“All eyes are on the Upper Midwest as both parties battle for control of Congress this November. Democrats need to flip four Senate seats to take control of the upper chamber, and the hotly contested race between former Republican Congressman Mike Rogers and progressive Democrat Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan could be the deciding factor. The RealClearPolitics polling average has El-Sayed up by over three points, although many recent polls have the race well within the margin of error. Interestingly, in an attempt to make up ground, Mike Rogers has released a new ad this week that directly breaks with President Trump’s trade policies, explicitly targeting the 50% tariff imposed on Canadian goods.” (10/14/26)
“A Ukrainian soldier has gone on trial in Hamburg accused of taking part in one of the most brazen acts of sabotage in postwar European history – the 2022 attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines between Russia and Germany. Serhii Kuznetsov, a special forces officer from the Ukrainian military, is accused by prosecutors of being an accomplice to war crimes by attacking civilian infrastructure, causing an explosion, damaging property and disrupting public services. … He is alleged to have prepared and carried out the detonation of at least four incendiary devices of up to 27kg in weight at a depth of about 80 metres under the Baltic Sea, close to the Danish island of Bornholm.” (10/14/26)
“Under the Keynesian model, a given increase in income will mechanically generate a given increase in consumption, and thus national output. Readers with a background in economics will recognize this as the Keynesian multiplier. But what Hall showed, building off Friedman, is that such a mechanical relationship is conditional, at best. Whether the change in income was anticipated or unexpected, permanent or temporary, will influence how effective the policy will be.” (10/14/26)
“President Donald Trump likes to say he is ‘nine for nine’ with the candidates he has backed in Latin America and the Caribbean, and Brazil’s Oct. 25 runoff could make it ten. Senator Flávio Bolsonaro led the first round on Oct. 4, and Brazil under his leadership could seek to join the Shield of the Americas, the security coalition Washington launched in March and now presents as proof that the hemisphere has turned its way. How much support do the coalition’s current members have at home? Less than Trump’s scorecard suggests.” (10/14/26)
“Florida has [killed] a death row inmate who admitted to murdering his cellmate in hopes of being sentenced to death and killed by the state. James Robertson, 63, was [killed] Tuesday by lethal injection at Florida State Prison in Raiford, located about 45 miles southwest of Jacksonville. He was pronounced dead at 12:32 p.m. EDT, the Florida Department of Corrections said in a statement. Robertson was the 17th death row inmate to by killed by Florida this year as it nears its record of 19 [killings] set in 2025. He was also the 31st person to be [killed with premeditation by state employees in prisons] nationwide this year.” (10/14/26)
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Jonathan Newman
“The Keynesian paradigm suffered in the stagflation of the 1970s. Price inflation and unemployment surged simultaneously, which resulted in broad skepticism of the old Keynesian models while loyal Keynesians scrambled to offer explanations. Moreover, it became apparent that the Keynesian consumption function didn’t hold up to empirical scrutiny—disposable income wasn’t as good of a predictor of aggregate consumption as early Keynesian models assumed. This watershed moment in the history of economic thought produced new tributaries and strengthened some existing ones. … The mainstream consensus that has emerged out of this hodgepodge is that Keynes was right about a lot, but his framework needs ‘microfoundations.'” (10/14/26)
