“Protectionists have a long history of ignoring economics when it comes to trade. Unsurprisingly, their policies often end up mugged by reality, producing awkward unexpected consequences and failing to deliver on their stated objectives: promoting domestic production and jobs. Still, you have to hand it to President Donald Trump and his advisers. Kneecapping the domestic auto industry with a 25 percent import tariff and handing over the global market to Chinese brands will be a hard oopsie to beat.” (04/02/25)
“New York City Mayor Eric Adams'[s] historic federal corruption case has been dropped. Judge Dale Ho has agreed to the U.S. Department of Justice’s request to drop the charges against Adams, but he did so ‘with prejudice.’ That means Adams cannot be re-tried on the same charges at a later time — a stipulation the Justice Department sought in its initial request to dismiss the case. … In the DOJ request to drop the case, prosecutors said having it hang over Adams interfered with his 2025 mayoral campaign and his ability to cooperate with the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration. The initial request to drop the charges made note that the decision was not based on ‘the strength of the evidence or the legal theories on which the case is based.'” (04/02/25)
“Tariffs ‘will always be the best way to max out our economic power,’ President Donald Trump declared during his first term, predicting that his trade war would ‘MAKE AMERICA RICH AGAIN.’ Not rich enough, apparently, because Trump is still touting the magic of tariffs, which he says will ‘pay off our debt’ and ‘MAKE AMERICA WEALTHY AGAIN!’ Judging from the dizzying array of tariffs that Trump has imposed this time around, he believes what he says. But his faith is rooted in claims that are logically inconsistent as well as economically implausible.” (04/02/25)
“As Syria begins to collapse into another civil war, western nations brace for the inevitable surge of Syrian refugees to their borders. Amid a national immigration crisis, America should consider how its own foreign policy perpetuates this problem. Over 1,500 people have been killed since the clashes earlier in March, including 1,000 civilians. Many call it the worst violence we’ve seen since Bashar al-Assad’s fall in December, yet it’s nothing new for those monitoring the situation since the Arab Spring. In America, immigration discussions among both political camps overlook how U.S. foreign policy contributes to the growing problem. Syria’s fourteen-year conflict demonstrates how American hard power intervention worsens conditions on the ground for civilians, prompts mass migration, and enables extremists to assume control.” (04/02/25)
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to arrive in Hungary’s capital on Wednesday to meet with the country’s nationalist prime minister despite an international arrest warrant for the Israeli leader over the war in the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu’s four-day visit to Budapest is a sign of both his close relationship with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the latter’s growing hostility toward international institutions, like the International Criminal Court, of which his country is a member. Orbán, a conservative populist and close Netanyahu ally, has vowed to disregard the ICC warrant against the Israeli leader, accusing the world’s top war crimes court based in The Hague, Netherlands, of ‘interfering in an ongoing conflict for political purposes.'” (04/02/25)
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Jake Scott
“The world is watching the United States’[s] Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with bated breath, though with mixed expectations, whether it’s with hope, curiosity, trepidation, or abject horror. DOGE, originally the United States Digital Service, is headed up by Elon Musk, who proudly waved a chainsaw given to him by Javier Milei in praise of his efforts, and who has so far saved US taxpayers $115 billion. We’re all watching for different reasons, but for most conservatives and right-of-center parties, it is in the desperate hope that DOGE will succeed where they have failed. Across the developed world, nations are searching for a solution to out-of-control government spending and seemingly coming up short.” (04/02/25)
“The dictates of the neo-redcoat British government, led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, are out of control. Starmer’s Labour government wants the whole world to obey its censorship demands. The latest is that its Office of Communications, called Ofcom, is threatening the American social media platforms Gab and Kiwi Farms with mega-steep fines for unwaveringly safeguarding the freedom of speech of users. Which of course Gab and Kiwi Farms have every right to do.” (04/02/25)
“Tesla’s deliveries fell more than expected in the first three months of this year, marking its worst quarter since 2022, as the electric-vehicle maker faced a consumer backlash in Europe and weak demand in China. The US group, led by Elon Musk, delivered 336,681 cars in the first quarter, far fewer than the 390,000 forecast by analysts and the 387,000 it delivered in the same period last year.
Tesla’s shares were down almost 5 per cent in pre-market trading. The figure lagged behind that of China’s BYD, which has regained its crown as the world’s best-selling electric-vehicle maker after this week reporting sales of 416,388 EVs in the same period.” (04/02/25)
