“New Policy Banning H‑2A Sheepherders Shows Need for Congress to Act” By David Bier, courtesy of the Cato Institute Yesterday, the Trump administration announced it would end a decades-old practice of allowing sheep and goat herders to enter the United States as guest workers under the H-2A program. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services […]
Author: Erik Sass
The debate over industrial policy ended… 35 years ago
By Erik Sass, TES Editor-in-Chief The rise of populism has brought with it the return of statism in the economic sphere, especially regarding international trade, where previous moves towards freer trade have been roundly rejected in favor of old-fashioned mercantilism and bilateral brinksmanship. Another aspect of the economic déjà vu is […]
WEEKLY UPDATE: City air makes men free… so why not make new cities?
After all, we’ve been doing it for thousands of years It would be hard to list all the advantages that cities afford us, but the short version goes like this: urban centers concentrate labor, talent, wealth and innovation in a matrix that allows all of them to multiply and advance. Since ancient […]
“This is a mess”: QE isn’t working – and neither is government
By Erik Sass, TES Editor-in-Chief Collectively and individually the countries of Europe face economic problems that they are either unwilling or unable to confront due to a lack of political courage, despite the availability of effective remedies. That was the bleak takeaway from a panel discussion of economic and political experts at the […]
Time for a new generation of cities?
By Erik Sass, TES Editor-in-Chief One interesting (and paradoxically characteristic) aspect of our frenetic modern world is how rarely we found new cities. After all, for thousands of years it was perfectly normal to “pick up sticks” and start a new settlement. Most of the great cities of Europe are products of Greek, […]
Will Blockchain Undermine Central Bank Control – Or Amplify It?
By Erik Sass, TES Editor-in-Chief Since the launch of Bitcoin in 2009 cryptocurrencies have proliferated, powered by blockchain technology using distributed computing platforms. Many have grown with the belief that they will remain free from the control of central banks and treasuries, thus providing an alternative to fiat currencies, whose value may change […]
“Brexit is not going to be the only game in town”
“What matters to voters and who do they trust in this election?” By Professor Anthony Heath, Dr Lindsay Richards and Dan Snow, courtesy of UK In a Changing Europe Historically, the state of the economy in the run-up to an election has been one of the best predictors of the outcome, and so it is not usually thought wise […]
Why a wealth tax would fall flat in the U.S., as elsewhere
“Wealth Tax Revenues” By Chris Edwards, courtesy of the Cato Institute Presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have each proposed an annual wealth tax on the richest Americans. There are so many flaws with such a tax that it probably would not pass Congress. If it did pass, it would likely be […]
It’s not just USMCA: Canada needs to tackle internal trade barriers, too
“Provincial Trade Barriers Shoot Canadians in the Foot” By Fergus Hodgson, courtesy Frontier Centre If there is one finding of near unanimous consensus among economists, it is that free trade increases productivity and boosts growth. The flip side is that tariffs, quotas, and other trade barriers generally reduce welfare. By how much? […]
China Loses, Mexico Wins? Not So Fast!
“China Loses, Mexico Wins?” By Manuel J. Molano, courtesy of IMCO and El Sol de México Last September, Shannon O’Neil published an article in Bloomberg that said Mexico should benefit from the US trade war with China. O’Neil mentioned the openness of the Mexican economy, which is higher as a percentage of GDP than […]