On an otherwise sleepy afternoon of Friday, March 10, 2023, we witnessed the second-largest bank collapse in US history. Around midday, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) announced that it had taken possession of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), an institutional darling of the tech sector, and appointed the FDIC as the now-failed […]Read More

Following the recent US-imposed microchip bans on China, The Biden Administration launched the CHIPS for America Funding Opportunity. The administration aims to revitalize the domestic semiconductor industry and restore US leadership in chip manufacturing. Like many of the administration’s recent actions, the Act is a form of industrial policy whereby the government imposes regulations or […]Read More

When gas prices rose 150 percent from June 2020 to June 2023, politicians and the media didn’t hesitate to blame corporate greed. The evidence they offered was two-fold: rising prices and rising profits. Yet over the past six months, gas prices have fallen 33 percent. Are politicians and media congratulating oil companies for displaying altruism? […]Read More

As an academic economist, my job is to pursue the truth, so I am always flummoxed by the rhetoric coming out of that great regulatory factory on the Potomac, belching negative externalities that gum up the economy. In 2000, I chided the Trump-led CARES Act as a stimulus bill that wasn’t. Only about 20 percent […]Read More

Federal budget hawks are in a pickle. Having predicted nine out of the last zero debt crises, those of us worried about the trajectory of US government spending have the inevitable task of convincing the public that this time is different. It’s going to be a tough sell, but we have to try. Uncle Sam’s […]Read More

Following a 0.93 percent rise in January 2023, the Everyday Price Index (EPI) rose 0.67 percent in February 2023. At 282.6 (1987 = 100), AIER’s EPI is at its highest level since July 2022 (285.4). Among the EPI constituents, the largest month-to-month increases were seen in cable, satellite TV and radio services, prescription drugs, and […]Read More

For some time now, political pundits and activist academics have hung onto the mindset that anything that is big, especially if brought on by a merger or acquisition, is bad. Corporate concentration seems to raise red flags from both Republicans and Democrats alike, who claim that consolidation will lead to predatory practices and higher prices.  […]Read More

When I introduce my (mostly) freshmen students to the economics of international trade, I steal an idea that I learned from David Friedman and Steve Landsburg. I start by showing my students a picture of Thomas Edison. I then ask them to imagine a modern-day version of this inventor who creates a machine that turns […]Read More