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Wealth and Risk
Allison Schrager, City Journal Wealth disparities among racial groups in America are caused by multiple factors, including differences in education and income and a legacy of discrimination. But distinctions in risk-taking and tolerance are also important, persistent—and often overlooked. The Federal Reserve Board recently released its triannual Survey of Consumer Finances, the most comprehensive snapshot of American household balance sheets. Each report offers a sober reminder of the wealth differences between black and white households in the United States. Median net worth among white households is $181,000; for black households, it is just $20,700. Read more here....
The international economy faces a set of complex economic challenges. Desmond Lachman breaks down the International Monetary Fund's sobering World Economic Outlook and the latest developments
 Claire Jungman and Daniel Roth write: This month should serve as a warning to the U.S. Administration: Iran is clearly capable of continuing to export in large quantities despite tightening sanctions enforcement. In addition to the well-publicized Caracas route, the White House must prioritize the curtailment of secretive (and illegal) ship-to-ship transfers, which some analysts believe are involved in half of all successful Iranian oil export deliveries — if maximum economic pressure efforts are to succeed. – United Against Nuclear Iran Seth J. Frantzman writes: On Tuesday, the Israel Defense Forces released details on sites where Hezbollah produces precision guided missile components in Beirut. Hezbollah rushed to take the media to the sites to show that there was nothing to see. On Friday, the IDF released more details. […] The overall context of the public relations conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, which heated up between July and October in conjunction with developments on the ground, is important because it goes along with the Lebanese political crisis in general. – Jerusalem Post Yaakov Lappin writes: The precision-guided missile project is a joint Hezbollah-Iranian program, and it includes the conversion of existing rockets into precision projectiles, as well as setting up the means to produce them from scratch within Lebanon. The program fits in well with Hezbollah and Iran’s agenda of using human shields to protect offensive capabilities designed to target Israeli civilians. – Algemeiner Andrew Greco and Will Christou write: Pro-regime actors may be preparing for an offensive in Greater Idlib Province. Russia and the regime have recently increased their bombardment and infiltration attempts in the Jabal Zawiya and Sahl al-Ghab areas. Russia is diplomatically pressuring Turkey to fulfill its commitments to counterterrorism likely to justify a pro-regime offensive against areas primarily controlled by al Qaeda-aligned factions if Turkey does not conduct operations against these groups. – Institute for the Study of War Seth J. Frantzman writes: Clearly the use of the fighters to channel them from fighting the war against the Syrian regime that the fighters wanted, to sending them abroad is a new phenomenon. It is mostly based on lure of pay with some religious propaganda of fighting imagined enemies or “jihad” mixed in. This blend of religious-ethnic-economic incentives is interesting, but it is primarily Turkey that operationalized the abuse of Syrians by sending them to far away places and betraying their fight in Syria to get them to fight Kurds, Libyans and Armenians. – Jerusalem Post Seth J. Frantzman writes: Azerbaijan does not fit into these groupings because it has sought an independent foreign policy and has steered clear of Middle East disputes. However, it appears that some countries want to link these battles to the Middle East. In a world where the dominant US role of the 1990s is changing rapidly, the influence of other major players such as Russia, Turkey and Iran is growing, and this means they will try to broker deals regarding this Caucuses conflict which will have major implications for the rest of the Middle East. – Jerusalem Post Dimitar Bechev writes: It is also worth remembering that Moscow may push back strongly against President Ilham Aliyev if he is deemed to be overreaching. The same goes for Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan given Russia’s extensive security and economic leverage over Yerevan. Erdogan may score a political win if the Azeris can seize land, but Moscow – initially caught off-guard by this crisis – still has cards to play. The ball is very much in Putin’s court. – Middle East Institute The Pentagon has begun to shift the focus on irregular warfare away from the specific counterterrorism missions of the last two decades and toward a broader effort that includes information warfare and gray zone operations, a top special operations official said Friday. – Defense News For nearly 15 years a little known but highly influential Army group has been in the middle of how the Army learns immediate lessons from combat, adapts to the evolving battlefield and saves soldiers’ lives. It’s called Asymmetric Warfare Group, and the Army is shutting it down next year. – Army Times Rep. Rob Wittman writes: Last week, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper committed to significant increases in spending for Navy shipbuilding and readiness. This is an important step, but it should be just the beginning. America must remember its role as the world’s preeminent maritime nation, and reinvigorate not just our Navy and Marine Corps but our shipbuilding and maritime industries. Our country’s future depends upon it. – Defense News
Peter Villano writes: Defense organizations don’t need to reinvent the wheel to work with commercially successful tech. Use what’s available today to reduce barriers and risk, reform existing methods, and increase engagement with trustworthy resources to work with more viable commercial tech companies that can move our country forward. – Defense News
The Substack Superstar System
Allison Schrager, City Journal Until recently, when a prominent writer like Andrew Sullivan lost his job for voicing controversial opinions, he had two options: write for the other side or fade into obscurity. But when Sullivan was fired from New York Magazine recently, he turned to Substack, a platform that lets authors publish and monetize a newsletter or sell standalone content directly to readers. Sullivan claims that he has more than 75,000 subscribers and is making more money than he did at New York. Read more here.
