Source: Show-Me Institute
by Patrick Tuohey
“In 2019, I argued that Kansas City’s debate over ‘luxury’ apartments missed a basic point: housing markets are connected. When higher-income households move into new buildings, they leave something behind. Those vacancies matter. New research now makes that case with concrete evidence.” (02/26/26)
Source: Paul Krugman
by Paul Krugman
“Regular readers know that I have a longstanding interest in comparisons between the U.S. and European economies — largely because that comparison is important for geopolitics and economic policy, but also because it’s intellectually interesting. The conventional wisdom among elites on both sides of the Atlantic is that Europe is falling far behind. But I’m a skeptic. And I have some new thoughts about the issue. So I thought I’d do a wonkish post, aimed primarily at economists, to explain what I think is going on.” (02/25/26)
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/europe-v-america-whos-really-winning
Source: United Press International
“The Trump administration announced Wednesday it is pausing more than a quarter-billion dollars in Medicaid payments to Minnesota over alleged fraud, a move state officials called the latest act of political retribution against a Democratic-led state. … Since returning to office in January, President Donald Trump has escalated federal scrutiny of the state led by Gov. Tim Walz, who ran on the Democratic ticket against Trump in the 2024 election. … The Trump administration has focused on fraud in the state in recent months that it ties to the state’s Somali community amid its aggressive immigration crackdown.” (02/26/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/02/26/Trump-Minnesota-Medicaid-payments/4291772075456/
Source: Liberal Currents
“The SAVE America Act’s Assault on Voting Rights (Half the Answer #66, with Hunter CG).” (02/25/26)
Source: Niskanen Center
“Rethinking feminism and dependence, with Leah Libresco Sargeant.” (02/25/26)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/rethinking-feminism-and-dependence-with-leah-libresco-sargeant
Source: The Atlantic
by Adam Serwer
“Around the world, powerful men are facing consequences for their actions. Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was convicted of trying to overthrow the government in a January 6–style coup, as was his South Korean counterpart, Yoon Suk Yuol. Marcin Romanowski, the former deputy justice minister in the right-wing Polish government, is in hiding in Hungary, accused of misusing public funds. The former Prince Andrew — Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor — became the first member of the British Royal Family in several centuries to be arrested; he’s been accused of crimes related to his relationship with the late sex-trafficking financier Jeffrey Epstein. They’re all unfortunate not to be American. Otherwise they probably would have gotten away scot-free.” (02/25/26)
Source: Exiled Policy
by Jason Pye
“A budget deficit occurs when the federal government spends more than it collects in revenue. It reflects fiscal policy choices. By contrast, the trade deficit is an accounting outcome. It simply means Americans buy more goods and services from abroad than foreigners buy from us. Treating the trade deficit as if it were the budget deficit leads to policy distortions. If you believe it represents money being ‘lost,’ you impose tariffs as a corrective tool. Those tariffs raise costs, invite retaliation, and shift supply chains without eliminating the macroeconomic forces producing the deficit in the first place. The result is higher prices at home and little measurable change in the overall balance. The trade deficit would be a concern if capital were not flowing into the United States. But the imbalance is matched — dollar-for-dollar — by capital flowing into the country.” (02/25/26)
https://exiledpolicy.substack.com/p/the-trade-deficit-is-the-dumbest
Source: Independent Institute
by Addison Gills
“The Supreme Court’s tariff ruling and the structure of the Constitution.” (02/25/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/02/25/power-of-the-purse-vs-the-pretext-of-emergency/
Source: SFGate
by Sam Metz
“As U.S. forces mass in the Middle East, Iran faces the threat of major strikes by the world’s most powerful military, potentially targeting its leaders, military, nuclear sites and critical infrastructure. Iran has nowhere near the same capabilities, and is even more vulnerable after last year’s war launched by Israel and recent anti-government protests. But it could still inflict pain on American forces and allies, and may feel it has to if the Islamic Republic’s survival is at stake. While Iran suffered major losses last June, it still has hundreds of missiles capable of hitting Israel, according to Israel’s estimates. Iran boasts a much larger arsenal of shorter-range missiles capable of hitting U.S. bases in Gulf countries and offshore American forces, soon to be joined by a second aircraft carrier.” (02/26/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/weakened-by-war-and-protests-iran-could-still-21942478.php
Source: SFGate
“A Hong Kong court sentenced the father of a U.S.-based activist to eight months in prison Thursday for attempting to withdraw some funds from his daughter’s insurance policy, in the first case against a family member of a pro-democracy advocate wanted by the city’s authorities brought under a national security [sic] law. Kwok Yin-sang, 69, was found guilty earlier this month of attempting to deal with financial assets belonging to an ‘absconder’ under the 2024 security [sic] law, locally known as Article 23 legislation. His daughter Anna Kwok, who is the executive director of the Washington-based Hong Kong Democracy Council, slammed his conviction as ‘transnational repression.'” (02/26/26)