“Protectionists have a long history of ignoring economics when it comes to trade. Unsurprisingly, their policies often end up mugged by reality, producing awkward unexpected consequences and failing to deliver on their stated objectives: promoting domestic production and jobs. Still, you have to hand it to President Donald Trump and his advisers. Kneecapping the domestic auto industry with a 25 percent import tariff and handing over the global market to Chinese brands will be a hard oopsie to beat.” (04/02/25)
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“None of the people applauding Trump’s war on Yemen because ‘the Houthis are attacking ships’ will tell you why the Houthis started attacking ships. The pundits won’t say, and the people don’t know. After two weeks of interacting with people who support Trump’s war I can confidently say that none of them know why the war is happening. They know it has something to do with the Houthis attacking ships in the Red Sea, but they never have any idea why those attacks started happening in the first place. They generally assume it’s because the Houthis are just plain evil and want to attack ships, or because Iran ordered them to do it in order to take over the middle east.” (04/03/25)
“Tariffs ‘will always be the best way to max out our economic power,’ President Donald Trump declared during his first term, predicting that his trade war would ‘MAKE AMERICA RICH AGAIN.’ Not rich enough, apparently, because Trump is still touting the magic of tariffs, which he says will ‘pay off our debt’ and ‘MAKE AMERICA WEALTHY AGAIN!’ Judging from the dizzying array of tariffs that Trump has imposed this time around, he believes what he says. But his faith is rooted in claims that are logically inconsistent as well as economically implausible.” (04/02/25)
“As Syria begins to collapse into another civil war, western nations brace for the inevitable surge of Syrian refugees to their borders. Amid a national immigration crisis, America should consider how its own foreign policy perpetuates this problem. Over 1,500 people have been killed since the clashes earlier in March, including 1,000 civilians. Many call it the worst violence we’ve seen since Bashar al-Assad’s fall in December, yet it’s nothing new for those monitoring the situation since the Arab Spring. In America, immigration discussions among both political camps overlook how U.S. foreign policy contributes to the growing problem. Syria’s fourteen-year conflict demonstrates how American hard power intervention worsens conditions on the ground for civilians, prompts mass migration, and enables extremists to assume control.” (04/02/25)
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Jake Scott
“The world is watching the United States’[s] Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with bated breath, though with mixed expectations, whether it’s with hope, curiosity, trepidation, or abject horror. DOGE, originally the United States Digital Service, is headed up by Elon Musk, who proudly waved a chainsaw given to him by Javier Milei in praise of his efforts, and who has so far saved US taxpayers $115 billion. We’re all watching for different reasons, but for most conservatives and right-of-center parties, it is in the desperate hope that DOGE will succeed where they have failed. Across the developed world, nations are searching for a solution to out-of-control government spending and seemingly coming up short.” (04/02/25)
“The New York Times recently released data putting Indiana in the top 10 states Americans relocated to in 2023. Here’s that list, in order according to relocation numbers: Texas, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, Indiana, Colorado, Tennessee, and Oklahoma. Seven of these are completely Republican-controlled, and two have Republican legislatures. Indiana is the only state on the list without a warm or mountainous climate. Professor Michael New pointed out that eight of these ten states enacted strong pro-life laws after the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade. It didn’t damage their attractions one bit. Republican leaders are constantly economically blackmailed into inaction in the culture war, but it turns out the blackmailers are bluffing.” (04/01/25)
“The dictates of the neo-redcoat British government, led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, are out of control. Starmer’s Labour government wants the whole world to obey its censorship demands. The latest is that its Office of Communications, called Ofcom, is threatening the American social media platforms Gab and Kiwi Farms with mega-steep fines for unwaveringly safeguarding the freedom of speech of users. Which of course Gab and Kiwi Farms have every right to do.” (04/02/25)
Source: The American Conservative
by George D O’Neill Jr.
“Donald Trump rode into office — twice now — on a wave of promises to upend the Washington consensus, to drain the swamp of its self-serving mandarins and to keep America out of endless wars. His base cheered when he skewered the neoconservative architects of Iraq and Afghanistan, wars that bled our Treasury, and most importantly, many of our sons for little more than bragging rights in Beltway and Tel Aviv salons. Yet here we are, in the early days of his second term, with whispers growing louder from the usual suspects: advisors and hangers-on nudging him toward a strike on Iran, peddling the old lie that it’ll be quick, clean, and simple. History, that stern teacher we keep ignoring, tells us otherwise.” (04/02/25)
“‘We are also going to resurrect the American shipbuilding industry, including commercial shipbuilding and military shipbuilding,’ President Trump said during his March 6 joint address to Congress. The president did not break new ground with the announcement. Virtually every year, Navy and industry leaders complain that the United States does not invest enough in the nation’s shipbuilding facilities. Yet according to the Congressional Budget Office, lawmakers have appropriated more shipbuilding funds than the president requested for at least 17 of the past 20 years. Even with the extra funds, the Navy’s major shipbuilding programs have consistently fallen behind schedule and over budget.” (04/02/25)
“U.S. President Donald Trump is trashing the world trade system over a basic economic fallacy. He wrongly claims that America’s trade deficit is caused by the rest of the world ripping off the U.S., repeatedly stating things such as, ‘Over the decades, they ripped us off like no country has never been ripped off in history…’ Trump aims to close the trade deficit by imposing tariffs, thereby impeding imports and restoring trade balance (or inducing other countries to end their rip-offs of America). Yet Trump’s tariffs will not close the trade deficit but will instead impoverish Americans and harm the rest of the world. A country’s trade deficit (or more precisely, its current account deficit) does not indicate unfair trade practices by the surplus countries. It indicates something completely different.” (04/02/25)