Why Didn’t Obamacare’s Mandate Work?
Chris Pope, Manhattan Institute Why the Trade Balance Is Not a Mystery Steve Hanke, National Review
The danger of America ignoring external economic risks
Desmond Lachman | The National Interest With a wave of debt defaults likely to hit the emerging market economies soon and a sovereign debt crisis brewing in Europe, US economic policymakers should consider shifting their attention to external economic risks. If the past 25 years provide any lessons, these factors can impede the economic performance of the United States.
The End Of China's "Peaceful Rise"
by Larry Diamond via American Interest Two generations of American scholars held out hope that China would become “a responsible stakeholder.” In 2020, those hopes have been dashed.
Time to Close the Legal Loopholes that Facilitate Russian Illicit Finance
John Hardie — The National Interest Following reports that a Russian military intelligence unit offered bounties to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan, both Democrats and Republicans in Congress are weighing retaliatory sanctions. But as Congress looks to get tougher on Russia, it should not ignore what may be the most effective step Washington could take to punish Putin and counter Russia’s malign influence: closing the legal loopholes that facilitate Russian illicit finance. Congress has a prime opportunity to do just that as part of its annual defense spending bill. Read More
https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/07/iran-turns-to-china-shift-to-east-strategy-against-united-states/
●https://www.ynetnews.com/article/Skcqk0Hyv https://www.timesofisrael.com/china-strategic-accord-could-give-iran-400-billion-boost-up-military-ties/
The Collapse of Entitlement Federalism
Chris Pope, City Journal The coronavirus crisis has become a crisis of federalism, as states face plummeting revenues and soaring entitlement obligations. Despite $340 billion in emergency funding through the CARES Act and a $50 billion hike in federal assistance for Medicaid, states remain deep in the red. The National Governors Association has called for an additional $500 billion in “unrestricted fiscal support” to help meet budgetary shortfalls, and House Democrats have made further assistance for states a centerpiece of their proposed $3 trillion HEROES Act. Read more here....
A bad economic idea is back in fashion
Desmond Lachman | The Hill When something is unsustainable, it will eventually come to an end. Don't expect unsustainable public debt to be any different.
A Chronicle of a Lost Decade Foretold
Yanis Varoufakis drafts a preliminary history of the 2020s, which could end looking nothing – and everything – like the 1930s.
Greece said Monday that it is determined to oppose plans by Turkey to expand oil-and-gas exploration in the Mediterranean Sea, in a deepening regional dispute over mineral rights. – Associated Press
Ryan Gingeras writes: Whatever does happen, Turkey’s present commitment to its “blue homeland” policies appears contingent upon two critical factors. Firstly, Turkey’s maritime posturing, as conjured up by Gürdeniz, Yaycı, and others, has captured the imagination of a broad swath of the Turkish political establishment. Calls for a determined defense of the country’s expansive “mavi vatan” echoes the combative, independent spirit of Ankara’s contemporary foreign policy. At present, there is little incentive for Turkey to deviate course. – War on the Rocks
Michael Rubin writes: If Egypt seeks to pressure Ethiopia over the Great Renaissance Dam, the best way for Cairo to move forward would be to take diplomatic or economic action against the dam’s foreign financiers. But Sisi’s current approach will fail: The weapons his government has allegedly provided the Somali government are far more likely to end up in the hands of anti-Egyptian radicals than those who seek to counter Ethiopia. Perhaps, for the sake of regional security, it is time for the Trump administration to stop turning a blind eye to Egypt’s weapons trade. – Washington Examiner
Mohamed Eljarh writes: As Moscow seeks to strengthen its engagement with the eastern Libya bloc and Ankara builds its military footprint and influence in Tripoli, Erdogan and Putin could repeat their attempt to hijack international diplomacy on Libya with an Astana-like process, presumably favoring Turkish and Russian interests over Libyan ones where convenient. If there is no major shift in dynamic, it is these two countries that will dictate the future of Libya. So far, as the United States continues to exhibit lack of interest or serious engagement and Europe remains divided without a clear common policy on Libya, it remains likely that Turkey and Russia will continue to occupy their roles as shapers of Libya, especially if Russia continues to increase its military and political involvement at the same pace. – Washington Institute
Dmitriy Frolovskiy writes: Reliance on the impartial intermediary approach and realpolitik might be effective to an extent as a way of building bridges with autocratic incumbents, but evidence suggests that Russia’s leadership fails to fully grasp the potential for growing popular unrest in the Middle East. Prone to disruptions, the Kremlin’s approach could still deliver geopolitical gains in the years to come, as signs suggest has been the case with Russia’s growing military presence in Libya. But the region’s changing dynamics might not only offset these gains, but also turn Russia’s involvement into a costly endeavor, wounding it both at home and abroad. – Middle East Institute
Who Has the World’s Largest Economy?
