“EU foreign policy needs ’embedded’ differentiation” By Giovanni Grevi, courtesy of the European Policy Centre When it comes to EU foreign policy, the trade-off between unanimity and effectiveness is real. Differentiated cooperation could offer a way forward. But member states should design it in such a way that it is as embedded as possible […]
Top Page Links
Condemning Cars Is Bad for People
By Pascal Salin, courtesy of Contrepoints There were times in the past when great efforts were made to facilitate the use of automobiles . A few decades ago, many highways were thus built and the circulation of cars in town was encouraged, for example on the banks of the Seine in Paris. But now we are faced with a […]
Europe needs infrastructure leasing to finance development, speed recovery
“A proposal for a public infrastructure leasing entity for Europe” By Wim Moesen and Patrick Vanhoudt, courtesy of the Bruegel Institute Is it possible to accelerate public investment without increasing national taxes or public debt? The authors of this piece believe so, and present a mechanism to relieve member states’ public finances, which are […]
Federal Data Privacy Laws Should Not Be a Secret
By Edward Longe, American Consumer Institute The issue of data protection is never far from consumers’ minds, with 81% of Americans feeling as if they have very little control over the data private companies and the government collect about them. In the United States, these fears are not unfounded, as “there is no one comprehensive federal […]
Beware tacit collusion: price transparency has its own pitfalls
“Curing High Healthcare Prices” By Robert Graboyes and Jessica McBirney, courtesy of the Mercatus Center For the majority of Americans, the cost of healthcare is a thing of mystery. Go in for a major procedure, and you’ll have no idea what sort of financial statement will waft into your mailbox weeks or months later. […]
Time for Argentina to ditch the peso and dollarize
“It’s Time to Ditch the Argentine Peso” By Steve H. Hanke, courtesy of Fundacion Bases In addition to facing an acute COVID-19 crisis , Argentina’s troubled economy is collapsing, and, as often happens, the tightening knot of inflation is suffocating Argentines. The official inflation in Argentina for August 2020 is 40.70% for the year. And, like never before, Argentina’s official inflation rate is relatively close to […]
Critical minerals, tariffs, and national security
“China’s Critical Minerals, National Security, and the Meaning of Supply Chain Interdependence” By Daniel J. Ikenson, courtesy of the Cato Institute Yesterday, President Trump invoked his authorities under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to deem U.S. dependence on imports of “critical minerals” from foreign adversaries a national emergency. Among those minerals are so‐called rare […]
Washington Beyond the Headlines: Wages Were Up, Taxes Down in 2019
By Andy Blom, TES Washington Editor TRUMP HAS COVID-19! And a predictable outpouring of mainstream media bile ensues. If you’re tired of media hysteria and want to know what’s actually being done in Washington, read on… Free Market advocates and organizations are steadfastly ignoring the sensational and doing actual work. Here’s this week’s news […]
Debate on Rail Revenue Threatens Consumer Prices
By Mario H. Lopez, President, Hispanic Leadership Fund A high-stakes debate on revenues generated by the freight rail companies threatens the decades of financial success enjoyed by industry after Congress passed deregulatory measures in the 1980s. The debate centers around “revenue adequacy.” Simply put, revenue adequacy is when the return on investment equals […]
Claims about USPS Mail Delays Omit the Facts and Current Realities
By Steve Pociask, American Consumer Institute With only a few weeks to go before the US Presidential Election, the subject of the U.S. Postal Service’s operational capacities, and specifically, the agency’s ability to handle election mail has drawn an inordinate number of commenters, pundits, and doomsayers into what has been a longstanding debate. Contrary […]