When future historians look back on American industrial history, the fact that not one of the original 12 components of the Dow — American Cotton Oil, American Sugar, American Tobacco, Chicago Gas, Distilling & Cattle Feeding, General Electric, Laclede Gas,…
Some emergencies require an increase in government spending, but that comes with an understanding that the higher levels of spending are unusual and will not be sustained. Unfortunately, this understanding seems to be lost on the Biden administration. Exhibit A…
Since the pandemic began early last year, the federal government has passed three stimulus packages totaling $5.15 trillion: including $2.35 trillion in March/April 2020; $900 billion in December 2020; and $1.9 trillion in March 2021 (the American Rescue Plan Act…
Stocks have surged, not despite coronavirus but because of government responses to it. While many paint these stock gains as amoral reactions, they are rather straightforward market responses to government actions that have spiked national saving but limited its use….
The late historian Barbara Tuchman, in her work The March of Folly, chronicles how governments throughout history have regularly and repeatedly pursued policies contrary to their self-interest. Looking as far back as the ancient Trojans, who imprudently took the wooden…
Biden is dangerously confused about China and Russia. I am not talking about Biden’s confusion about the countries’ names, which, given his tendency to forget and mix up simple facts, is entirely possible. Behind recent statements from Biden about China…
America’s national debt now stands at close to $27 trillion. According to a new report by the Congressional Budget Office, by the end of 2020, federal debt held by the public is projected to equal 98 percent of GDP —…
Intellectuals are supposed to speak truth to power. Unfortunately, some seem to be more interested in saying what everyone expects them to say, which only reinforces the status quo. Thankfully, a few scholars are resisting this trend, fighting for what…
When revenue shrinks by 1 percent of GDP and spending increases by 51 percent over 10 months, you get a $2.8 trillion deficit. That figure, according to the Congressional Budget Office, is significantly larger than the deficit Uncle Sam accumulated…