Jeffrey Frankel shows that the United States remains far ahead of China in terms of the metric that really counts. 
The economic self harm of autarky: Are we really talking about America making everything it needs in America?
James Pethokoukis | AEIdeas
Zingales On The Rule Of Economists
by David R. Henderson via EconLog In the spirit of Clemenceau, Huntington (1981) claims that in a democracy, the ultimate responsibility for a country’s military strategy belongs to the civilian political leadership. If, instead, the military controls the political decisions, it is a military dictatorship. In the same way, the ultimate responsibility for a country’s economic policy should belong to the political leadership. If economists control it, it is a technocratic dictatorship. The Classicist: Dark Days Ahead interview with Victor Davis Hanson via The Classicist On political polarization, the debt reckoning, and Chinese aggression. What does Libya’s ‘Syrianization’ scenario mean for key actors? Turkey may have gotten kudos for tipping the balance in Libya, but Russian countermoves raise the prospect of Turkish collaboration with Russia in the North African country, which is not to the liking of countries that have been giving plaudits to Ankara. Read More France: Ratified Law Officially Ends the West Africa CFA Franc. On Wednesday The French Council of Ministers adopted the bill ratifying the end of the CFA franc. The reform will affect the eight member countries of the West African Monetary Union: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo. This bill formally transforms the West African currency, which will change its name to eco. The Central Bank of West African States will no longer have to deposit half of its foreign exchange reserves with the Bank of France. African News North Africa Post South Sudan: Hundreds of Civilians Killed in Tribal Clashes. Violence broke out between the Lou Nuer and Murle tribal groups in the state of Jonglei around the town of Pieri, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. Three aid workers were killed, hundreds of civilians were injured, and thousands were displaced from their homes. The violence comes after the government failed to appoint a governor for the newly-created state. David Shearer, head of the UN Mission in South Sudan, stated, “We strongly urge the Government and other parties to compromise and agree on these critical positions.” Reuters  Tracking Down Sudan's Secret Cash by Alberto M. Fernandez MDA: All-Domain C2 Key To Countering Hypersonic Missiles “We’ll take anybody’s sensors,” MDA’s John Bier said, “as long as it contributes to the missile warning, missile defense and space domain environment.” Haftar, Tribal Power, and the Battle for Libya by Alison Pargeter Scoping the Future of Education in National Security and Beyond with Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Frank Kelley, Sae Schatz, Jason Tyszko, and Ryan Evans Sowing a new global garden A U.S.-led “economic prosperity network” could be a good start Keep Expectations Modest for Iraq’s New Government by Douglas A. Ollivant
Pulling Troops Out of Africa Could Mean Another Endless War by Herman J. Cohen  Hoover Institution Press Publishes Strategies For Monetary Policy, Edited By John H. Cochrane And John B. Taylor via Hoover Daily Report The Hoover Institution will publish a new volume, edited by senior fellows John H. Cochrane and John B. Taylor, that reviews the strategies, tools, and communication practices the Federal Reserve system deploys to shape monetary policies for its dual-mandate goals of maximum employment and price stability. Strategies for Monetary Policy is drawn from a May 3, 2019, conference at the Hoover Institution featuring economists, financial experts, and Federal Reserve policy makers. As spending surges and interest rates plummet, is a new age of monetary policy upon us? Desmond Lachman warns against excessive monetary loosening in emerging markets Long road to recovery Desmond Lachman | Washington Examiner Since 1945, the United States has experienced 12 economic recessions. However, it has never experienced a recession quite as deep and as sudden as the coronavirus-induced slowdown it is currently facing. While much is still unknown, one fact remains certain: The road to recovery will be long. The debt cleanup that awaits us
James C. Capretta | RealClearPolicy President Trump and the rest of the federal government are right to focus their attention on the immediate economic and public health emergency COVID-19 presents. However, when the crisis recedes, the entire federal budget needs recalibration to head off an intractable cycle of rising interest payments crowding out necessary public investments.
