I have a four-part series (here, here, here, and here) documenting that Americans are getting richer over time, yet many people feel pessimism and dissatisfaction. This Kite & Key video helps to explain this seeming contradiction. If you don’t want to watch a 10-minute video, here are two charts that summarize the message. This first […]
How to Make Life Better for the Middle Class (and Everyone Else)
How to Make Life Better for the Middle Class (and Everyone Else)
14 Sep 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic growth, economic history, macroeconomics, politics - USA Tags: The Great Enrichment
9/11 25 years on
12 Sep 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, politics - USA, war and peace Tags: war against terror
I just read this transcript of the call from Todd Beamer on United Airlines Flight 93, and it made me cry. I recall reading it back in 2001, but not since. 9/11 changed the entire world, but it also was about huge personal tragedies for families and friends, and feats of heroism. I also was…
9/11 25 years on
Mohamed Atta—The Evil Ringleader of the 9/11 Attacks
11 Sep 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, law and economics, laws of war, politics - USA, war and peace Tags: war against terror
Before I get into the story of Mohamed Atta, there is something I need to get off my chest. It appears that in the last few years, there has been a gradual downgrading of acts of terrorism. Terrorists are no longer called terrorists but militants. There are two definitions of a militant:1, Engaged in warfare […]
Mohamed Atta—The Evil Ringleader of the 9/11 Attacks
George W. Bush’s bullhorn speech still echoes, ‘I can hear you! The rest…
11 Sep 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, International law, law and economics, laws of war, politics - USA, war and peace Tags: war against terror
Poll: Almost 60 Percent of Democrats Have a Favorable View of Socialism
11 Sep 2026 Leave a comment
in economic history, history of economic thought, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA
Recent polls show steady growth in support for socialism among Democrats. A new CBS poll shows how popular it is,…
Poll: Almost 60 Percent of Democrats Have a Favorable View of Socialism
Potential deregulations
08 Sep 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, labour economics, labour supply, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: economics of immigration
Cato’s Handbook on Affordability provides a set of policy recommendations for reducing unnecessary government-imposed costs. There’s the usual stuff you’d expect, much of which is US-focused.But a few bits are worth thinking about here too.In the chapter on healthcare, Cato suggests automatic removal of prescription-only requirements from medicines. They write:Eliminate prescription regulation. The FDA makes medicines…
Potential deregulations
“To Write Well is to Think Clearly”: David McCullough
08 Sep 2026 Leave a comment
in economic history, economics of education, politics - USA
The great historian David McCullough (1933-2022) won the Pulitzer prize for biography twice, for his books on Truman and John Adams, but he also wrote best-selling books on the Panama Canal, the Johnstown Flood, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Wright brothers, and others. Here are his comments in a 2002 interview with Bruce Cole on the…
“To Write Well is to Think Clearly”: David McCullough
IN THE ARENA: THEODORE ROOSEVELT IN WAR, PEACE AND REVOLUTION by David S. Brown
07 Sep 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economic history, politics - USA
(Theodore Roosevelt at his Sagamore Hill home). There are numerous memorable biographies of Theodore Roosevelt. The best include the three volume work of Edmund Morris, Henry Pringle’s Pulitzer prize winning effort, David McCullogh’s National Book Award MORNING ON HORSEBACK, and Kathleen Dalton, H.W. Brands, and Nathan Miller’s critical works, among others. There are also a […]
IN THE ARENA: THEODORE ROOSEVELT IN WAR, PEACE AND REVOLUTION by David S. Brown
This U.S. Citizen Is Suing ICE for Arresting Him 3 Times. His Lawsuit Is Moving Forward.
05 Sep 2026 1 Comment
in labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: constitutional law, economics of immigration
Despite carrying a REAL ID, Leo Garcia Venegas has been repeatedly detained by immigration agents. Now he’s suing to block immigration raids targeting Latinos on private construction sites.
This U.S. Citizen Is Suing ICE for Arresting Him 3 Times. His Lawsuit Is Moving Forward.
State Film Subsidies Lose Money. Trump Wants To Try the Idea Nationally.
04 Sep 2026 1 Comment
in applied price theory, movies, politics - USA, Public Choice, rentseeking, television, TV shows Tags: corporate welfare
There’s “no reason to think a federal incentive would work any differently from state incentives,” says one expert.
State Film Subsidies Lose Money. Trump Wants To Try the Idea Nationally.
Gloria Steinem died
04 Sep 2026 Leave a comment
in discrimination, gender, politics - USA
I guess I’m at the time of life when all my heroes are dying off, because of course they were older than I and I’m no spring chicken. The latest to leave the planet is Gloria Steinem, who died yesterday at 92. Activist, feminist, one of the big figures of “second wave feminism” that promoted…
Gloria Steinem died
Big differences
02 Sep 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA
Federal Court Rules Speech-Based Deportations Violate the First Amendment
30 Aug 2026 1 Comment
in labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: economics of immigration, free speech
The decision goes further than other similar recent rulings.
Federal Court Rules Speech-Based Deportations Violate the First Amendment
Trump Space Policy Targets 1,000 U.S. Launches, Reentries Annually by 2030
30 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, politics - USA, transport economics Tags: space
If our country is serious about returning to the Moon, reaching Mars, and maintaining its leadership in the new space race, it cannot allow launch pads, range scheduling, and reentry capacity to become the bottlenecks. The post Trump Space Policy Targets 1,000 U.S. Launches, Reentries Annually by 2030 appeared first on Watts Up With That?.
Trump Space Policy Targets 1,000 U.S. Launches, Reentries Annually by 2030
Abdul El-Sayed and the Piker Problem
29 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of crime, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: free speech, Israel, Middle-East politics, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left, war against terror
There was a curious moment this week when Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed expressed shock that people were asking him…
Abdul El-Sayed and the Piker Problem
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