Mark Twain (1835-1910) is arguably the most celebrated humorist and writer in American history. Born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in Hannibal, Missouri, Twain built a literary reputation unrivaled in his day. On one hand, he wrote Huck Finn, a literary masterpiece widely considered the greatest novel ever written by an American. On the other hand, … Continue reading 15 of Mark Twain’s Sassiest Witticisms
For a number of years, it was assumed that public education was swimming along, efficiently educating children of all ages. More recently, the products coming out of public schools have caused a troubling concern to leap into the minds of adults: are schools dumbing down the content they teach to students? That concern seems to … Continue reading Professors: College students are ‘almost illiterate’
China’s plan to levy a 25 percent tariff on imports of U.S. soybeans may come as something of a surprise to most Americans. But to a professor of agricultural economics who studies international commodity markets for a living, this was not at all unexpected. Even before the conclusion of the 2016 presidential race, trade … Continue reading Why China’s soybean tariffs matter
It seems that Venezuela’s dictator Nicolás Maduro has finally found the way to bring the country out of the unprecedented economic crisis Venezuela is immersed in since 2012. The ineffable leader of the Bolivarian Revolution has recently announced the launching of a new currency, the so-called Sovereign Bolivar, which will replace the bolivar as the … Continue reading Venezuela’s President Tackles Economic Crisis by Deleting 3 Zeros From its Currency
I’m a big fan of federalism because states have the flexibility to choose good policy or bad policy. And that’s good news for me since I get to write about the consequences. One of the main lessons we learn (see here, here, here, here, and here) is that high-earning taxpayers tend to migrate from states with onerous tax burdens and they tend … Continue reading Which State Will Be the First to Suffer Fiscal Collapse?
I explained last month that the World Trade Organization’s dispute-resolution mechanism is the best way of discouraging China from short-sighted mercantilist and cronyist trade policies. The Trump Administration, though, thinks that the best response to bad Chinese trade policy is to adopt bad American trade policy. In this interview, I fret that tit-for-tax protectionism is bad, and might even … Continue reading Trump’s Failing Grade on Trade Threatens His Overall GPA on Economic Policy
President Donald Trump seems to be on a tariff-setting tear in recent weeks. It all began on March 8, when the president finally followed through on an almost year-old threat to restrict imports of foreign steel. The administration slapped a 25 percent tariff on the metal, while also putting a 10 percent duty on … Continue reading George W. Bush tried steel tariffs. It didn’t work
A bilateral trade war appears to be in full swing. China and the U.S. are trading targeted tariffs on each others’ goods. Threats of retaliation by key U.S. allies like Canada and the European Union prompted President Donald Trump to exempt a large group of countries from the steel and aluminum duties it announced … Continue reading Trade wars are good’? 3 past conflicts tell a very different story
After handing them their suicide capsules, Norwegian Royal Army Colonel Leif Tronstad informed his soldiers, “I cannot tell you why this mission is so important, but if you succeed, it will live in Norway’s memory for a hundred years.” These commandos did know, however, that an earlier attempt at the same mission by British soldiers … Continue reading Operation Gunnerside: The Norwegian attack on heavy water that deprived the Nazis of the atomic bomb
When it comes to texting, the period, full stop, point – whatever you call it – has been getting a lot of attention. People have begun noticing slight changes to the way our smallest punctuation mark is deployed, from declarations that it’s going out of style to claims that it’s becoming angry. What they’re actually … Continue reading Is Good Grammar in Text Messages Making You Look Like a Jerk?
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