How Hezbollah Collaborates With Latin American Drug Cartels
Emanuele Ottolenghi — The Dispatch Last month, Dutch authorities raided a lab in a small village where Colombian cartels turned charcoal-camouflaged cocaine briquettes back into drugs. The charcoal that most Americans burn in their barbecues is not the stuff they would normally associate with organized crime, yet evidence is mounting that in recent years charcoal—a key Latin American and African export—is fast becoming a cover to masquerade cocaine. Read more
Iran: U.S. Seizes Millions and Disrupts Oil Tanker to Target Quds Force. U.S. authorities charged two Iranian men and seized $12 million in funds used to support the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Thursday. “The Iranian regime and its supporters continue to prioritize the funding of international terrorist organizations over the health and well-being of the Iranian people,” said U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Alireza Miryousefi, spokesman for Iran’s mission to the United Nations, said the United States should be concerned in helping its own citizens, but instead focuses on bullying Iran. AL-Monitor The Washington Post
China squeezes debt repayments from virus-hit nations
Amid the psychological rubble of the Covid-19 crisis, strands of China’s ‘New Silk Roads’ have been fused into a web of debt. What was a high-risk game of loans is now threatening cash-strapped countries as they struggle to combat the deadly coronavirus outbreak. In short, the Belt and Road Initiative has gone from the jewel in Beijing’s foreign policy crown to what many see as a poison chalice during a catastrophic world event. Read More
Iran Is Airlifting Supplies to Venezuela. The Trump Administration Should Move to Block It.
The Islamic Republic can leverage the Maduro regime's ability to access sanctioned goods as payment for its services.
Hezbollah’s History with Ammonium Nitrate: The Danger to Europe
Toby Dershowitz and Dylan Gresik – FDD Policy Brief New Explosion in Lebanon at Site That Belongs To Affiliate of Hezbollah Tony Badran – FDD Policy Brief
Hezbollah Finance in Lebanon
Tony Badran and Emanuele Ottolenghi — FDD Memo The government of Lebanon seeks an international bailout to save its financial system, which will require an estimated $93 billion rescue. The amount needed is astronomical. But even if a rescue were feasible, other systemic challenges remain. Lebanon’s financial system is rife with illicit finance. It is a conduit for money laundering schemes that fund Hezbollah and its nefarious activities, generating billions of dollars per year for the terrorist group. Read more
Iran’s Turkey-Based Sanctions-Evasion Scheme More Extensive Than Previously Reported
Aykan Erdemir – FDD Policy Brief How to Reform Unemployment Insurance for a Reopened Economy Beth Akers, E21 Over the past several weeks, since Covid-19 outbreaks have largely closed down the US economy, 36 million people have lost their jobs and filed for unemployment insurance benefits. For as many as two-thirds of them, a funny thing happened—they got a raise. During normal circumstances, workers laid off from their jobs can get somewhere between 35 and 55 percent of their lost wages replaced by unemployment insurance benefits. Unemployment insurance programs are administered by states rather than the federal government, so the exact benefit depends on where the worker lives and the specific policies adopted in their state. Read more here.... Emi Nakamura Interview: on Price Dynamics, Monetary Policy, and This ‘Scary Moment in History’ Douglas Clement, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis America's coronavirus nightmare: Debt, deflation, and mass unemployment Desmond Lachman | The National Interest Mexico: Economy Goes Deeper Into Recession. The government released a report on Thursday that showed Mexico’s economic activity has declined 1.6% in the first quarter compared to the final three months of 2019. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has been criticized by many for not doing enough to help keep the business sector afloat. This decline was the biggest since 2009 and the fifth consecutive quarter of economic contraction. U.S. News & World Report Mexico’s president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has been criticized in recent weeks for failing to take the effects of the pandemic seriously. Roger Noriega took to the AEIdeas blog to argue that if Mexico mismanages the COVID-19 crisis, it could do collateral damage to an already weakened US economy. President Trump has restricted nonessential crossings at the US borders with Mexico as part of the coronavirus response. However, an abrupt economic downturn in Mexico could have significant