As Democrats and Republicans both express support for tariffs, the economic implications of protectionist policies are once again at the forefront of public debate.

In the wake of World War II, an interesting phenomenon began to build up in the Malenesians, the island chains ranging to the southwest from Guinea to Fiji. Visiting anthropologists observed the primitive local residents were building unusual structures. They would flatten the ground in long strips, build wooden towers and construct strange bird idols.

I’ve been writing professionally in various capacities for over twenty years. The jobs have come in many different forms: press releases, white papers, studies on home prices, and more than a thousand op-eds for mises.org. 

Once again, the presidential selection process has given us a contest between two people who agree on the pressing need to expand the entire welfare-warfare state. They can argue about priorities, but they agree on the overall goal. With the campaign lacking serious issues, something tells me that the great American obsession over race is going to play a major role, which is gravely unfortunate since the discussion is unlikely to be enlightening.

With Democrat presidential candidate Kamala Harris proposing costly new interventionist schemes and co-opting Republican talking points in order to neutralize the unpopularity of rising prices among swing voters, her Republican opponent, Donald Trump, has responded by stealing a page from the Democrat state-building playbook.

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Imperialism and Social Classes 
by Joseph Schumpeter; Meridian, 1951 x + 181 pp.

Paul Krugman’s latest column is all over the place. He was trying to provide commentary on the Fed’s half-point cut in the Federal Funds Rate, but he was juggling too many contradictory narratives.