Proper Bookkeeping for Tariffs

From Robert Graboyes’s excellent Bastiat’s Window, Trade Winds 2025-Seriously and Literally: As seen in the accounting equations in the previous post (“Real-World Trade-Deficit Math-Magic,”), you can’t get rid of a trade deficit without also losing foreign...

Endless Tax Wars

The Great Tax Wars by Steven Weisman (2002) is a history of the establishment of the income tax in America. It is very well written, very readable and an excellent component of the development of the progressive political movement. We take the income tax for granted,...

Should an Idea Stand Only On Its Own Merits?

How often have you experienced an idea rejected only because of its source? Is an argument that the minimum wage causes unemployment in lower wage jobs to be rejected because it was made on Fox? Should a criticism of tariffs be discounted because it was made by a...

Economic Thoughts 2019 02 02

December was the worst month in the stock market since 1931.  Last month was the best January in 30 years.  Can we explain this volatility?  Here is my lame attempt. The stock market is a fascinating compilation of forces; a mixture of psychological fears and...

The Longest Bull

This is the longest running bull market and that fact alone brings caution, but this is really not one run but two. The first leg began in the pits of the crash, bottoming around March of 2009.  This part grew during a period of regulation and increasing debt with an...