Since the financial crisis, industrial policy has experienced a renaissance in the Western world. “Missions” or “moonshots” are put in place by policymakers in order to address societal challenges. Government programs are launched, then large pools of subsidies, targeted R&D funds, and cheap loans are made available for corporations.
Economic progress is sometimes seen as inimical to the bonds of “family, faith, and flag” that many people value. Many place such a high priority on their way of life within their own neighborhoods or communities, that losing their traditional cultural values in exchange for economic progress may not be a price they would wish to pay.
We often hear from central bank officials that their decisions regarding the interest rate policy is determined by the state of economic conditions as depicted by economic indicators. Policymakers are of the view that, in order to ascertain the state of economic conditions, they require the most recent information on some key economic data such as the gross domestic product (GDP). Thus, an increase in the GDP growth rate is seen as economic growth. A weakening in the growth rate of GDP raises the likelihood of the officials lowering the policy interest rate.
Vice President JD Vance’s speech at the Munich Security Conference delivered a sharp critique of recent developments in Europe, particularly regarding freedom of expression, migration, and democracy. He highlighted the annulled election in Romania and the exclusion of the German party AFD from most public discourse by the political establishment.
The first month of the Trump administration featured among other things a highly-publicized spectacle of Elon Musk and his DOGE team being unleashed on various parts of the federal bureaucracy and sparking sharp partisan exchanges, with Democrats raging about a “constitutional crisis” triggered by Trump crudely ignoring many of the finer legal points regarding appropriated funds, bureaucratic organization, and civil service oversight (and darkly h
In “Their Target Is ‘the Very Core of Modern American Liberalism’,” Thomas Edsall—a long-time New York Times columnist I’ve never heard of—is outraged at Trump and Elon’s desecrations. In another recent opinion piece, Edsall, and the editors choosing his title, thinks of the new President and its administration as “a hostile takeover of the federal government.”
Recently the legacy media experienced yet another blow to their credibility when it was discovered by Elon Musk’s DOGE that Politico had received over $8 million taxpayer dollars.
Prime Minister Starmer promised to “secure the highest sustained growth among the G7 nations” prior to last year’s general election. However, under the new government, the UK economy continues to struggle to grow. GDP growth was positive in the first half of 2024, but stalled in the second half. The third quarter of 2024 experienced 0.0 percent growth compared to the previous quarter, although it was forecast to be at least around 0.1 percent.
