We’ve complained about this bureaucratic bloat at the Fed for years, and so we were pleased to see Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pick up on the theme. He said, “My worry is that the Fed is turning into universal basic income for PhD economists.”
Publication: Unleash Prosperity
The Poor Got Poorer While Government Grew Under Biden
The Census Bureau reports overall poverty and child poverty increased under Biden. Its new annual report makes clear Biden’s 2021 pledge upon taking office was hollow
Anyone Remember When the Left Preached Nonviolence?
There are maniacs of all political persuasions, but the radicalization of the left over the past decade or so has no counterpart on the right. Consider the latest YouGov survey, which found that over 30% of “very liberal” respondents now openly support violence to achieve political goals
Arctic and Antarctic Ice Caps Are Stable
Scientific literature casting doubt on the size of any climate change crisis is usually ignored by the media. So it’s a rare news event when The Guardian, easily the most left-wing of all British papers, reports that the melting sea ice in the Arctic Ocean has slowed dramatically in the past 20 years.
Our Schools Are Churning Out Mamdani Voters
Wall Street Journal columnist Gerald Baker zeros in on one of the key factors behind the victory of socialist Zohran Mamdani in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary: the indoctrination of today’s youth in public and especially elite private schools – such as the ones Mamdani attended.
In-N-Out Burger Is Moving Out of California
It’s yet another sign of California’s demise that CEO and owner Lynsi Snyder says she is personally moving her family to Tennessee as she establishes a new corporate headquarters in a pro-business state with no state income tax.
“Tax Me More”
Millionaires for Mamdani.
Soft-on-Crime Newsom
Newsom says he wants to reverse the state’s rising crime rate. He’s fighting crime as well as forest fires.Proposition 36 – an anti-crime measure that increases penalties for repeated theft and narcotics offenses, and requires treatment for recidivist criminals – passed last November with 68% of the vote. Newsom strongly opposed it.
Is California on Pace for $8 a Gallon Gas?
Speaking of blue state dysfunction, maybe a better reason for protests in Los Angeles would be the absurdly high prices in the Golden State, thanks to years and decades of green extremism.
Europe Flips from No Nukes, to Yes Nukes to Keep the Lights on
In just the last week, three European countries independently made positive moves towards nuclear power. The Green Old Deal Against Nuclear is dying. Cause of death? Reality.
Giving People Money Doesn’t Solve Poverty
People who got more money actually ended up worse off. They worked fewer hours and stayed unemployed longer than the people who only got $50. And that most of their newly found free time was just spent on “leisure.”
If Canada Won’t Be the 51st State, Why Not Alberta?
Speaking of adding states, why not conservative Alberta? The energy capital of Canada will hold a referendum in 2026 that’s likely to include a vote asking people if it should separate from Canada.
Media Ignore Record Stock Rebound
Last week we noted that the media hyperventilated over the stock market losses through the first three weeks of April, even blurting that this was the worst month since the Great Depression. But the naysayers have ignored the big market comeback of the last few weeks.
Welcome to Saudi America
Thanks to the fracking and horizontal drilling revolution, the U.S. has retaken the lead in global oil production. In 15 years, domestic oil production has roughly doubled. So much for running out of oil.
The Not-So-Golden State
We don’t like to always pick on California (OK, we actually do!), but the latest jobs data by state illustrate just what has gone wrong in the Golden State, and much of the rest of blue state America. They have become overly reliant on government for growth.
Snow Woke and the Seven Dwarfs
We’re economists not movie critics, but one of the subversive themes of the movie is that “who’s the fairest of them all” doesn’t apply to the beauty of the queen, but rather about economic fairness. The queen is evil because she doesn’t share her wealth. It’s an ode to socialism. And the movie remake is a flop – as it should be.
Trump Is Right About Our Trading Partners Imposing Excessive Tariffs
We aren’t fans of the trade war, but blaming Trump (as the media and the Left are doing) ignores one key point: He’s right that other countries impose outrageous tariffs on American exports.
Hold the Tariffs, Please
Trump delivered a “hell, yes” speech last night, but it’s time to be attentive to a spooked stock market, inflation that’s still too high, and GDP growth that’s sputtering. Trump should push the pro/growth tax cut message, and steer away from the tariff/protectionism riff.
Musk Dares to Ask Federal Workers: What Have You Done for Us Lately?
The federal government has been compared to a run-away train driven by a sleeping engineer that’s heading for a blown-out trestle bridge over a deep canyon. Elon to the rescue!
JD Vance Takes Down the Globalists
This week, JD Vance told the CEOs and heads of state at the summit on Artificial Intelligence that proposed regulations on it “could kill a transformative industry.” He heroically defended America’s tech prowess against the marauders in Europe and China.
Is Boston the Next Big Blue City to Try to Heal Itself?
Beantown may be the next city where voters stage a coup against progressive ruin – joining the ranks of deep blue cities like San Francisco, Seattle and others that voted in moderate, pro-business Democrats. This week, Josh Kraft, whose father owns the New England Patriots, announced he will challenge Boston Mayor Michelle Wu this November.
DC Workers Make 33% More Than the Next Richest State
And for what? Washington, D.C. produces almost nothing. There are no farms, no factories. The swamp does produce lawyers, lobbyists, regulations, rules, politicians, special interest groups, journalists, and bureaucrats. Washington is a city where people come to do good and end up doing well.
The Idiocy of the Climate Change Brigades
Nothing emits more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and puts carcinogens into the air we breathe than forest fires. And nothing has done more to destroy trees – which absorb carbon out of the atmosphere – than forest fires. The federal government spends tens of millions of dollars on tree planting programs.
Climate Change Didn’t Cause the LA Fire Catastrophe
You can always count on leftists to blame every natural disaster on climate change. Forest fires were much worse in the 1930s than today and that was long before we had 300 million cars and trucks and homes had gas stoves.