STATE OF THE NATION - CounterStrikeMedia

HOW TO FIX THE GUEST WORKER PROGRAM

2/27/2018

Guest Worker Programs: What Needs Fixing and Why
Isai Chavez, E21
While immigration proposals face uncertainty in the Senate, any comprehensive reform discussion should include expanding and simplifying guest worker programs for both the high-skill and low-skill labor pool. Broader guest worker programs would help businesses that depend on seasonal workers and would contribute to our long-term economic health. Read more here....

All Trump’s Trade Wars
Irwin Stelzer, The Weekly Standard

WHY THE DEFICIT IS NOT A PROBLEM & CRIPPLING PUBLIC UNIONS

2/24/2018

Supreme Court May Rescue Blue-State Finances (subs.)
Daniel DiSalvo and Stephen Eide, Wall Street Journal
Shrinking Middle Class Is a Good Thing
Mark Perry, FEE
Political Consequences of Slower Economic Growth
Robert Samuelson, Washington Post
Strong Euro Is a Headache for the ECB
Daniel Lacalle, Mises Institute

Supreme Court Could Cripple Public Unions — Andrew Hanna & Caitlin Emma, Politico

Dos and Don’ts for the Pension Committee
Charles Blahous, E21
The recently-enacted federal government spending law established a select congressional committee to craft a federal response to the escalating crisis of multiemployer pension underfunding. The committee has its work cut out for it with a particularly thorny policy challenge. The failure of too many multiemployer plan trustees to fund their pension promises adequately threatens both the retirement income security of millions of workers and the solvency of the nation’s pension insurance system. Read more here....

CRISIS OF LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC ORDER

2/21/2018

The Liberal Democratic Order In Crisis
by Larry Diamond via The American Interest
We are at a tipping point. Around the world, many democracies are hanging by a thread and autocrats are preparing more savage assaults on what remains of freedom.

Why America Is Going Broke (subs.)
John Cogan, Wall Street Journal

What Threatens the Economy?
Robert Samuelson, Washington Post

Africa’s Manmade Water Crisis
Asit Biswas & Cecilia Tortajada, Project Syndicate

Trump Budget Shows Peril of Escalating Costs
Brian Riedl, Washington Examiner
President Trump’s latest budget proposal shows that escalating budget deficits will not be reined in until Social Security and Medicare are addressed.
First, the bad news. Budget deficits will likely exceed $1 trillion by next year, and reach $2 trillion within a decade. If interest rates rise back to even 1990s levels, then the interest costs on the enormous debt will push the budget deficit closer to $3 trillion a decade from now. And even that assumes peace and prosperity. Read more here....

Too Soon to Panic Over Red Ink
The real problem with federal spending remains entitlements.

Another Word For Deficit: Entitlements
featuring John F. Cogan via The News Virginian
Washington’s recent passage of tax cuts — followed by president Donald Trump’s proposal to raise defense spending — produced the usual round of finger-wagging about Republican deficit hypocrisy. The GOP only cares about deficits when Democrats are in charge, goes the complaint.

TARIFFS, NAFTA & WHERE ARE CAPITAL GOOD ORDERS COMING FROM

2/15/2018

Milton Friedman in 1978 on the US steel industry’s insatiable appetite for protectionism — nothing has changed in 40 years
Mark J. Perry | AEIdeas

How Much Do America’s Arms Makers Depend on Foreign Metal? No One Seems to Know
(DefenseOne) Certainly, no one seemed concerned about it until Trump’s tariffs sent them scrambling to find out.

An interesting take on the decline of Big Steel
James Pethokoukis | AEIdeas

Potential Fallout of Misguided Steel and Aluminum Tariffs
Charles Hughes, E21
President Trump recently announced that his administration would impose tariffs on steel and aluminum. Such tariffs could have substantial effects on a range of American industries and the overall economy.
In a column for Economics21, Berenberg Capital Markets chief economist Mickey Levy explored the potential macroeconomic effects of the announced tariffs. Those insights are important in helping to analyze the broader ramifications of the new duties.
This column examines the justification made for the tariffs and what lessons can be gleaned from past experience. Read more here....

Update Nafta, Don’t Destroy It
Jacob Reyes, E21
President Trump’s position on Nafta has been clear: the United States must renegotiate the “disaster” of a trade deal or continue to lose jobs as a result of imbalanced trade. The president was outspoken about his concerns over “unfair” trade agreements during his recent State of the Union Address. His stance has seemingly unified some lawmakers in the defense of Nafta, especially in high-export states such as Texas. Read more here.

