Author: Thomas L. Knapp

Source: Paul Krugman
by Paul Krugman

“On Monday India and the European Union concluded negotiations on a breakthrough free trade agreement. Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission — the EU’s executive branch — called it ‘the mother of all deals.’ That description is somewhat over the top. Yet the agreement is in fact historic and important in ways that go beyond economics. For it shows that the world is becoming ever more estranged from an erratic, abusive United States. In other words, other countries are moving, step by step, toward an economic divorce from America.” (01/29/26)

https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/the-world-files-for-economic-divorce

Source: The Daily Economy
by Daniel J Smith

“In Bill Cotter’s beloved children’s book series, Don’t Push the Button! a mischievous monster named Larry presents young readers with a tantalizing big red button, sternly warning them not to press it. Of course, the allure proves too strong for toddlers, who gleefully ignore the advice, unleashing a cascade of silly chaos – turning Larry into a polka-dotted elephant or summoning a horde of dancing bananas. The books’ humor lies in the predictable disobedience, but the underlying lesson is clear: some temptations are simply too powerful to resist.” (01/29/26)

https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/dont-push-the-policy-button/

Source: Popular Information
by Judd Legum, Rebecca Crosby, & Noel Sims

“Silicon Valley was once viewed as a tool for liberation. Now, from blocking apps to banning groups, it is helping the White House suppress dissent.” (01/29/26)

https://popular.info/p/social-media-as-state-media

Source: Cobden Centre
by Dr. Frank Shostak

“In order to make the data ‘talk,’ economists utilize a range of statistical methods that vary from highly complex models to a simple display of historical data. It is generally held that by means of correlations, one could organize the historical data into a useful body of information, which in turn could serve as the basis for the assessment of the state of the economy. Things are however, not as straightforward as they seem to be.” (01/29/26)

https://www.cobdencentre.org/2026/01/making-sense-of-historical-data/

Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob

“Congress began regulating campaign finances in the 1960s. In 1976, the Supreme Court’s ruling in Buckley v. Valeo reined in such regulation … in part. This month, at a symposium marking the 50th anniversary of the ruling, John Samples — a former Vice President at the Cato Institute and currently a Member of Meta’s Oversight Board — compared what happened after the 1976 ruling to what might have happened had the ruling been better or worse.” (01/29/26)

https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/01/29/fifty-years-after-buckley/

Source: The UnPopulist
by Birch Smith

“It may have reached a point when its only option for avoiding accountability would be keeping Democrats out of power.” (01/29/26)

https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/has-the-trump-administration-crossed