consequences at the border and to the bilateral relationship. Read more here. The debt cleanup that awaits us James Capretta explains that when the crisis recedes, the entire federal budget needs recalibration to head off an intractable cycle of rising interest payments crowding out necessary public investments. READ MORE Forget about a V-shaped recovery Desmond Lachman | The Bulwark The toxic combination of a record-high global debt-to-GDP ratio and the deepest worldwide economic recession in the postwar period do not indicate a quick recovery. As policymakers in the US mull opening up the economy in an attempt to prevent further damage, they must recognize that there is no miracle bounce back coming. Even if the virus disappeared tomorrow, the world economy and global financial markets will still be stalked by structural risks. Conversations with E21: Edmund Phelps on the COVID-19 Response Allison Schrager, E21 Edmund Phelps, the winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Economics, is Director of the Center on Capitalism and Society at Columbia University. He did and continues to do groundbreaking work on unemployment, growth, and innovation. His most recent work addresses how to restore dynamism to the economy. Read more here. MI Responds: NYC’s Budget Crunch Hendrix, Kober, Gelinas, Malanga, Armlovich & Husock, Manhattan Institute James Robinson: The narrow corridor to liberty James Pethokoukis | @JimPethokoukis | "Political Economy" Why do some nations become free and prosperous while others don't? According to guest James Robinson, freedom and prosperity arise when a state is strong enough to secure liberty and provide public services and a society is strong enough to prevent the state from becoming despotic. The American dream in 2020: How to strengthen it
Aparna Mathur, Abby McCloskey, and Erin Melly | American Enterprise Institute  U.S., IRAN:
Treasury Sanctions Quds Force Fronts in Iraq By Mark Dubowitz & Behnam Ben Taleblu, FDD: “The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday sanctioned 20 people and companies in Iraq and Iran with ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force (IRGC-QF), Tehran’s elite foreign operations and terror unit."  Sanctions Won't Bust Russia-Venezuela Relationship
By Sarah White, RealClearWorld: "When U.S. President Donald Trump gave the State of the Union address in early February, Juan Guaidó, who declared himself Venezuela’s acting president last year, was in the audience as an honored guest. At the same time, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was paying a visit to Caracas. The coinciding trips were a striking reminder that there are competing visions of Venezuela’s future."
UAE Continues to Serve as Hub for Iranian Sanctions Evasion
Saeed Ghasseminejad | Senior Iran and Financial Economics Advisor
Pacific Century: The Pandemic, China, And The End Of Globalization
interview with Michael R. Auslin, John Yoo via The Pacific Century A Beat Down On China, With Michael Auslin interview with Michael R. Auslin via Power Line Hoover Institution fellow Michael Auslin discusses his RealClearPoltitcs article “Beijing Fears COVID-19Is Turning Point for China, Globalization,” and he also answers some fundamental questions about whether China can become more transparent and truly liberalize in any meaningful way.
Holding The Line: Maintaining Fiscal And Monetary Policy Boundaries In The Midst Of A Crisis
quoting Kevin Warsh via Cato Institute Not long ago, the CMFA staff and I were preparing to officially launch The Menace of Fiscal QE, my book aimed at countering efforts to have the Fed undertake or otherwise fund off-budget government spending programs.
Visualizing The 700-Year Fall Of Interest Rates
cited Paul Schmelzing via Visual Capitalist How far can interest rates fall? Currently, many sovereign rates sit in negative territory, and there is an unprecedented $10 trillion in negative-yielding debt. This new interest rate climate has many observers wondering where the bottom truly lies.
Flattening the Curve of a Recession
Milton Ezrati, City Journal What Federal Bailouts Should and Shouldn’t Do Nicole Gelinas, Manhattan Institut
The Market Lover’s Argument for Fiscal Policy
Allison Schrager, E21 Economists like to say everyone is a Keynesian in a foxhole. But this will be no normal recession. It illustrates the purpose of fiscal policy. Actually, the evidence is mixed that fiscal policy is always effective at boosting demand. But that does not mean there is no role for fiscal expansion. The scope of fiscal policy is not demand management; it is about risk management, which means preserving the arsenal of fiscal and monetary expansion for when it is needed and can be the most powerful. Read more here....
