Self-sufficiency does not mean stable pricing in the United States as Paul Krugman explains in his earlier March commentary. There is no allegiance to US citizens by oil companies. Give the tax breaks and citizens still pay. “The Impotence of Drill, Baby, Drill,” Paul Krugman, March 10, 2026 America produces a lot of oil. It […]
I’ve had several Iranian colleagues throughout my faculty career. Unsurprisingly, none were anti-American. Here’s an interview with Juan Cole and Mojtaba Mahdavi, two Middle East experts, on the current events in Iran. They discuss the politics in Iran and among the Iranian diaspora. Both Cole and Mahdavi point to the Netanyahu ambition of hegemony in […]
AB: A review and forecast of what is happening and what will happen over the next few weeks due to the oil shortage brought on by Trump’s attack on Iran. The impact of which, Trump’s blunder will cause many more issues economically. This is not Venezuela. “The Economy Doesn’t Have the Room to Absorb This […]
I read this piece at Health Affairs. Liked it, thought I could shrink it down with a bit of a rewrite, failed on the latter. It is a 10 minute easy read on health care, deductibles, and why the ACA is in trouble . . . think deductibles. They do not solve the use of […]
Review: “Breakneck” – The one-handed economist Dan Wang is a trenchant observer of the US and China. He was born in China but raised in Canada. He’s worked in the US and China as an adult, and he compares the culture of the two in this 2025 book. Wang’s big point is that US culture is […]
– by New Deal democrat Prepare for the CPI to increase over 1.5%, and perhaps even 2.5%, just by the end of April. That’s the message conveyed by the huge spike in gas prices so far this month due to the war with Iran. Let me start with the blockbuster graph. This is the monthly […]
Sorry for the length of this piece. Trump will be heading back to SCOTUS with another proposal granting him unlimited authority. He really knows no bounds for the presidency when it comes to deciding outside of Congress. The Presidency proposes and Congress taxes, appropriates, budgets, and spends when it comes to the economy. Trump prefers […]
Before you start to believe this administration cares about in country’s manufacturing and people working more hours for less pay, think about it first. Do you really believe this administration cares about either? It is all about giving an edge to him to play the nation’s economy to fill his pocket. Guest Commentary by Erica […]
I am always curious about what happens in other countries when there is an oil shortage. In this case it is fuel for cabs to cart westerners and Europeans around. For them, this is serious. No fuel, potentially no income from westerners transporting them. In Bangkok, Thais make a living shuffling westerners around. We have […]
As reported at Common Dreams by Jake Johnson, “The Pentagon reportedly wants Congress to approve more than $200 billion in supplemental funding for US President Donald Trump’s unauthorized and deeply unpopular war on Iran as the administration weighs deploying thousands of additional troops to the Middle East, signaling a drawn-out conflict and a possible ground invasion.” AB: […]