Scott Burns and Calbe Fuller have a new book forthcoming from The Independent Institute, "Trade Wars: Why Freedom Trumps Tariffs." I highly recommend it! They have a gift for breaking down complex economic topics and making them exciting for the general reader.

"Beginning with the simple insight that people trade because it makes them better off, they show how exchange, specialization, and cooperation transformed humanity from bare survival to modern prosperity. Readers will learn why trade is about far more than imports and exports: it is a cornerstone of human freedom, innovation, and peaceful cooperation."

My latest article at @CivitasOutlook is up. Trump’s $5,000 “dividend” checks—explicitly contingent on Republicans keeping both chambers—cross a vote-buying Rubicon. But this isn’t one-sided: both parties have long traded public money for votes, from Biden’s Georgia runoff pledge of $2,000 checks (“If you send Jon and the Reverend to Washington, those $2,000 checks will go out the door”) to student-loan forgiveness.

A republic that treats the public purse as a routine campaign instrument invites dependency, partisan competition, and fiscal profligacy the Constitution was meant to restrain.

"Art, Science, and Book I of the Wealth of Nations" is now forthcoming in the Iberian Journal of the History of Economic Thought @BenzecryGabriel "Adam Smith provided the first systematic account of political economy. While no one should expect the empirical standards of modern economics from an 18th-century work, this does not diminish the scientific significance of the Wealth of Nations. Focusing on Book I, this paper argues that Smith’s major claims were grounded in historical observation and institutional comparison and were intended to be confronted with experience. While Smith certainly holds political and normative commitments, these do not primarily explain the analytical project of Book I. In doing so, the paper challenges recent interpretations that portray Smith’s work as primarily ideological, while maintaining a clear distinction between Smith’s economic analysis and his policy positions."

Well, let's start with the world's first billionaire: "When Standard Oil’s board initially refused to finance the risky project, Rockefeller declared that he would stake some of his own personal fortune, some two to three million dollars, eventually causing the board to grant Rockefeller permission. The investment proved lucrative, as Rockefeller found a technology that would refine the oil while neutralizing the horrid smell. The discovery brought the price of kerosene down to record lows, benefiting millions of consumers (not to mention helping save the whales in the process!)." Link: fee.org/articles/filthy-stin…

World's 3rd Billionaire: Andrew Carnegie "Carnegie was a stickler for increasing efficiency and cutting costs, enabling him to substantially lower the price of steel. One of Carnegie’s methods enabling him to produce steel more efficiently than his competitors was the hiring of a chemist at his mills. The chemist showed Carnegie’s team how to scientifically distinguish superior iron ore from inferior ore and how to use waste products efficiently. These techniques, and others, enabled Carnegie to manufacture high-quality steel at lower cost." fee.org/articles/andrew-carn…