Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Deborah Palma
“In the mid-19th century, the town of Peoria, Illinois, originally established as a French outpost in the 18th century, underwent a period of rapid expansion. Although not a newly founded settlement, its transformation during this period reflects a broader pattern seen across the American frontier. Within a few decades, it evolved into a regional agricultural and commercial hub. This was not the result of luck or central planning. The decisive factor was clear, recognized, and transferable property titles. Farmers knew that the land they cultivated belonged to them. Merchants felt secure investing in warehouses, mills, and river transportation. Families built homes with the expectation that their children would inherit the fruits of that effort. Where property was clearly defined, the future made sense.” (03/29/26)
“Economist John Maynard Keynes once remarked, ‘Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influences, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist.’ The wry commentary eventually curdled into ironic prophecy, as Keynes became one of those defunct economists. His prescription for countercyclical stimulus mutated into a belief that government spending was a kind of perpetual motion machine: Since spending creates jobs and jobs create spending, you could fuel an increasingly virtuous cycle with ever-expanding outlays. This garble led to unnecessary stimulus during post-pandemic recovery and then some unnecessary inflation. Alas, this is common in public policy fights. Expert debates grounded in the conditions of a particular time get filed down to sound bites in media reports. Years later, half-remembered versions inspire policies that are at best inappropriate to the current moment and, at worst, counterproductive.” (03/29/26)
“Donald Trump, it seems, has managed to outdo his first term’s mismanagement of COVID-19 with an economic crisis of extraordinary scope and scale, entirely of his making. In a recent interview, International Energy Agency (IEA) Chief Fatih Birol asserted the present energy crisis was already on track to be ‘worse than the 1970s.’ How bad is that exactly? The answer, unfortunately, is that this has the potential to be the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression” (03/29/26)
“The Kremlin on Monday welcomed the arrival of a Russian-flagged oil tanker to Cuba, saying energy supplies to the fuel-starved island had been discussed with the U.S. ahead of its delivery. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow considered it its duty to help Cuba, according to Russian state news outlet RIA Novosti. He added that Havana needed petroleum products amid a de facto U.S. oil blockade. A Russian oil tanker carrying a humanitarian shipment of 100,000 tons of crude oil reportedly arrived in Cuba earlier in the day.” (03/30/26)
“No one living in Britain can be compensated for that past existence of slavery or the slave trade. This assertion depends upon a previous assertion, obviously. But, as is often so fun, we can take someone’s assertion and take it to be true and then see where that leads us. So, one assertion out there is that it was slavery — or the slave trade perhaps — which made Britain rich. … So, anyone living in a society made rich by slavery is themselves a beneficiary of slavery. For they’re gaining the high wages that come from living in a rich place. … It is wholly impossible to compensate, with money, someone for having made them rich.” (03/29/26)
“An American E-3 Sentry was destroyed during Iran’s attack on the Prince Sultan air base in Saudi Arabia, according to US officials and new photos. Viral images circulated online and verified by the AFP show the E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System Aircraft (AWACS) ripped in two following Friday’s missile and drone assault. The destruction of the $270 million aircraft is a significant blow to America’s ability to get a real-time picture of battle and assess incoming attacks in the Middle East, retired Air Force Col. John Venable told The Wall Street Journal. … Twelve US service members were also reportedly injured after an Iranian missile and multiple drones hit the air base. … Multiple US refueling aircraft were also damaged in the attack.” (03/29/26)
“I was jarred at how the administration openly gloated and shamelessly lied about the use of lethal force by DHS against people who posed no threat. It only got worse after the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. The lies the administration told after those killings aren’t the lies you tell to cover something up. They’re the lies you tell when you want to project to the country that you can get away with anything. The lies themselves are their own display of authoritarianism. The government is telling us, ‘You know we’re lying. We know that you know we’re lying. And there isn’t a goddamn thing you can do about it.’ They lie about everything. When they’re caught in a lie, they lie again. They lie when the facts aren’t on their side, but also when they are. And they never, ever admit that they lied.” (03/28/26)