Where are the capital goods orders coming from?
BY DAVID P. GOLDMAN
Lopsided investment, yet again favoring energy, is not a good sign for productivity growth

Tariffs open can of worms Trump won’t be able to get back on
Claude Barfield | The Hill
President Trump's decision to place sweeping tariffs on steel and aluminum has exposed many sectors and consumers to expensive and destructive retaliation that will render the US less competitive and sap incomes. He seems to be reveling in the scramble that will now ensue by nations attempting to have the US exempt them from the draconian tariffs. No matter how this plays out, here is the likely fallout.

Trump's Trade Gimmickry
Dani Rodrik argues that protecting politically connected industries is no way to reform the global trade regime.

THE MYTH OF US INFRASTRUCTURE CRISIS & THE PROGRESSIVE LEGACY

2/15/2018

The myth of America’s ‘crumbling’ infrastructure
Jonah Goldberg | National Review Online

The Progressives' Legacy: Debt, Deficit, And Entitlements
by Bruce Thornton via Front Page Magazine
The high cost of rejecting human nature and simple mathematics.

WHAT WE IMPORT FROM CHINA & BUDGET REALITY

2/8/2018

What we import from China
Derek Scissors | AEIdeas
Here is a list of the top 10 goods imported from China last year. The first year of the Trump presidency saw a record US merchandise trade deficit with China: $375 billion. Exports were the most ever. Unfortunately for the president, so were imports, breaking $500 billion.

The GOP has begun to reckon with budgetary reality
James C. Capretta | The Hill
The Congressional Budget Office projects that the Treasury Department will run out of maneuvering room under the current debt limit in the first half of March. There is no getting around the fact that the debt limit has to be raised soon, too. The result is that Republicans have agreed to a massive increase in appropriated spending that runs directly counter to their previous budget plans.

ORIGIN OF US GOVMINT & EXAMINING OUR LOST DECADE

2/7/2018

Mansfield Examines Origins Of US Government
featuring Harvey C. Mansfield via The Heights
Harvey Mansfield, a political philosopher and professor at Harvard, gave a talk on Friday afternoon as part of BC’s John Marshall Project, which studies the citizenship and statesmanship required by a constitutional republic. Mansfield’s talk focused on The Federalist Papers and the way in which James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay formulated their argument for America’s current system of government.

CITY JOURNAL: EXAMINING OUR LOST DECADE

HOW AMAZON CAN FIX HEALTH CARE & ENTITLEMENT REFORM SINKS NATIONAL SECURITY

2/4/2018

Bezos and Berkshire jump in to reform health care
The health care initiative from Amazon, Berkshire, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. is a clear message, writes Joe Antos: Washington, you did not fix the problem. It’s the private sector’s turn now.

When speaking publicly, Michael Morell is often asked, “What single threat worries you the most? What keeps you up at night?”

Other than “terrorists with nuclear weapons,” Morell answers: the failure of our political leaders to deal with the most important issues facing the country, and to make compromises that move our economy and society forward.

“Why is this a national security issue? Because the most important determinant of a country’s power, and therefore its national security, is the health of its economy and society…Spending on [entitlement] programs is rising rapidly as our population ages and as health care costs soar.”
“In FY 2016, mandatory spending – entitlements and interest payments – accounted for 82 percent of revenues, up from 58 percent in FY 2000. By FY 2027, that number will rise to 99 percent, leaving only 1 percent for discretionary spending.”
“Without entitlement reform, we will simply not be able to fund the defense, intelligence, and diplomatic programs that are necessary to keep the nation safe.”

Read Morell’s analysis of the United States’ underlying budgetary problems that threaten to undermine national security.

More accountable delegation in health care
Thomas P. Miller | Localism in America
The current balance of power between federal and state governments in health policy tends to leave taxpayers, patients, and other private payers on the sidelines. We need to resolve better what type of health care markets we prefer and which set of policies best allows a larger voice for consumer choice and market competition.

Amazon Is a Master of Tax Avoidance — Jeremy Bowman, USA Today
Don’t Blame Amazon for Retail Apocalypse — Barry Ritholtz, Bloomberg View

2018 & the oil/gas price spike

2/4/2018

Are Oil Prices Heading for Another Spike?
Carmen Reinhart and Vincent Reinhart see three reasons why energy costs will not spiral upward as the dollar weakens.

United States to Become Net Energy Exporter by 2022
Charles Hughes, E21

Historic energy milestone: US oil output surges to new record highs reflecting America’s deep pools of ingenuity, risk-taking, and entrepreneurship
Mark J. Perry | AEIdeas

U.S. Energy Production and Exports Surge
Joshua Hardman and Charles Hughes, E21