Or Are They Hiking Prices Due to Their Own Rising Costs — It is beyond dispute that inflation is running rampant in the U.S. economy. Prices exploded in the aftermath of the pandemic, and workers’ real (after inflation) earnings have significantly declined.

An Experiment With the Peril and Promise of New Technology — In the 80’s, I landed a job at a large company in the Midwest. Back then, every department had a secretary who answered the manager’s phone, typed memos, created presentation transparencies, and sent faxes. In the early 90’s everything changed. The full-time secretaries were replaced with temps, then the temps…

Have you learned from history? — Many years ago, a car dealer told me a story about inflation and price controls in the immediate aftermath of WWII. A car buyer walked into a dealership and asked about the price of a new model. Strangely, a tie had been placed on the front seat. The dealer quoted…

Expectation vs. Reality — Many people who fly over West Texas and see oil well pads stretching to the horizon might be surprised to learn that Texas is a leader in alternative energy. In fact, at the end of 2021, the state had 34,173 MW of total installed wind and 9,323 MW of total…

Nobody said life was fair — There has been a lot of news lately about well-funded companies buying up vast numbers of single-family homes in the Sun Belt to rent out, removing for sale inventory from the market and placing the American Dream out of reach. …

Looking Beyond the Headlines — On July 8, 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the “headline” or U-3 unemployment rate for June was 3.6%. Historically, this is a very good number. On the other side of the coin, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported in late June that first Quarter GDP…

Policymakers and the Free Market — How we got here We have reached the end of an experiment unprecedented in modern American history. …

Three Clues — In the United States, a recession is dated by The National Bureau of Economic Research and “involves a significant decline in economic activity that is spread across the economy and lasts more than a few months.”¹ …