And the biggest loser in the GOP’s tax plan is .?.?. humans on November 20, 2017Corporations are people, my friend. Both Mitt Romney and the Supreme Court told us so years ago. Still, they left out one key fact: It’s way better to be a corporate-person than a person-person. At least when Republicans are reshaping the tax code. Republicans love cutting taxes. They’d cut all the taxes in the world […]
Trump’s nifty plan to spend more and hurt poor people more at the same time! on May 8, 2017Who says President Trump isn’t a policy genius? He’s figured out a clever way to spend more government money just to stick it to poor people. His innovation has to do with the intricate interplay of Affordable Care Act subsidies. Obamacare has two major kinds of subsidies designed to make health care cheaper for low- […]
Our businessman president looks pretty anti-business on April 16, 2017As a candidate, Donald Trump promised that the instincts and negotiating skills that landed him in the three-comma club would translate to managing the macroeconomy. He was uniquely well-suited to help the nation’s other job creators reach their full potential, he told voters. Despite such declarations, now-President Trump is proving to be, in at least […]
Think tax reform will be easy for Trump? Ha, ha. on April 3, 2017You thought tax reform would be an easy win for Republicans? Oh, it feels good to laugh again. After the Obamacare-repeal disaster, President Trump has decided to move on to tax reform. He’s hoping to quickly restore public faith in his leadership, which has so far been stymied by federal judges, the House Freedom Caucus […]
The GOPs top priority is in trouble on March 27, 2017Despite Republican control of the White House and both houses of Congress, the party’s top priority – sharp, deep, down-to-the-bone tax cuts – is in trouble. And the chaos over the Obamacare repeal is largely to blame. Tax cuts (specifically, tax cuts for corporations and the rich) may be the only thing that Republican moderates […]
Uncertainty is sweeping the globe. Thats very bad for business on February 13, 2017The United States isn’t the only country that’s a complete basket case right now. Basically the entire world has reached record levels of political chaos and uncertainty. That’s according to the relatively little-publicized Global Economic Policy Uncertainty Index, which just hit a two-decade high. The index was constructed by Scott R. Baker, Nick Bloom and […]
Trumps government looks an awful lot like a badly run business on January 29, 2017If this is what “running government like a business” looks like, it’s no wonder President Trump’s companies kept going bankrupt. One week into the presidency, we’ve gotten a taste of Trump’s management style. And so far it’s been plagued by many of the bad habits common to poorly run businesses. Take, for example, his administration’s […]
Trump is being handed a great economy What happens when it goes south? on January 2, 2017Back in October, a Marketplace-Edison Research Poll found that two-thirds of Donald Trump voters didn’t trust government-reported economic data, thanks partly to their candidate’s insistence that the numbers are bogus. Something tells me this attitude is about to change. After all, Trump will soon take office with among the most favorable economic conditions – as […]
Trumps OMB pick seems poised to ignite a worldwide financial crisis on December 26, 2016It’s not the sexiest White House job. But it might soon be among the most dangerous. Over the weekend, President-elect Donald Trump tapped Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) to be his director of the Office of Management and Budget. This Cabinet-level post is responsible for producing the federal budget, overseeing and evaluating executive branch agencies and […]
In Trumps economy, mamas should make sure their babies grow up to be con men on December 5, 2016College students – actually their anxious parents, more often – sometimes write to ask what the jobs of the future will look like. What skills and disciplines should workers-to-be master to succeed in the 21st-century economy? My answer used to involve programming, data analysis, creativity, empathy. Basically, skills that are complementary to rising automation and […]