“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)
“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)
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)
“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)
“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)
“Over the past two decades, U.S. immigration officials have maintained a close relationship with the Israeli government. This collaboration has included trips ferrying high-level U.S. law enforcement officials around Israel, joint training for immigration officers, and technology transfers that have put sophisticated surveillance capabilities in the hands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The result has been an increasing mind meld between security agencies in Israel and the United States.” (01/29/26)
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by the editorial board
“Amid criticism from friendly leaders, the EU holds an emergency summit to find ways to boost innovation and productivity. Its leaders even thank the continent’s bashers.” (01/28/26)
“Question: Is the following true or false? Explain your reasoning. If the quantity of higher education services supplied does not rise with the price of those services, i.e., if supply is perfectly inelastic, then subsidizing the demand for higher education services will primarily benefit universities and their employees. Solution: I use this question in my microeconomic principles class to get my students to think about the actual beneficiaries of a real-world policy that many of them likely believe is intended to benefit students.” (01/29/26)
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Laurent Hynes
“Glimpses into the offices of modern financial institutions reveal dizzyingly-intricate algorithmic and computationally-driven investment strategies. Machine learning techniques and the methods of applied physics confound the layman and foster a reputation of unapproachable complexity around the realm of quantitative finance. The intricate probabilistic methods of academic economics and their required mathematical erudition seem to bar entrance to those more intent on cultivating the techniques of causal realism. Yet such models ultimately rest upon a fundamental assumption concerning the nature of human action, the validity of which is hardly addressed within academia and whose ontological fallaciousness fatally undermines their applicability.” (01/29/26)
