"The Second World Wars" by Hoover Institution Senior Fellow and historian Victor Davis Hanson is a must read for anyone interested in military history. His book goes well beyond the dramatic storytelling that can so often overwhelm the rest of a text about this most heroic hour in our nation’s history. Instead, Hanson takes the reader on a deep dive to answer—using a voluminous … [Read more...] about Book Review: ‘The Second World Wars’ by Victor Davis Hanson
Alex Benson Articles
Recessions and the Skyscraper Curse
One of the many odd incidents of history is, with seemingly only one exception, every time a record-breaking skyscraper is completed, the world economy falls into the depths of a recession. This could easily be dismissed as one of the manifold coincidences that inevitably arise out of dataset as large and with so many players as all of modern history--if it were not for the … [Read more...] about Recessions and the Skyscraper Curse
The great books of the Western world: Sometimes the pen really is mightier than the sword
When Stalin sardonically responded to a request by Winston Churchill to consider the views of the Vatican on the future of Eastern Europe with the quip, “How many divisions does the Pope of Rome have?” he probably did not imagine that it would be entire legions of free-thinking people, espousing the liberal ideas the Church had helped cultivate, who would bring down his Soviet … [Read more...] about The great books of the Western world: Sometimes the pen really is mightier than the sword
December jobs numbers well above expectations, other indicators send mixed signals
Despite a turbulent stock market and the continued prospect of a full-on trade war, the labor market remains remarkably strong. The job numbers for the final month of 2018 are indicative of this. The economy added 312,000 jobs in December of 2018, within striking distance of doubling the paltry 176,000 projected by economists surveyed by Dow Jones. The jobless rate edged up to … [Read more...] about December jobs numbers well above expectations, other indicators send mixed signals
A tribute to airline pioneer Herb Kelleher, dead at 87
Early in the new year, the aviation industry lost one of its brightest and most eccentric stars. Herb Kelleher, the ostentatious and larger-than-life former CEO of Southwest Airlines, died at the age of 87. Kelleher was perhaps more than any other man responsible for democratizing air travel and bringing a Texas-sized personality of fun and audacity to the skies. Kelleher … [Read more...] about A tribute to airline pioneer Herb Kelleher, dead at 87
Hey radicals, real tax rates were never as high as 70% and they should never get that high
The Democrats now control the House of Representatives, and their more radical members have wasted little time in putting forward a slew of the most progressive policy proposals. At present, the idea receiving the most coverage from talking heads on television and the Twitter accounts at Vox has been freshman Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s proposal to raise the top … [Read more...] about Hey radicals, real tax rates were never as high as 70% and they should never get that high
Exploding government debt is a national security issue
One hundred and five percent of GDP: This is the value of the total debt owed by the United States. Put differently, the value of the debt burden owed by the United States government is five percent larger than the total value of all production and consumption in the U.S. economy during the course of an entire year. We are not just talking about profits—not just the growth of … [Read more...] about Exploding government debt is a national security issue
Trump tariffs increase the trade deficit, but that is not why they are damaging the economy
At this point, it is not news that the President of the United States is a fan of tariffs. He has gone so far as to (sarcastically or not) christen himself “Tariff Man,” in a tweet earlier this month. What is also not new is that President Trump seems to fundamentally misunderstand how international trade works. The president thinks that a trade deficit -- even a bilateral … [Read more...] about Trump tariffs increase the trade deficit, but that is not why they are damaging the economy
Trump’s border wall, the opioid crisis, and the hell of good intentions
This is the final installment in a 3 part series. Read parts 1 and 2 here. President Trump’s wall will increase the power of the most dangerous drug cartels, it will contribute to the introduction of more dangerous variants of drugs it makes in short supply, and it is unlikely to pay for itself because the unforeseen side effects of its construction will almost certainly … [Read more...] about Trump’s border wall, the opioid crisis, and the hell of good intentions
Trump’s border wall, the opioid crisis, and the hell of good intentions
This is part 2 of a 3 part series. You can read part 1 here. The border wall will make transportation of opioids and other drugs much more difficult, and therefore the cost of transportation will shoot up. When this happens, marginal, smaller suppliers will have to drop out of the (black) market, leaving larger, more violent, better connected, and wealthier operations with … [Read more...] about Trump’s border wall, the opioid crisis, and the hell of good intentions
Trump’s border wall, the opioid crisis, and the hell of good intentions
This is part 1 of a 3 part series. In the latest round of negotiations and public stumping for his border wall, President Trump told Congress he wants $15 billion in wall funding attached to the year-end spending bill. The president’s desire to build a “big, beautiful” wall on the southern border is nothing new; what is different is that this time he has declared that it … [Read more...] about Trump’s border wall, the opioid crisis, and the hell of good intentions
You are the ‘One Percent’, you just may not realize it
To be in the top one percent of earners in the United States, an individual must make a gross income of $421,926. That is quite the sum, and an individual mired down in the lower quintiles will of course feel some degree of envy at the lifestyle of such persons. But this is a rather narrow scale with which to weigh the relative wealth of two individuals. If we are concerned … [Read more...] about You are the ‘One Percent’, you just may not realize it