“Democratic Socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is focusing on affordability. But his ‘free stuff’ policy agenda would flunk an introductory economics midterm. For example: free bus rides will increase demand and cause overcrowding as service deteriorates. Can you envision New Yorkers queuing up like Londoners? Ditto free childcare, with risk of fraud. Ditto rent freezes, which are not likely to spur a rent-relieving housing supply surge. Does Mamdani really think public employees will work the same long, intense hours at city-owned grocery stores that private-sector owners do to earn a living while building their generational wealth? Or that it’s a good idea to shutter natural gas plants supplying 500 megawatts of reliable energy, which New York’s Independent System Operator extended beyond their planned retirement in mid-2025 lest the city suffer blackouts.” (01/14/25)
“According to the leader of the monetarists school Milton Friedman our knowledge of the world of economics is elusive. Consequently, it does not really matter what the underlying assumptions of a theory employed to ascertain the facts of reality are. In fact, anything goes, as long as the theory can yield good predictions. Again, on this way of thinking any theory that is applied on historical data could be valid as long as it could produce accurate predictions. … Experience of economic history is always the experience of complex phenomena. It can never convey knowledge of the kind the experimenter abstracts from a laboratory experiment. Moreover, It is vain to search for coefficients of correlation if one does not start from a theoretical insight acquired beforehand.” (01/13/26)
“The U.S. economy, after a tumultuous year of tariffs and trade wars, appears to have performed better than feared earlier in the year, with annual GDP growth through the third quarter of about 2 percent, including a surprisingly healthy bump in the last reported quarter. But that, contrary to what U.S. President Donald Trump says, is not because of tariffs but in spite of them. And 2026 looks set to be an even rockier year on the trade front, with further negative implications for U.S. economic performance.” (01/13/26)
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Mark Nayler
“On January 1, Spain and Portugal celebrated their 40-year anniversaries of joining the EU. In 1986, as both Iberian nations transitioned to democracy after decades of stifling dictatorship, membership of the European Economic Community (EEC), as it was then called, was seen as essential to modernizing their economies and integrating with the international community. And though Eurosceptic parties have recently gained prominence in both countries, in general Spain and Portugal remain strongly pro-European: 73% of Spaniards believe that joining the EU has been positive for Spain, rising to above 90% in the neighboring nation. The leaders of both countries share this belief.” (01/13/26)
“These days, the cost of healthcare is on everyone’s mind. Since the passage of Obamacare in 2010, the cost of health insurance on the individual marketplace has increased nearly 170%, placing a significant financial strain on families and businesses. Despite advancements in medical technology and treatment, many people are finding it increasingly difficult to afford the care they need. This trend is particularly troubling as it disproportionately affects the most vulnerable populations, including the elderly, low-income individuals, and those with chronic conditions. However, rather than lower healthcare costs for Americans, Democrats want to simply extend a COVID-era Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidy, rife with fraud, to the tune of $400 billion over the next ten years.” (01/13/26)
“We’re constantly told that the world is entering a new phase of Realpolitik. This view has been reinforced by the Trump administration’s foreign-policy approach to Ukraine, the Middle East and now Latin America, not to mention the provocative statements made by members of Trump’s team about international affairs. … It should be clear by now that Realpolitik is conspicuous by its absence in the current era. Instead of serious diplomacy, we have public spectacles. Politicians use foreign policy, often at countless international conferences and summits, to play-act as world statesmen in front of the cameras. Instead of focussing on clearly defined objectives, their attention drifts quickly from Gaza to Greenland to Ukraine to saving the planet. Both the Trump administration and his European counterparts are just as guilty of this.” (01/13/26)
“And as some economists would point out, if these projects are such good ideas, then why do they need the help of taxpayers? Why not let the marketplace alone determine the success or failure of these projects?” (01/13/26)
“To judge by recent accounts, Donald Trump’s intervention in Venezuela has imperiled his standing among his own supporters. Traditional-media outlets have warned of a MAGA schism, as have some high-profile right-wing influencers. … The theory of a MAGA rupture over Venezuela has a certain surface plausibility. It’s also completely contradicted by what masses of Trump’s backers are telling pollsters.” (01/13/26)
Source: In These Times
by Amie Stager & Sarah Lazare
“Unions and community groups gathered in front of the Hennepin County Government Center in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota this morning to announce a day of ’no work, no school, no shopping’ on January 23 to oppose the ferocious assault on the state by federal immigration authorities. ‘We are facing a tsunami of hate from our own federal government,’ Abdikarim Khasim, a Minnesota rideshare driver, told the crowd. ‘We’re going to shut it down on the 23rd. We’re going to overcome this.’ JaNaé Bates Imari, representative of the church Camphor Memorial UMC, told the crowd that the joint action will be ’a day when every single Minnesotan who loves this state — who loves the idea of truth and freedom — will refuse to work, shop and go to school.'” (01/13/25)
