Business & Economics
Blog
Forget the Trade Deficit, Growing Imports Are a Bullish Sign for the Economy
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) just released its monthly report on international trade in goods and services for August 2025. Based on the news coverage, it would seem that the 23.8 percent decline in the trade deficit was the most important takeaway. And this decline is surely viewed as ...
Business & Economics
Who was really to blame for the government shutdown?
The U.S. government shutdown has finally come to an end after 43 days that resulted in thousands of flights being cancelled or delayed, food aid benefits for millions of Americans being jeopardized and hundreds of thousands of federal workers being furloughed. But the question is: Which party bears responsibility for ...
Business & Economics
Consumers Benefit When Mergers Create Stronger Competitors
Kimberly-Clark is betting $40 billion that, despite the HHS Secretary’s unwarranted accusations about Tylenol, purchasing Kenvue will create synergies that will turn the combined company into a stronger competitor in the consumer health and consumer products sectors. Regardless of whether these gains are ultimately achieved, it is important that they are given the opportunity ...
Blog
The Gordon Chang Report–For China, Demography Is a Grim Destiny
READ THE PDF For China, Demography Is a Grim Destiny “China has embarked on a road of demographic no-return,” writes Wang Feng of the University of California, Irvine. “Left unaddressed, China’s demographic trap could precipitate a civilizational collapse,” Yi Fuxian of the University of Wisconsin-Madison tells us. China will suffer ...
Blog
The Slavers Call for Reparations – We Go “On Metaphor Alert” Again, as AU and EU Debate History
This theme appears to be a final realization of the goals outlined in the African Union’s Abuja Proclamation of 1993. At that time, the group (then technically the Organization of African Unity) stated: “What matters is…the responsibility of those states and nations whose economic evolution once depended on slave labor ...
Blog
Spending Watch
Spending Watch: The Unpleasant Arithmetic of a California Wealth Tax
Spending Watch: The Unpleasant Arithmetic of a California Wealth Tax Wayne Winegarden October 2025 A just proposed initiative to impose a one-time wealth tax on billionaires summarizes why California has fallen from the fourth to the fifth largest economy in the world. State policymakers continually view the private sector as ...
Business & Economics
Basel Accord’s expanded banking rules could tank Trump’s economy — unless he acts fast
Since Congress passed President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” this summer, strong real-GDP growth has combined with minimal inflation, boosting American prosperity. But one potential misstep could end this decisive, action-oriented administration’s hope of making the American economy great again — while losing the midterm elections and Republican control ...
Blog
Ronald Reagan Opposed Tariffs – And For Good Reason
Having worked with Dr. Laffer for several years, I heard him explain the tenets of supply-side economics, or “the five pillars of prosperity” many times. These policies are (1) a low-rate broad-based flat tax; (2) a moderate level of government spending to ensure that the benefits from the government program ...
Blog
Is Declining Homeownership Driving Support for Democratic Socialism?
My previous post “On young Americans and their Growing Acceptance of Socialism” connected the popularity of democratic socialism among Americans aged 18 – 39 to inequality. Inequality concerns are not the only factor driving Gen Z’s embrace of democratic socialism. Gen Z’s growing support for democratic socialism is occurring along ...
Blog
It Was A Cruel, Cruel Summer For California Teens
California has a jobs problem. It’s not only failing to create them, it’s been destroying existing ones. Unemployment sits at 5.5%, the worst among the states. Only in the District of Columbia is the situation more grim. The jobless rate in the nation’s capital is 6%. This isn’t due to a run of bad luck. It’s the greasy residue of poor public policy ...
Forget the Trade Deficit, Growing Imports Are a Bullish Sign for the Economy
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) just released its monthly report on international trade in goods and services for August 2025. Based on the news coverage, it would seem that the 23.8 percent decline in the trade deficit was the most important takeaway. And this decline is surely viewed as ...
Who was really to blame for the government shutdown?
The U.S. government shutdown has finally come to an end after 43 days that resulted in thousands of flights being cancelled or delayed, food aid benefits for millions of Americans being jeopardized and hundreds of thousands of federal workers being furloughed. But the question is: Which party bears responsibility for ...
Consumers Benefit When Mergers Create Stronger Competitors
Kimberly-Clark is betting $40 billion that, despite the HHS Secretary’s unwarranted accusations about Tylenol, purchasing Kenvue will create synergies that will turn the combined company into a stronger competitor in the consumer health and consumer products sectors. Regardless of whether these gains are ultimately achieved, it is important that they are given the opportunity ...
The Gordon Chang Report–For China, Demography Is a Grim Destiny
READ THE PDF For China, Demography Is a Grim Destiny “China has embarked on a road of demographic no-return,” writes Wang Feng of the University of California, Irvine. “Left unaddressed, China’s demographic trap could precipitate a civilizational collapse,” Yi Fuxian of the University of Wisconsin-Madison tells us. China will suffer ...
The Slavers Call for Reparations – We Go “On Metaphor Alert” Again, as AU and EU Debate History
This theme appears to be a final realization of the goals outlined in the African Union’s Abuja Proclamation of 1993. At that time, the group (then technically the Organization of African Unity) stated: “What matters is…the responsibility of those states and nations whose economic evolution once depended on slave labor ...
Spending Watch
Spending Watch: The Unpleasant Arithmetic of a California Wealth Tax
Spending Watch: The Unpleasant Arithmetic of a California Wealth Tax Wayne Winegarden October 2025 A just proposed initiative to impose a one-time wealth tax on billionaires summarizes why California has fallen from the fourth to the fifth largest economy in the world. State policymakers continually view the private sector as ...
Basel Accord’s expanded banking rules could tank Trump’s economy — unless he acts fast
Since Congress passed President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” this summer, strong real-GDP growth has combined with minimal inflation, boosting American prosperity. But one potential misstep could end this decisive, action-oriented administration’s hope of making the American economy great again — while losing the midterm elections and Republican control ...
Ronald Reagan Opposed Tariffs – And For Good Reason
Having worked with Dr. Laffer for several years, I heard him explain the tenets of supply-side economics, or “the five pillars of prosperity” many times. These policies are (1) a low-rate broad-based flat tax; (2) a moderate level of government spending to ensure that the benefits from the government program ...
Is Declining Homeownership Driving Support for Democratic Socialism?
My previous post “On young Americans and their Growing Acceptance of Socialism” connected the popularity of democratic socialism among Americans aged 18 – 39 to inequality. Inequality concerns are not the only factor driving Gen Z’s embrace of democratic socialism. Gen Z’s growing support for democratic socialism is occurring along ...
It Was A Cruel, Cruel Summer For California Teens
California has a jobs problem. It’s not only failing to create them, it’s been destroying existing ones. Unemployment sits at 5.5%, the worst among the states. Only in the District of Columbia is the situation more grim. The jobless rate in the nation’s capital is 6%. This isn’t due to a run of bad luck. It’s the greasy residue of poor public policy ...
