Reuters reports that China will exempt some American agricultural products from its latest round of tariffs. This is welcome news—particularly for our pork and soybean producers who’ve been on the front lines of the trade war. But what does the news really mean? Did China blink? Are they throwing us a bone? Or is just
J.P. Morgan estimates that President Trump's tariffs will cost American families up to $1,000 next year. We have heard this before and we'll hear it again. But the fact is that tariffs have not yet—nor will they likely—increase the cost of living. Further, the myopic obsession with the price of goods ignores the more pressing
CNN reports that President Trump's aides persuaded him to delay the imposition of the latest round of protective tariffs, previously scheduled for September, until December 15, 2019. How? They claimed new tariffs would “ruin Christmas.” Peter Navarro, Trump's director of trade and manufacturing policy, defended the move saying that this was Trump’s, "Christmas present to
Imagine a homeless man. Does he have a long, frazzled beard and unkempt hair? What do his clothes look like? Probably ratty and full of holes—moth nests in the pockets. Maybe he has a shopping cart full of cans and a mangy dog named “Rusty.” Although culturally ubiquitous, this characterization of the grizzled old hobo
On March 10, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed outside of Addis Ababa, killing all 157 passengers and crew. This followed October's crash of Lion Air Flight 610 in Indonesia, which killed all 189 onboard. Both crashes involved Boeing's 737 Max 8 jetliner. China, Indonesia, and Ethiopia grounded the aircraft on March 10, suspecting
Between 1348 and 1352 a monstrous plague—the Black Death—ravaged Europe. The disease struck young and old, men and women, saint and sinner alike. Half the population died. Whole cities disappeared. Western Civilization was on the brink of collapse. What caused this plague? Bad smells. Foul odors. The stench of decay. This was considered
Nearly 1,900 years ago, Roman Emperor Hadrian built a great wall across Britain. It was 73 miles long, and divided the Roman province of Britannia from the realms of the "painted men" to the north. Why? The northerners were not particularly dangerous. Even if they were, they could quite easily climb the wall—or
Jonah Goldberg writes that President Trump supports tariffs because he is "truly ignorant of some of the most basic" economic principles—or he is "deceiving the public" to push a hidden agenda. Let's not mince words: Goldberg's implication is that Trump is either stupid or evil for promoting tariffs. Goldberg is not alone. Economists like Steve
