Source: The Daily Economy
by Peter C Earle

“The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has undergone massive changes in the past month. Contrary to what many members of Congress and bureaucrats are saying, it’s great news. Reining in the CFPB means reducing uncertainty in the financial world from excessive regulation and costly regulatory agencies’ bloated budgets. Unfortunately, the measures have been stalled in court. Reducing the CFPB’s size and scope would greatly reduce a large amount of uncertainty in financial markets that stem from regulation.” (03/05/25)

https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/dismantling-overreach-why-reining-in-the-cfpb-is-the-right-move/

Source: Underthrow
by Max Borders

“Why cheap proxy wars and endless interventionism still cost too much. Here we consider a more holistic case for limiting American military adventures and proxy wars abroad.” (03/05/25)

https://underthrow.substack.com/p/bargain-basement-hegemony

Source: Common Dreams
by Ann Wright

“On a motorized float designed and built several weeks into the Trump administration for the Rose Monday celebration before Lent in Cologne or Koln, Germany, the likeness of U.S. President Donald Trump vividly illustrates what is becoming more of his view toward the world and toward citizens of the United States. On the float, Trump has the world perched on his middle finger, a derogatory symbol known worldwide. With Trump and Vice President JD Vance’s mega-bully job on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday, February 28, 2025, Trump’s image of giving the finger to not only Zelensky, but also the leaders of the European community who met with Zelensky one day later on March 1 in London, seems to symbolize Trump’s view of European leaders.” (03/05/25)

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/trump-middle-finger-world

Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan

“Do people want to be rich? Or just richer than their neighbors? Self-styled ‘realists’ have long defended the latter position: What human beings really savor is not material wealth, but feeling superior to others. … each of us possesses a nearly fool-proof short-cut to relative riches. Namely: Move to a poorer area. If you want to feel superior to your immediate neighbors, move to a poor neighborhood. If you want to feel superior to people in your state, move to a poor state. If you want to feel superior to people in your country, move to a poor country. When we look at human migration, all three of these choices are rare.” (03/05/25)

https://www.betonit.ai/p/be-relatively-rich-the-easy-way

Source: Persuasion
by Stephen E Hanson & Jeffrey Kopstein

“The United States is joining the ranks of patrimonial states. It’s nothing short of a revolution.” (03/05/25)

https://www.persuasion.community/p/sins-of-the-father

Source: Washington Post
by George F Will

“From the French word ‘petite,’ meaning ‘small,’ comes the English word ‘petty,’ which describes the Trump administration. This is greatness as restored by the midgets of MAGA …. In 1966, Alabama’s Democratic Gov. George Wallace said: ‘Hell, we got too much dignity in government now, what we need is some meanness.’ Problem solved.” (03/05/25)

https://archive.is/LmmGy

Source: Fox News
Dr. Kevin Roberts & Ryan Walker

“On Tuesday night during his joint address to Congress, President Donald Trump reminded the American people that ‘the American Dream is unstoppable’ and that ‘our country is on the verge of a comeback the likes of which the world has never witnessed and perhaps will never see again.’ Congress spent the evening celebrating President Trump’s wins, but the American people will only continue to enjoy them if Congress does its job and passes a clean continuing resolution by March 14. Doing so will keep the government open, allowing the Trump administration to continue its excellent work and ensuring that America’s comeback does not come to a screeching halt. The stakes couldn’t be higher.” [editor’s note: The stakes are extremely low — “continue to tax, borrow, and spend like crazy” vs. “that, but pretend to shut it down” – TLK] (03/05/25)

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/heres-what-congress-no-1-priority-should-after-trumps-speech