The red wave finally happened. A vast majority of counties – and most voter demographics – moved to the right, becoming more red. The result was a landslide electoral college victory for Donald Trump, who will become the 47th president of the United States....
Trusted Economic Perspectives
Monday Morning Outlook – Finally, Election Eve
It’s almost over! Unfortunately, those texts might not stop right away. Unless this election is an unexpected blowout, some key states won’t have full counts of all their ballots for several days. That said, enough results from some hotly contested states like...
Monday Morning Outlook – The Budget Blowout
With only one week left in the fiscal year, it looks like the budget deficit for the federal government for Fiscal Year 2024 is going to come in at about $1.9 trillion, which is 6.7% of GDP. To put this in historical perspective, we know of no other year in US history...
It’s Money, Not Spending, that Causes Inflation
You don’t have to read or listen for long these days before you hear a politician, pundit, or politically-inclined person say: “Government spending causes inflation.” Don’t get us wrong…anyone who wants to cut the size and scope of government is a friend of ours....
Monetary Policy is Out of Control
The growth of bureaucracy around the world has led to a proliferation of rules. This creates multitudes of problems, one of which is that the state has made understanding what it is doing impenetrable, boring, nuanced, and technical. With vast resources, numerous...
America’s 3.5-Second Miracle
In 1852, Karl Marx said “Men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please; they do not make it under circumstances chosen by themselves, but under circumstances directly encountered and transmitted…
Waiting on the Fed
One of our main contentions in recent months is that the Federal Reserve, by switching from a scarce reserve model to an abundant reserve model, has completely taken over the short term interest rates marketplace…
The Worst Malinvestment
Austrian Economics argues that growth comes from innovation and entrepreneurship, with “the market” directing resources to areas of the economy that provide the greatest returns. It also observes that when government uses interest rates, subsidies, taxes, or other...
Slower Growth in Q4, But No Recession
The economy slowed substantially in the last quarter of 2023 from the rapid pace of the third quarter, but, as we explain below, still expanded at a moderate rate.
A Mild Recession and S&P 4,500
For 2022, we saw inflation and continued moderate growth. We were right. This past year, in 2023, we anticipated economic weakness late in the year, and put our S&P 500 target at 3,900.