Well this is a weird recession, and a very mild one at that, but yes, definitely a recession at this point. When economists like myself look at recession data we generally look at the whole picture. We want to know not just “is the economy in a recession” but “why is the economy in recession”.… Continue reading US GDP overview, Q2 2022
Commonwealth free trade is a bad idea by itself
One reason a lot of people support Brexit has been for the United Kingdom to create a European Union-like organization among its commonwealth realms, and they argue this will increase the United Kingdom’s power projection. Let’s compare what this will be compared to the European Union which the United Kingdom has left. European Union… Continue reading Commonwealth free trade is a bad idea by itself
Putin has destroyed Russia
If you look at the Russian population pyramid, there are several important places to remember which are clear in this population pyramid as I have clearly marked. Russia didn’t have to have its current baby bust. If Russia hadn’t invaded Ukraine and focused on upskilling Russians, growing their domestic economy, and improving the quality of… Continue reading Putin has destroyed Russia
Ideal transportation system
Going from smallest to largest… We’ll use the Capitol Building of the United States of America as our reference point, because a large percentage of Americans have visited it at least once in their lives, and if you haven’t, you need to. LEVEL 0: Private cars First of all, we will always have cars. 20%… Continue reading Ideal transportation system
How Trump became president
The presidency of Donald Trump was one of the worst America ever had. Even though he had few legislative accomplishments, America won’t be safe until the courts are unstacked from what he did. Donald Trump didn’t even win the popular vote, but reduced turnout and a lack of campaigning in three states gave him a… Continue reading How Trump became president
Sending surplus to taxpayers is bad economics
On the surface, to someone who doesn’t understand macroeconomics, sending surplus money back to taxpayers sounds like a great idea. It sounds like a benefit to taxpayers to give them relief and helps people out. Right? But in reality, it is not a good policy. This creates a pro-cyclical fiscal policy which means people pay… Continue reading Sending surplus to taxpayers is bad economics
The choice 2022
Today’s student loan forgiveness is a massive shift in the right direction. It helps America move back to a time when anyone who was willing to do the hard work of going to school was able to, regardless of their parent’s ability and willingness to pay. Reminder: CHILDREN OF RICH PARENTS CANNOT QUALIFY FOR STUDENT… Continue reading The choice 2022
Wishful thinking as national policy
New CDC advice: push all of your money in bonds when the stock market goes up! I’m a little frustrated here… This whole idea of loosening up our policies when they start to work is moronic. We cannot do science via popular opinion, we need to do policy based on science, which is based on… Continue reading Wishful thinking as national policy
Up and coming democracies
I just wrote a post examining which countries are democratic enough that we should seriously consider extending visa-free travel to them. I identified 27 different countries where there is no good reason why they shouldn’t be allowed to travel to the US and Canada without a visa, and I think we need to update our… Continue reading Up and coming democracies
Countries we should extend visa free travel to
Travel is of course a fundamental part of the human experience. It helps people come together, it brings down barriers, and I believe it reduces conflict. It increases trade between countries, which is shown to reduce the probability of conflict. It also is an economic stimulus. There are so many good reasons why travel is… Continue reading Countries we should extend visa free travel to