Lower taxes and spending are good for the economy. They produce strong expansion and will “grow” the country out of deficits. These were some of the Trump Administration promises. Those were also the promises of the GOP in the late 1970s in the runup to the election of President Reagan. Were they kept? Not exactly.
Are these policies good for the economy and our economic liberty? The evidence is yes, but the problem is these policies were only partly followed.
In the year since Donald Trump’s “liberation day” in April 2025—on which he began raising import taxes on Americans —1.2 million fewer Americans are now working, and inflation-adjusted hourly earnings are still below where they were in 2021. Meanwhile, total manufacturing employment has fallen back to 2022 levels.
Under the guise of fighting climate change, the British government has resurrected a core instrument of 20th-century war economies: the state-guaranteed contract. Britain’s flagship Contracts for Difference (CfDs)—designed to foster a transition to green energy—are structurally very similar to the Wirtschaftlichkeitsgarantieverträge (profitability guarantee contracts) that Nazi Germany used to subsidize its rearmament and achieve autarky.
The U.S. government has invoked eminent domain to seize 14.2 acres of Mount Cristo Rey, a sacred site topped by a 29-foot statue of Jesus.
“The year-over-year increases suggest lenders may be working through distressed inventory as higher borrowing costs and affordability challenges impact some homeowners.”
Jerome Powell had his last meeting at the head of the Federal Reserve of the United States on Wednesday, April 29. The nominee to succeed him, Kevin Warsh, is an economist and former monetary policy chief who served as a member of the Fed’s Board of Governors from 2006 to 2011.
A few months ago, it seemed the US Senate race in Maine was all set. Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, would be the heavy favorite in her race against Republican Susan Collins, finishing her fifth term in the Senate. But on April 30, Mills ended her campaign as it was clear that political newcomer Graham Platner would easily win the June 9 Democratic primary.
The national average price for a gallon of gasoline was $4.46 on May 4, up from $4.11 on April 27.
