Norbert J. Michel

Have you heard this narrative? The middle class has been hollowed out because of an overreliance on free markets. Americans can’t compete with low-cost labor and imports, so all the good jobs in America have disappeared, especially those in manufacturing. It’s a dismal argument…

The exchange ended in a moment of slight levity. Trump responded to a question about what the Fed chair could say that might get him to back off his criticism by slapping Powell on the back and saying, “Well, I’d love him to lower interest rates!” Powell chuckled.

Incredible finding from @jmhorp @CatoInstitute: For the 10 metro areas most affected by the "China shock," ALL of them have higher real wages today, at every income level, than they did in 2001, and 6/10 have grown faster than the national average. New from me @NRO…

At what point does protectionism for an industry that basically does not exist but imposes massive costs on others become politically unsustainable? We haven't hit it yet, apparently! (From @EBGresser)

This is amazing to watch.

Trump: It looks like it’s about $3.1 billion Powell: I’m not aware of that. Trump: It just came out Powell: You just added in a third building Trump: It’s a building that’s being built Powell: It was built five years ago. 🍿🍿🍿

As the president prepares to visit the Fed’s HQ renovations today, worth noting this story was on the front page of the Wall Street Journal more than two years ago (and nothing major about the project seems to have changed since then) wsj.com/economy/centra…

Here's my best shot at an objective overview of Dodd-Frank at 15. (Everyone already knows I think it was a horrible piece of legislation.) cato.org/blog/dodd-fran… via @CatoInstitute

Banks were required to file 20.5 million currency transaction reports last year. That's 56 thousand reports a day. Why? Their customers made a cash transaction of $10,000 or more. cato.org/blog/reporting…

It's subtle, but if you look very closely at this chart, you can see the exact moment when Trump announced the Japan trade "deal" that prioritizes imported cars over American car manufacturing

Swampopulism, Inc. business continues booming

Congress: “Ban TikTok if it’s not separated from the Chinese Communist Party.” Supreme Court, 9-0: “Yep, that’s the law.” Trump administration: “Best I can do is illegally delay its prohibition three times, repeatedly pretend a sale is imminent, and then nationalize it.”

Spoiler: We’ve seen this movie before. President Trump’s steel tariffs failed to boost production—now a 50% tariff on copper is set to hike prices, and to what end? @AlfredCObregon & @clark_packard explain: cato.org/blog/copper-ta…

Fifteen Years of Dodd-Frank: A Legacy of Missed Targets and Regulatory Overreach cato.org/blog/dodd-fran… via @CatoInstitute

TikTok going from a privately-owned Chinese company to a state-owned U.S. company? Folks used to predict that the Chinese and U.S. economies would converge over time, but not this way.

NEW PIECE: Why Are Progressive Democrats Giving President Trump a Free Pass on Tariff Price Hikes? The President is set on the unpopular goal of raising prices through unpopular tariffs and progressive Democrats are deflecting blame onto....corporations...

New Book Excerpt: False Dawn, The New Deal and the Promise of Recovery, 1933–1947, by Cato’s George Selgin cato.org/blog/selgin-ex… via @CatoInstitute

False Dawn: The New Deal and the Promise of Recovery, 1933–1947 cato.org/events/false-d… #CatoEvents via @CatoInstitute

What are stablecoins? @JenniferJSchulp & @NorbertJMichel cover stablecoins in their latest podcast, discussing how they should be regulated and what a future might look like with these innovative financial instruments. buff.ly/JtLcQdJ

This doesn’t make a lick of sense. Trump will “direct” $550 billion in Japanese investment to the United States. Can’t wait to see how that works. Also a 15% tariff on Japan will obviously reduce U.S. exports to Japan. These may be the first market-closing trade deals in American…

It's good to see that @michaeljknowles was able to confirm the real reason for his debanking. However, it's sad to see once again how much power the government has. And this case highlights how misguided legislative responses like the Fair Access approach are.