“It’s far from unheard of in world history for leaders, faced with losing an election, to cancel said election, or falsify the results, or in other ways more or less openly admit that they are ruling without popular consent. So it’s good to know that Hungary has not become one of these. But there are two other possible lessons to draw from the Hungarian election that should be more sobering for opponents of the right-wing populist turn in politics, here in America and elsewhere in the world.” (04/13/26)
“The idea of the ‘property ladder,’ buying a starter home, then trading up over time to larger ones, was a huge part of UK culture from the late 20th century through the early 2000s. It has not disappeared entirely, but for many people it barely functions in the way that it once did. The average property now costs nearly eight times the average income, making it one of the toughest financial challenges of our time. According to the Resolution Foundation, it now takes the average first-time buyer about nine years to save for a deposit, and more than half of all first-time buyers under 35 rely on family help, the so-called ‘Bank of mum and dad,’ to enter the property market. Barclays research from 2025 found that many first-time buyers are no longer perceiving their first home as the start of a journey, but as the final destination.” (04/13/26)
Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen, Emma Janssen & Whitney Curry Wimbish
“It may seem strange to focus on consequences while the war is still occurring, but the truth is that the die has already been cast when the Strait of Hormuz became a choke point rather than a natural waterway. This will have deep implications on economic security, technology, energy, and geopolitics, which we can now begin to chronicle, regardless of the ultimate outcome of the fighting between the U.S., Israel, and Iran.” (04/14/26)
“The energy affordability crisis caused by the Iran war and electricity-hungry data centers has now risen, like prices, to near the top of Americans’ political concerns. … The good news is we no longer face the false choice between cutting emissions and cutting prices. We can do both. … Advanced technologies lower emissions while cutting prices. Adding electric car batteries in tens of millions of homes and workplaces along with other cheaper power storage units, which could provide a quarter of new U.S. power this year, might greatly reduce the need for expensive and polluting backup power plants on the grid.” (04/13/26)
“President Trump was presented with a great opportunity on Saturday to take the off-ramp from his war on Iran. After threatening Iran that ‘a whole civilization will die tonight,’ Trump managed to get a two week pause in the war with the intervention of the Pakistani government. … after a month and a half of war, where tens of billions of dollars have been spent, every US base in the region is either damaged or destroyed, and dozens of military aircraft have been lost, President Trump did not take the off-ramp. He hit the accelerator. … Over the past weeks he has alternated between insisting that the Strait of Hormuz is unimportant to the United States and demanding that the Strait be opened immediately. Then yesterday he announced – via his social media account – that the United States military would start blockading Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.” (04/13/26)
“Each year, local governments spend tens of billions of dollars on economic development incentives — tax abatements, fee waivers, and direct subsidies — intended to lure private investment. Cities across the nation tout their ability to entice marquee employers, generate buzz with ribbon-cuttings, and implement incentive programs designed to attract private capital. Even small-city councils establish these departments to signal support for economic growth and to boost city revenues. Yet beneath the surface of city branding, press releases, and fiscal sustainability strategies lies a more troubling reality: economic development departments, far from facilitating genuine development and demonstrating the appropriateness of their spending, entrench inefficiency, distort markets, and perpetuate the very obstacles they purport to overcome.” (04/13/26)
“While workers have always been free to pursue independent contracting, the companies that hire them aren’t free to offer them benefits such as contributions to retirement plans or health savings accounts. Both federal and state law make it likely that doing so would force companies to classify independent contractors as traditional employees. But independent workers don’t want to be employees. As for businesses, hiring employees imposes extra paperwork and management costs that benefit only lawyers and accountants. That’s a lose-lose for businesses and workers alike. … This is where states are starting to lead. In 2023, Utah passed the nation’s first law giving companies an employment law safe harbor for offering portable benefits. Doing this will no longer affect an independent contractor’s employment status.” (04/13/26)
“Tariffs implemented last year by President Donald Trump’s administration are entirely to blame for the recent surge in prices for consumer and household goods. Those tariffs have raised core goods prices by 3.1 percent, according to a new study by a trio of economists at the Federal Reserve. Those higher consumer prices were the result of retailers passing the cost of tariffs along the supply chain. As of February 2026, the tariffs ‘can explain the entirety of the excess inflation in the core goods category since January 2025,’ the economists concluded.” [editor’s note: That the claim comes from the Fed at least somewhat taints its credibility. On the other hand, there’s zero doubt that tariffs raise prices – TLK] (04/13/26)
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“After threatening to annihilate Iran with bombs, President Trump and the U.S. national-security establishment have decided to do so with their tried and true foreign policy tool of sanctions — or, in this case, they’re calling it for what it is — a blockade, which, as most everyone recognizes, is an act of war just as much as a bombing spree is. … While Trump, the Pentagon, and the CIA realize that American consumers will continue to suffer the economic consequences of their illegal and unconstitutional (i.e., no congressional declaration of war) war of choice and war of aggression on Iran, the hope is that Iranian officials, faced with the prospect of mass starvation among the Iranian people, will capitulate and unconditionally surrender to U.S. forces prior to the mid-term elections.”(04/13/26)
