Health issues are in the news, many with some interesting economic aspects that prompt reader questions. Let’s look at a few. 1. What are the economics of President Donald Trump’s anti-opioid proposals? On the surface, Trump’s proposed measures are not…
Author: Ed Lotterman
Trade, tariff issues have many nuances
Announced tariffs on steel and aluminum are pending, as is renegotiation of NAFTA. President Donald Trump threatens tariffs on other Chinese goods in retaliation for alleged theft of intellectual property. Thus, many email queries from readers about last week’s column…
Welcome to the newest thrill ride – ‘Hostage in a trade war’
There was anger in a recent reader email: “Saddam Hussein thought if he lashed U.S. POWs to the front of his T-62s, he could drive to Jerusalem without taking fire. Now Cadet Bone Spurs has lashed U.S. farmers to his…
Athletic success is similar to innovation in many ways
The Winter Olympics were fun to watch — and they also illustrated some fundamental economic issues. The big medal winners were relatively small countries: Norway, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Sweden. The much larger United States, China and Japan all…
Bill Phillips’ curve still influential
Every academic discipline has dirty secrets. Those of economics include the fact that some of our best known principles are based on very thin data. The Phillips curve, which is relevant to much of today’s economic news, is one of…
Fed steps up at Wells Fargo
In the slog of a cold winter unexpected good news can lift one’s spirits. That happened to me the last Friday in January when late in the afternoon after markets had closed, the Federal Reserve brought a hammer down on…
What’s up Doc? Grandpa’s blood pressure meds, for one
Sometimes there is economics even in mundane humor. In the Jan. 21 cartoon “The Buckets,” Grandpa emerges fuming from the doctor’s office. The doc had upped the old man’s blood pressure meds but noted that this would not be necessary…
Trump tariffs have usual problems
After two years of anti-trade rhetoric, Donald Trump has taken a concrete step by imposing tariffs on imported solar panels and washing machines. This raises a number of interesting questions. One reader query concerns division of powers. “How can Trump…
Cleaning pollution that’s 40 years away
One of the fundamental lessons of economics says that if a society does not control external costs of economic activity, for example pollution, it will satisfy fewer of its people’s needs and wants from available resources than it would if…
Flying south to sunnier tax climates seems unlikely
Passage of the new GOP tax overhaul poses important questions. Will Goldman Sachs soon close its Wall Street offices to reopen in Biloxi, Miss., or Bogalusa, La.? Will Ecolab desert St. Paul for some Fayetteville, whether that be in North…