Trump signs the Omnibus bill…
…but warns that he won’t do it next time. Do you believe him?
Continue reading →Category Archives: Finance and economics
The Omnibus spending bill…
…is explained here. Nobody’s especially happy with it, many people on both sides are angry with it, and it will probably pass. The misgivings are bipartisan. House Democrats are reportedly threatening to not vote for the rule bringing the legislation … Continue reading →
Do you think that antitrust laws…
…should be used against tech giants? See also this. [NOTE: The first link is to the Economist, which allows a limited number of free articles. The second is to the WSJ, which is behind a paywall that has become increasingly … Continue reading →
Concerned about Trump’s proposed tariffs?
If so, you’ve got plenty of company. Googling the topic, I couldn’t immediately find a single article in favor of the tariffs. Economics is my weak suit, and at this point there are very few prognosticators (if any) I trust. … Continue reading →
Obama: blame and credit, credit and blame
Commenter “Richard” calls scathing attention to a meme that I’ve noticed becoming common among Democrats these days: “the Obama Recovery.” Simply put, it is the assertion that economic effects are delayed in a very special fashion with Obama. Everything bad … Continue reading →
The German cities and the migrants
I was going to call these German cities that have refused to take any more migrants “no-sanctuary cities.” But then I realized that it’s not quite the flip side of the US sanctuary cities, because sanctuary cities in the US … Continue reading →
If Democrat voters are so fired up, why is the DNC nearly going broke?
I don’t know the answer, but that’s my question. Here’s the basis for my question: This report is nothing short of a disaster. Having $6.1 million in debt with only $6.3 million cash on hand is basically being broke. Debt … Continue reading →
If you want to read about the government shutdown…
…go here. I have no desire to write about it in any detail. If it turns into Something, I’ll write about it. We’ve seen too many similar versions of this play already, although the cast of characters keeps changing. Some … Continue reading →
Budget negotiations and the possibility of a government shutdown
The situation as it currently stands. I must admit I have no particular interest in writing much about this at the moment, so I’m glad to post a link instead. I have found over the years that budget negotiations are … Continue reading →
What could make a difference in Iran, and why it would be so hard to achieve it
The most recent protests in Iran seem to have been successfully put down. This is a sad but not surprising thing, since Iran’s government is tyrannical and willing to use its muscle to stay in power: Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah … Continue reading →
Faith, hope, the tax bill, and charity
There have been a great many claims that the new tax bill passed by the GOP will have a chilling effect on charitable giving because it reduces the incentive represented by a tax deduction by increasing the standard deduction. In … Continue reading →
Why would anyone trust Paul Krugman as a prognosticator?
Long, long ago Paul Krugman was an economist of some objectivty. Then he added a gig as opinion columnist for the NY Times (around 2000), and since then he’s written about a great deal more than economics, with a remarkable … Continue reading →