AMITY SHLAES
A Proven Economic Path to Recovery America’s past crises show that a free-market policy is the best way forward.
The best short-term and long-term stimulus package for COVID-19
Aparna Mathur and Erin Melly | AEIdeas
Coronavirus: What the global economy is up against
Desmond Lachman | Washington Examiner Hopefully, chastened by the recent stock market meltdown, President Trump might drop his earlier antagonism toward international cooperation and his my-way-or-the-highway approach to domestic economic policy setting. If not, prepare for more economic pain.
Josh Rogin writes: This is not a “red scare” or an argument for complete decoupling of the U.S. economy from China. This is a call for more transparency from Chinese companies and more vigilance by U.S. institutions gambling with Americans’ financial futures. China wants to see its most controversial firms embedded in U.S. indexes and pension funds because it legitimizes these companies, undermines U.S. sanctions and advances Beijing’s strategy to increase China’s leverage and influence over the United States. We can’t afford to let that happen. – Washington Post
Kristine Lee and Ashley Feng write: Beijing’s blustering is more pernicious than false advertising. After its early mismanagement of the outbreak, China is brazenly leveraging what is now a global crisis to advance its narrow aims. […]The coronavirus should be an unequivocal wakeup call for the United States and its allies to collectively oppose China’s efforts to hollow out the existing rules-based order and advance alternatives that are ultimately detrimental to the free flow of information and global public health. – The Hill
Liselotte Odgaard writes: China pursues its global interests by creating situations in which other states feel that conceding to Beijing’s interests is prudent, given China’s financial and diplomatic clout. […]China addresses key regional concerns, thereby promoting a benevolent self-image. China nurtures recipient country–identified needs previously neglected by Western donors, but such developmental nurturing ultimately serves Chinese economic, environmental, and security interests. – Hudson Institute
Crisis Of The Iranian Order
Tony Badran — Hoover Institution The “transnational”: this is how Qassem Soleimani, the former head of Iran’s Qods Force, who was killed in a January U.S. missile strike in Baghdad, is described in Hezbollah-run schools in Lebanon. Soleimani, who commanded the militias prosecuting Iran’s wars in the region and who managed the Islamic Republic’s realm from Iraq to Lebanon, met his end as the Iranian order in those two countries was under severe stress, adding to the Iranian regime’s domestic troubles as it reels under the weight of U.S. sanctions. Read More
https://www.usip.org/publications/2020/01/colombias-imperfect-peace-could-provide-roadmap-afghanista
As Erdogan’s reliance on Russia grows, NATO hopes to win back wayward Turkey
Aykan Erdemir and Philip Kowalski — Al Arabiya Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Moscow for six hours on Thursday to negotiate a ceasefire deal that intended to end clashes in northwest Syria’s Idlib province, which resulted in the deaths of 60 Turkish soldiers since the start of February. Although the two leaders have significant differences over the future of Idlib and Syria, Erdogan’s dependence on Russia, both politically and economically, limited his ability to pivot away from the Kremlin and realign with Turkey’s traditional allies in NATO. Read More
Place, policy, and dynamism
More than ever, America needs greater dynamism at the local level. Dynamism encompasses the pace of new business formation, the flexibility of labor markets, and geographic mobility, along with how well a region can adapt to technological change and disruption. When dynamism is widespread, the benefits of entrepreneurship, growing wages, and new types of work are available to people up and down the income spectrum. When dynamism falters in cities and regions, stagnation becomes a defining characteristic. The reports in this series are a first step looking at how to recover dynamism where it has been lost and how to preserve the fundamentals of dynamic cities going forward. The authors bring a diverse range of interests and expertise together to begin to answer key questions about the future well-being of American cities. READ MORE
Why Deficits Still Matter – Brian Riedl, Manhattan Institute
New Paper: Fiscal Theory Of Monetary Policy
by John H. Cochrane via Grumpy Economist By "fiscal theory of monetary policy" I mean a model with standard DSGE ingredients, including inertemporal optimization and market clearing, monetary policy described by interest rate targets, price or other frictions, but closed by fiscal theory, "active" fiscal policy rather than "active" monetary policy
The ‘Stakeholder Economy’ Comes for Pensions
Allison Schrager, E21 The investment objective of a public pension fund manager is a simple one: provide the promised pension benefits while exposing the fund (and the taxpayer who is the backstop) to as little risk as possible. But in a world of stakeholder capitalism this has all gotten a little more complicated. An Australian man recently sued his pension fund for investing in non-green companies. Last week, Bruce Katz of Drexel and Colin Higgins of the Governance Project wrote that public pension funds should invest locally to boost local economies. They argue that there is a lack of transparency that leads funds to invest in private assets in America’s coastal cities even though there is arguably an ever-greater responsibility to invest in worthy local projects. Read more here....
