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.”