Last week, Fed Chair Jerome Powell held his first press conference under President Trump’s second term. Powell swiftly addressed the topic of Trump in the Q&A Session, stating:

I’m not going to have any response or comment whatsoever on what the President said. It’s not appropriate for me to do so.

After closing at 0.54 percent in July 2020, the yield on the 10-year US Treasury Bond settled at 4.57 percent in December 2024. Some commentators believe that the massive increase in yields is because of a strong increase in inflationary expectations.

There is a common mistake a lot of opponents of Trump’s tariffs are making right now. When pointing out, correctly, that the tariffs Trump is implementing will drive prices up, they often pin that on “companies passing the cost on to consumers.” 

But that’s not how prices work. The actual reason prices go up is a bit different, but it’s important to understand. 

What’s Responsible for Third World Economic Problems: The Monetary System or Dishonesty?

So far, 2025 has been anything from dull. The incoming president has been sentenced for 34 felony counts, California is facing some of the most severe wildfires in American history, and the Republican side of the aisle is discussing buying Greenland and making Canada the 51st state. Yes, this year is certainly setting itself up—for better or worse—to be one for the books.

Most people’s first exposure to economics occurs in their 7th grade social studies class, or at least somewhere in that vicinity, then high school seniors often take it in high school. To introduce students to the topic, the teacher explains that there are three main approaches a country can take: socialism, capitalism, or an in-between system that gets labeled a “mixed economy.”