Today’s Wall Street Journal (5/14/24) highlighted a startling demographic milestone. Specifically, the global fertility rate has dropped so precipitously that over time the world’s population will decline. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation [...]
Today’s New York Times highlighted the growing role of the far-right parties in Europe. Anti-immigration parties with fascist roots—and an uncertain commitment to democracy—are now mainstream. The growth of right-wing populism often takes the [...]
Today’s Wall Street Journal reported that Donald Trump’s allies are quietly drafting proposals that would attempt to erode the Federal Reserve’s independence if he wins a second term. That said, his advisors are divided [...]
The Wall Street Journal provided an overview of the income tax paid by Americans, broken down by income. Our nation is on an unsustainable fiscal path, driven by the mismatch between the government’s commitments [...]
Today’s New York Times wrote an article describing the purpose of J Street. The article raised the question of whether a middle path on Gaza is possible. Please note… Large parts of this essay [...]
Today’s New York Times reported that Vanderbilt University will charge some students nearly $100,000 in total expenses for the 2024-2025 school year. Other schools are expected to follow Vanderbilt over the next few years. [...]
The Pew Research Center provided an overview of women in today’s U.S. Workforce. Women make up 35% of workers in the United States’ 10 highest-paying occupations, up from 13% in 1980. They have increased [...]
Despite China’s boast that its economy grew at 5.2% in 2023, Greg Ip of the WSJ discounts that figure. Ip wrote, “Western analysts and even some Chinese officials have long taken Chinese gross domestic product with [...]
A New York Times/Siena College poll revealed that even his supporters worry about his age. Among his supporters, 47% strongly believe that he is too old to be effective, and 26% somewhat agree. The [...]
“People just ask themselves: Who can help us? Not even God?” Today’s Wall Street Journal highlighted a major problem in Mexico. Specifically, criminal gangs behind the U.S. drug epidemic are seeing accelerated growth, commanding [...]
Treasury yields have increased to multiyear highs, forcing the U.S. government to pay significantly more in interest. This in turn is putting significant pressure on the budget. America is expected to spend $870 billion, or [...]
Introduction I was not made aware of the internment of about 112,000 persons of Japanese ancestry who lived on the U.S. mainland, mostly along the Pacific Coast, until about 20 years ago. About two-thirds [...]
Originally published in January 2003 This past week three of members of Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, U. S. Army spent significant time with the fixed income department of Lazard [...]
School District Offers Classes Separated by Race by Sara Randazzo and Douglas Belkin A November 26 Wall Street Journal article highlighted a very troubling development. The Evanston, Illinois School District, in an attempt to [...]
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book. David Rubenstein, who has enjoyed a remarkable career, interviewed leading historians. For the most part, these historians discussed the subjects of their biographies. While one can read this [...]
An August 13 New York Times article, “Growing Segregation by Sex in Israel,” highlighted the culture war that has sharply divided Israel’s secular majority and the politically powerful minority of ultra-Orthodox Jews, who frown on [...]
Introduction I received a BA from the University of Texas (Austin), a MA from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), and an MBA from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor). My tuition at the University [...]
As I sit down to write my final column for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune after 15 years as a guest columnist, I find myself filled with a mix of emotions. First and foremost, I want [...]
As I sit down to write my final article for the Sarasota Herald Tribune after 15 years as a guest columnist, I find myself filled with a mix of emotions. First and foremost, I want [...]
The U.S. economy is entering the second half of 2023 much stronger than anticipated. The American economy is benefitting from broad-based momentum despite rising interest rates. For more than a year, there have been [...]
On June 22, 2023, President Biden showered Indian Prime Minister Narendi Modi with expansive flattery during a lavish state dinner. He sought to draw India closer at a time when the United States is in [...]
The Federal Reserve currently has two major challenges — fighting inflation and averting a credit crunch. Raghuram Rajan, the former governor of the Reserve Bank of India, summarized the problem: “They (the Federal Reserve) are between a [...]
Introduction Allsyia Finley, writing for the Wall Street Journal, exposed several disturbing issues: (1) While we do not know the percentage of people taking the covid vaccine that have suffered very serious negative consequences, [...]
The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted our lives. The entire ecosystem collapsed during the early months of the pandemic as office workers shifted to working from home. The office market has been slow to [...]
Shoplifting is an alarmingly common crime. The National Retail Federation estimates that retail shrink, which includes theft but also problems leading to inventory being lost or recorded inaccurately, was roughly $95 billion in 2021. Dean Rosenblum, [...]
On May 1, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned in a letter to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy that the U.S. may run out of measures to pay its debt obligations by June 1. A potential [...]
On April 19, the United Nations projected that India’s population growth will surpass that of China by the middle of 2023. India’s population, driven by a combination of high fertility rates and improved health care and [...]
On April 11, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that its economic outlook for 2023 has been lowered. IMF Managing Director Kristina Georgieva cautioned that global growth is set for the weakest near-term expansion since 1990. The [...]
On March 4, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) reported that there were nearly 9.9 million job openings in February. This is a reduction from January’s downwardly revised 10.6 [...]
The role of the Federal Reserve is to create a safer and more stable monetary and financial system. Unfortunately, our central bank faces enormous challenges. We have not broken the back of inflation and the [...]
The sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) — the nation’s 16th largest bank — and Signature Bank have changed the financial landscape. Stephen Solaka, managing partner at Belmont Capital Group, wrote, “Sentiment went very quickly [...]
Alone and Exploited, Migrant Children Work Brutal Jobs Across the U.S. --by Hannah Dreier The New York Times uncovered that an overwhelming number of migrant children are ending up in very dangerous jobs. Largely [...]
On Jan. 19, the United States hit its “debt ceiling,” which is currently capped at $31.4 trillion. The “debt ceiling” refers to a statutory limit on how much the U.S. can borrow. To prevent a default, [...]
On Feb. 14, the Labor Department reported that the Consumer Price Index increased by 6.4% over the past year. This represents the seventh straight month of declines. CPI measures a broad basket of goods and [...]
On Feb. 3, the Labor Department reported surprisingly strong employment numbers. The economy added a robust 517,000 nonfarm jobs, and the unemployment rate fell to 3.4%, a 53-year low. Analysts were surprised. They had expected job [...]
Last week the U.S. reached its borrowing limit of $31.4 trillion. The debt limit is the maximum amount of debt that the Treasury Department can issue. Given that the federal government runs large budget [...]
