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My intrepid Mercatus Center colleague Veronique de Rugy describes new “reforms” at that great geyser of cronyism, the U.S. Export-Import Bank, as “little more than window dressing that would not substantially change Ex-Im’s dodgy portfolio. [2]

David Henderson takes stock of supply-side economics [3].

Phil Magness reports on the not-so-sweet history of Swedish statism [4].

My GMU Econ colleague Bryan Caplan is indeed wise [5].

In this podcast, Aaron Powell and Trevor Burrus talk with the grateful Steve Horwitz [6].

In this video, Taleed Brown discusses millennials and socialism [7].

David Simon argues that “The depletion of the [Medicare] Part A trust fund does not signal a crisis. It instead presents an opportunity to stop part of the entitlement programs leviathan from further tightening its stranglehold on U.S. economic growth. [8]

Jeff Jacoby laments the lack of principles in American politics [9]. Here’s his conclusion:

The Democratic and Republican parties are always in flux. Their values, their rules, their powerbrokers, their supporters — all change over time. Only one thing remains fixed: the quest to win elections. That was true long before Trump showed up. It will be true long after he’s gone.

The great Bruce Yandle reminds us that – incessant reports to the contrary – ordinary Americans are prospering enormously [10]. A slice:

In any case, America cannot be described as a place where the rich only get richer and the poor only get poorer. Nor can one say that income inequality has reached crisis proportions, as some of those politicians are inclined to say. The evidence, which speaks well for the operation of our market economy, suggests strong economic mobility.

These results are shown graphically in the below chart [11] developed by American Enterprise Institute economist Mark Perry. Notice that in 1967, just 9.7% of U.S. families were included in the high-income group. In 2018, 30.4% were high-income households. And in 1967, some 53.8% of all households were counted in the middle-income group. In 2018, the middle-income share included 41.7% of all households. Finally, take a look at the low-income category. The share fell from 36.4% to 27.9%.

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