#economic-policy

#economic-policy

"Donald Trump's idiotic war with Iran cheered on by Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage is making it far more expensive for people to get around. Families are paying more at the pump because of a war they didn't start and don't support."

The orthodoxy across much of the world has been that only markets should decide what things cost, as argued by influential economists like Friedrich Hayek.

"Under President Trump's leadership, we are on a path toward unprecedented economic growth, lasting dollar dominance, and fiscal strength and stability," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement announcing the decision.

The Malaysian government plans to slash the number of foreign workers to encourage local hiring and raise incomes, with significant changes to visa regulations coming in June.

"The historical evidence reveals a striking pattern: government bonds have repeatedly generated substantial real losses during these extreme episodes. They have even underperformed equities and real estates which are traditionally regarded as risky assets."

Caleb Moss's workday starts early on Tuesdays and Thursdays, before the sun comes up. At 4:30 a.m., he reports to his post in tool and die at Virco Manufacturing. Under the guidance of a mentor, he turns steel into high-precision tools and molds used throughout the plant. At 9:00 a.m., Moss leaves the plant and heads to Pulaski Technical College in North Little Rock, Ark., for a full day of instruction, beginning with math class and moving on to hands-on training on machines similar to those Moss uses on the job.

And some of the jobs we're creating and protecting are right here at Verst Logistics. So, let me call up your outstanding CEO, Paul, come on up, real fast, Paul. Come on. Paul Verst. Come on up here, Paul. Let's go. Do it fast, Paul! They don't wanna to hear from you.

A friend remarked to me over the weekend about the apocalyptic scenes of fire raging in Tehran. The strike on an oil depot has sent plumes of smoke across Iran's capital. An environmental catastrophe is unfolding, with reports of rain turning black and increasing respiratory problems.

Ontario and Nova Scotia have agreed to let their residents buy alcohol directly from the other's province, part of the premiers' ongoing work to bolster interprovincial trade. Producers of beer, wine and spirits can start applying Tuesday to the province's liquor corporation for authorizations to do the direct-to-consumer sales, a process the premiers say will only take a matter of days.

Typical of Trump, he is boasting about the performance of the U.S. economy in the most hyperbolic terms. He even declared that his economy is 'the greatest ever in history' in a recent interview on Fox Business Network. He points to the stock market and allegedly low inflation to back his claim.

Back in Massachusetts, I heard from all sorts of companies, from board game makers to baby stroller manufacturers, that tariffs made it more expensive to run their businesses and raise their prices. The truth is, you paid for Trump's disastrous economic policies.

Hospitality employs 2.6 million people in the UK, 7.1% of the entire workforce. It generates £69.5 billion in gross value added. It contributes £54 billion in gross tax receipts annually. It is, by any reasonable measure, not a peripheral cottage industry but a cornerstone of the British economy.

I think we know what the agenda items are. Accomplishing those is going to be hard with a small majority. The upshot is that Trump's prime-time address is unlikely to make more than a ripple in the congressional agenda over the coming months. It's the reality, Republicans acknowledged Wednesday, of life in Washington right now: Despite its trifecta, the party's legislative ambitions are being hemmed in by its barely-there majorities.

U.S. trade deficits are large and need to be brought down. Reducing U.S. fiscal deficits is important. At the same time, there is no doubt in the US ability to pay the world and therefore no crisis. The U.S. has run a trade deficit for most of the past 50 years, but has never had a fiscal crisis related to this imbalance because international investors have kept buying up U.S. assets throughout that period.

We did not hear the truth from our president. So let's speak plainly and honestly. Is the president working for you? Democratic party leaders have repeatedly sought to return policy discussion to kitchen-table economic issues of affordability. More than half of Americans wanted Trump to focus on the economy in his address, according to a CNN poll released Tuesday.

When I spoke in this chamber 12 months ago, I had just inherited a nation in crisis, with a stagnant economy, inflation at record levels, a wide-open border, horrendous recruitment for military and police, rampant crime at home and wars and chaos all over the world. But tonight, after just one year, I can say with dignity and pride that we have achieved a transformation like no one has ever seen before and a turnaround for the ages.