I’ve been surprised lately by the number of people who have brought up or asked me about Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. It’s moved me to take a minute to point out why many economists and political economists don’t get excited about them.
Continue reading “Why Cryptocurrencies Don’t Work as Currencies”
I have a new piece out for Current Affairs about the importance of political unions in the 21st century. Here’s the link:
https://www.currentaffairs.org/2017/11/national-self-determination-is-overrated
The original title was “In Praise of Unionism: What the European Left Can Learn From America,” but we souped it up a bit. It’s a bit longer and more comprehensive than the stuff I usually do here. The folks at CA are delightful to work with. They’re putting out some really terrific long-form pieces that dig into things more deeply than a lot of what we see on the web these days.
A friend of mine recently sent me this clip of White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders attempting to defend President Trump’s “Cut Cut Cut” tax plan with an elaborate bar metaphor. Let’s call it the “Allegory of the Tab”:
A couple days later, my dad told me he heard someone bring this up, as if it were some kind of serious argument for Trump’s plan. I can’t let this stand. The Allegory of the Tab is too reductive, too simplistic, too brain-dead to pass without a post exclusively and entirely about how dumb it is.
Continue reading “Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ Bar Metaphor Is Really Stupid”
President Trump said he wants to help Puerto Rico deal with its debt (though his administration immediately U-turned on this). The territory has been devastated by multiple hurricanes and a long-running economic crisis. But while disaster aid and debt relief would be very good for Puerto Rico, what it really needs in the long-run is statehood. Here’s why.
Continue reading “If Donald Trump Wants to Help Puerto Rico, He Should Help It Become a State”
President Trump plans to continue the War in Afghanistan. His reasons don’t make sense. Here’s why.
Continue reading “The War in Afghanistan is not a Reasonable Way to Save American Lives”
Benjamin Studebaker 