Protectionism
While Trump prepares another round of aid payments for farmers, Marco Rubio is pushing for tariffs on Mexican fruits and vegetables that will send prices soaring.
Trump's Latest Trade War Scheme Might Be the Nuttiest One Yet
The most likely end result of Trump's literal Buy American policy: lots of American farm goods rotting in federal warehouses
The U.S. Just Imposed New, Higher Tariffs on China. Blame Trump's Faulty Trade War Strategy.
If the United States had pursued a different strategy from the outset of the Trump administration, it might now be in a position to counter China's hardball tactics.
Liberals Were Very Wrong About Tax Cuts. Again.
To be this wrong this often deserves recognition.
The Fed Is Not the Answer for Real-Time Payments
There's an inherent conflict of interest when an agency serves as both a regulator and competitor.
Tariffs Left His Distillery on the Rocks. Now He Wants To Know: What's Trump's Trade Endgame?
Is Trump using tariffs as a negotiating tactic? That's the most generous reading of his trade policy, but it's unsupported by the facts.
Market Crashes as Trump Threatens More Tariffs After China Trade Deal Flops
Is the president the only person left in America who doesn't understand that Americans are paying for his tariffs?
This One Chart About Global Aging Changes Everything
"For the first time ever there are now more people in the world older than 65 than younger than 5."
Joe Biden and the Limits of Moderate Politics
He's a centrist compared to Sanders, but he's also a classic big-government liberal.
Sorry, Bernie Sanders, but Disney Doesn't Have To Apologize for Making $1.3 Billion with Avengers: Endgame
The Vermont socialist can muster a lot of emotional outrage at CEO pay, but his argument about a "moral economy" doesn't add up.
Democratic Contenders Apologize for Everything Except Their Lousy Economic Policies
Being a presidential candidate means never having to say sorry for heavy-handed proposals to limit choice and promise free stuff.
Harris Wants to Ban Right-to-Work Laws, Chooses Union Endorsements Over Worker Well-Being
Plus: life after ISIS, Kansas says state constitution guarantees abortion access, and more...
The Trump Administration Is Finally Admitting That Trade Wars Aren't Easy to Win
After overpromising the benefits and underestimating the costs, reality is starting to puncture the White House's messaging on trade.
When Earth Day Predictions Go Predictably Wrong
It’s time to stop freaking out about humanity's imminent demise.
Emily Oster Will Help You Be a Better, More Statistically Literate Parent
In a podcast about her new book, Cribsheet, an economist answers your parenting questions about breastfeeding, swaddling, toddler discipline, and more.
Activists Launch Fresh Effort To Get Rent Control on California's State Ballot
Fresh from their 2018 defeat, California's rent control advocates are back with another statewide ballot initiative.
Trump's Washing Machine Tariffs Cleaned Out Consumers
A new report finds the tariffs raised $82 million for the U.S. Treasury but ended up increasing costs for consumers by about $1.2 billion.
Are Food-Stamp Receipts Beyond the Reach of FOIA? Supreme Court Hears Arguments Today
Plus: Violence in Sri Lanka leads to social media suppression, and the White House wants to make it harder for pretrial diversion participants to get government jobs.
Simon Abundance Index Launch on Monday at the Cato Institute
Mark the 49th anniversary of Earth Day by celebrating human ingenuity.
Is Nationwide Marijuana Legalization Just Around the Corner?
Erik Altieri of NORML sees a bright future for American pot.
Is Marginally Loosening California's Zoning Restrictions Racist?
A new mailer from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation argues that allowing the construction of apartment buildings near transit stops is tantamount to "negro removal."
Bernie Sanders Is a Millionaire. That's Great!
The democratic socialist gets rich—and makes the argument for capitalism.
GAO: Current Federal Fiscal Situation Is 'Unsustainable'
America will face "serious economic, security, and social challenges" if the national debt keeps growing at this rate.
Everybody Hates Howard Schultz
Behind the usual partisan contempt for deficit-minded centrism lies an accurate critique that the billionaire outsider has naive, do-something ideas.
