“One of the most effective thought-terminating clichés is ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend.’ It is particularly effective because it works on both people who are, let’s say, not extraordinarily intelligent, and on more intelligent people, people who you wouldn’t expect to fall for such simplistic tricks. It is especially effective in hyper-polarized sociocultural environments, like the one we’re in currently, where people feel like they need to be on one or the other side of whatever.” (05/07/25)
“A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far less sensitive, it was possible to have some banter with a colleague without it being deemed an act of workplace discrimination. Yet today, in 21st-century Britain, merely being likened to Darth Vader has been deemed hurtful enough to warrant a £30,000 payout from an employment tribunal.” (05/08/25)
“The Trump admin is about to restart garnishing wages for some of the five million Americans currently defaulting on their student loans. This is happening at the same time that the value of going to college is going down. Now I’m going to do that thing that everybody loves and say ‘I told you so.’ Well, what I actually said was that not everyone should go to college. That, and student loans should be dischargeable in bankruptcy. And that the federal government should get out of the student lending business. What I’ve learned in the meantime is that boys, especially, may want to reconsider borrowing money (and devoting time) to get a four-year degree.” (05/07/25)
“No. The Net International Investment Position (NIIP) is a simple accounting concept. It is the total value of foreign assets owned by Americans in other countries minus the total US assets owned by foreigners. A positive number means that the value (but not the returns) of US-owned foreign assets is greater than the value (but not the returns) of foreign-owned US assets.” (05/07/25)
“Prime Minister Mark Carney arrived in Washington to meet with President Trump riding the crest of his historic win, the fourth straight election victory for the Canadian Liberals. That put him in the pole position to deal with his south-of-the-border version of the global trade crisis. Carney had strengthened his hand in March by delaying a visit to the United States, traditionally the first stop for a newly elected prime minister, to fly to Europe, where British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were enthusiastic hosts. Prior to the trip, he spoke by phone with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. He’s also invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the annual G7 summit in Canada next month. What probably captured the full attention of the man in the Oval Office, however, was Carney’s pièce de résistance, a Buckingham Palace audience with Charles III.” (05/08/25)
“Revealed preferences suggest that repetitive manufacturing jobs are still preferable to pre-industrial life or scavenging dumps in underdeveloped countries. In the 19th century, most workers outside agriculture, construction, and the resource industries were employed in mindless manufacturing. Of course, these workers are as worthy of our respect as the consumers who patronize more efficient producers. Adam Smith raised an important question, but he could not imagine that, thanks to the fast economic growth that was to become typical of free societies, few workers would remain stuck in mindless manufacturing.” (05/08/25)
“Today, nearly 20 years after Congress passed legislation mandating a nationwide program known as Real ID, was the deadline for travelers to show the new identification for domestic flights. And yet nothing has happened. Although about 20 percent of the traveling public is still not compliant …. Homeland Security has done little more than issue a leaflet that people really, really, really should have the correct ID next time. The Trump administration may try to take credit for a smooth rollout — smooth because it wasn’t a rollout at all. Today’s deadline was largely artificial: According to the fine print of the regulations governing Real ID’s implementation, Homeland Security has until the end of 2027 to phase in the program in full. So the administration took today’s deadline to assure Americans that they could still fly, while it focused on another priority: immigration enforcement, rather than safety provision.” [editor’s note: How about neither? – TLK]
