Which Trump will the world see?
If Mr. Trump doubles down on interventionist and protectionist policies, he will risk inviting trade retaliation by our trade partners, which could lead the global economy down the road to the beggar-thy-neighbor policies of the 1930s. As surely even Mr. Trump must know, trade wars are no solution.
China drone seizure throws down gauntlet to Obama and Trump
| CNN
China’s provocative action in seizing the drone comes amidst deteriorating relations with the Obama administration and sends a message to the incoming Trump national security team.
Thomas Schelling, RIP
| AEIdeas
AEI mourns the passing of Thomas Schelling, who won the Nobel Prize for economic sciences in 2005.
India’s demonetization debacle
India’s demonetization debacle has severely dented Narendra Modi’s reputation for sound economic management.
‘Repealing’ Obamacare without repealing it
Some Republicans’ current plans to repeal Obamacare don’t address the primary problems with the law–or the fact that they don’t have the votes to repeal Obamacare in the first place.
Trump, Silicon Valley’s tech titans share more goals than you think
| The Hill
If Trump is to get an economic revival, full of higher-paying jobs across the breadth of the nation, the technology industry will almost certainly be the most important factor in achieving it. But Silicon Valley may be surprised to learn that Trump could be a champion in helping them achieve their goals, too.
History’s lessons on Trump’s wealthy cabinet
To listen to a host of pro-Trump pundits, or the president-elect himself, the new administration is an obvious and brilliant boon. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the president-elect sees it this way. Trump was the change candidate running against the record of a former-community-organizer president who once said that his brief stint working for the private sector made him feel like he was “working behind enemy lines.”
Beijing is fraying the One-China framework
Taiwan is a liberal democracy that deserves stronger support from the U.S. in the face of growing Chinese assertiveness.
Will Trump face fiscal reality?
Despite the typical uncertainty surrounding any new administration, Trump’s current approach to curbing the federal debt is largely lacking in substance. His administration would be wise to take seriously the dire fiscal situation facing the country.
Recovery through tax reform
| National Review
Taken together, the Trump/House tax reform plan would radically improve the outlook for economic growth in our country. Corporations would locate more capital investment here, and individuals would provide the savings to fund those investments.
Trump’s Taiwan call wasn’t a blunder. It was brilliant.
Trump’s call with Taiwan’s president was a smart, calculated move designed to send a clear message: the days of pushing the United States around are over.
How to make feminism great again
Today’s feminism is not merely out of touch with everyday Americans; it’s out of touch with reality. To survive, it’s going to have to come back to planet Earth.
Understanding the winners and losers of immigration policy
| AEIdeas
When thinking specifically about low-skill immigration, many participants in the public debate believe that immigration policy should protect the economic well-being of low-skill native workers and tax payers. If we view the available data on the consequences of low-skill immigration from that perspective, it is obvious that public policy should be changed to greatly limit (or altogether restrict) low-skill immigration.
What will matter in 2017? A couple perspectives
| AEIdeas
The election is over; now, they have to govern. The incoming Republican-led 115th Congress and Trump administration will have to balance a number of priorities. What really matters in those first 100 days?
The four legs of a new health-care system
Donald Trump’s selection of Rep. Tom Price to lead the Department of Health and Human Services marks a pivotal moment in reforming our nation’s broken health system.
Policy uncertainty and the geography of the Great Recession
| AEIdeas
The enormous shock to the global financial system that triggered the Great Recession also led to significant uncertainty about the policy measures that would be implemented to get the economy back on track.
It looks like it was the working class white voters all along
The populism wasn’t precisely the populism I had preached — Trump was hardly a libertarian, and he did engage in the racially tinged scapegoating I warned against — but it was populism. He did target the working class. And the early data suggests he got it.
June 2016 Mortgage Risk Index from AEI’s ICHR
| AEIdeas
Fueled by solid job gains, low mortgage rates, and high and growing leverage, the national seller’s market is now in its 45th month. Median home prices for the US as a whole have risen relative to median household income, retracing about a third of the drop from the 2006 peak to the 2012 trough, thus crimping affordability.