WASHINGTON — Donald Trump sold himself to the American public as an expert deal-maker. At the top of his list was a promised trade bargain with China that would boost U.S. exports and remedy some of the more egregious examples of discrimination against American firms. It isn’t working as planned. To the contrary: The ensuing […]
Robert Samuelson
Deficit spenders deny future unpleasantness
WASHINGTON — Let’s coin a new law of politics. Call it Neuman’s Law after Alfred E. Neuman of Mad magazine fame, whose philosophy is, “What, me worry?” Neuman’s Law postulates that there is never a good time to raise taxes or cut federal spending. This explains why, since 1961, the annual federal budget has been […]
The Fed pushes job creation as job one
WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome (“Jay”) Powell didn’t waste much time getting to the point at last week’s press conference. “My colleagues and I have one overarching goal: to sustain the economic expansion, with a strong job market and stable prices, for the benefit of the American people,” he said. It was a statement […]
U.S. economy’s slow growth rate carries risk
WASHINGTON — At the start of every year, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) publishes its annual “The Budget and Economic Outlook,” a tome full of statistics, tables and charts. Frankly, it’s easy to get swamped by the numbers. To make sense of the report, I’ve selected five takeaways that capture the main points. (1) The […]
Taking a small step on climate change
WASHINGTON — On global climate change, I have changed my mind — just slightly. I have written about this issue for more than two decades, and my theme has been monotonously consistent. As a starting point, I have accepted the prevailing scientific view that man-made greenhouse gases contribute to global warming. But I have been […]
Will the global credit boom go bust?
WASHINGTON — We are in the midst of a worldwide credit boom that may be without precedent. The debt explosion suggests that the global economy — all the national economies combined — is being driven heavily by massive government and private borrowing. Is this debt buildup stable? Or is it the harbinger of a sharp […]
Sears, GE's decline provides hard lesson
WASHINGTON — General Electric and Sears have fallen on hard times, and that tells us a lot about U.S capitalism. Both were once great enterprises — symbols of American ingenuity and imagination. The temptation will be to blame their troubles on mismanagement. The real lesson is starker. It is that no business, no matter how […]
China-U.S. trade war difficult to resolve
WASHINGTON — American officials traveled to China this week in an effort to end the bitter trade war between the two countries. The main obstacle to a settlement is natural rivalry: The United States is trying to protect its position as the most important superpower; and China is serving notice that it covets that status […]
Euro still vulnerable 20 years later
WASHINGTON — On its 20th birthday, the best that can be said of the euro — the European currency used by 19 countries — is that it has survived. Two decades after being introduced in 1999, it has not achieved its central goals: increasing economic growth and strengthening public support for European political institutions. In […]
Welcome to our unhappy new year
WASHINGTON — As we enter 2019, the question that looms over America is simple: Can we govern? The answer is no. Unless this changes — truly a long shot — the new year may be as disappointing as the old. Our society seems handcuffed by unsolvable problems: large and persistent budget deficits; global warming; uncontrolled […]