5000 Years Of Interest Rates, Part II
quoting Paul Schmelzing via Daily Reckoning Yesterday we hauled out evidence that interest rates have gone persistently down 500 years running.
Charles Read, The Economist, in re: Secular stagnation — which goes back at least to the Fourteenth Century: rates have been falling since then, the birth of capitalism. The “real” rate of return is adjusted for inflation. Ergo, real interest rates have been declining for seven hundred years. . . . Central bankers use interest rates as their main policy tool: cut to stimulate; and when the economy is growing too fast, it raises interest rates. Interest rates at zero: the tool becomes unusable. BofE went to 0.5% . . . need to find other mans of control.
Asking the Right Questions about the Past and Future of World Order by Francis J. Gavin
Iranian Expert Abbas Milani Believes Iranian Sanctions Are Working
interview with Abbas Milani via Fox Business Hoover Institution fellow Abbas Milani notes that President Trump's sanctions are working and even more need to be enacted. Abbas Milani: The Economy Is The Iran Regime's 'Most Serious Problem' interview with Abbas Milani via Fox Business Hoover Institution fellow Abbas Milani discusses tensions between the US and Iran as well as civil unrest in Iran.
Richard Goldberg is a senior advisor at FDD. From 2019-2020, Richard served as the Director for Countering Iranian Weapons of Mass Destruction for the White House National Security Council. He previously served as chief of staff for Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner and deputy chief of staff and senior foreign policy adviser to former U.S. Senator Mark Kirk of Illinois in both the U.S. House and Senate.
Related articles ● https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-nuclear-usa-sanctions/u-s-expects-u-n-sanctions-on-iran-to-snap-back-into-place-treasury-secretary-idUSKBN1ZE1O2 ● https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-nuclear-factbox/how-the-iran-nuclear-deal-dispute-mechanism-works-idUSKBN1ZD1I1 ● https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-threatens-tariffs-on-europeans-unless-nuke-deal-scrapped/ ● https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/iran-tries-to-woo-europeans-by-threatening-to-kill-them ● https://www.wsj.com/articles/nuclear-deal-collapse-would-put-european-troops-at-risk-tehran-warns-11579102811
Simon Henderson is the Baker fellow and director of the Bernstein Program on Gulf and Energy Policy at The Washington Institute, specializing in energy matters and the conservative Arab states of the Persian Gulf. A former journalist with the Financial Times, Mr. Henderson has also worked as a consultant advising corporations and governments on the Persian Gulf.
Related articles ● https://thehill.com/opinion/international/478122-death-of-a-sultan-oman-matters-so-why-such-a-slow-us-response ● https://www.timesofisrael.com/qatar-seeks-to-mediate-amid-tensions-after-us-strike-in-iraq/ ● https://www.timesofisrael.com/why-is-bahrains-israel-friendly-foreign-minister-being-given-the-boot/ ● https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Late-Sultan-of-Oman-vowed-to-keep-the-Strait-of-Hormuz-open-what-now-613816 ● https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/474698-turkey-doubles-regions-troubles-first-in-syria-and-now-in-libya Market capitalism really is 'the greatest thing that ever happened to mankind' James Pethokoukis | AEIdeas  ‘Late capitalism’? Not even close Michael R. Strain | Bloomberg Opinion The phrase “late capitalism” suggests that capitalism is spent and exhausted. It isn’t. Far from being in the twilight of the market economy, the storm clouds from the recession have finally passed.  3 charts showing good news about American wage growth
James Pethokoukis writes that Democratic presidential candidates remain dismissive of the American economy and its record-long expansion. They fail to recognize that wages are rising, and they're rising fastest for those at the bottom. READ MORE |
AuthorAn authority on Civil-Military Relations; Southwest Asian Political Economy, and Pentagon Acquisition Reform . 
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