FEE’s Peter Jacobsen writes, “So, after ignoring inflation, saying it will just be ‘transitory,’ and saying inflation is no big deal, many are being forced to address it. Unfortunately, some of the suggested remedies are even more disappointing than the initial denial.

One ‘solution’ being put forward by the Biden Administration is that the government needs to enforce rules which keep markets from becoming monopolistic, known as ‘anti-trust’ laws.

The emerging claim that antitrust can combat inflation reflects “science denial”. There are many areas like transitory inflation where serious economists differ. Antitrust as an anti-inflation strategy is not one of them.

— Lawrence H. Summers (@LHSummers) December 26, 2021

The logic goes something like this. Monopolies are able to charge higher prices, so stopping monopolies will stop prices from rising. If you don’t think too hard, this makes a superficial amount of sense. In reality, however, this is unlikely to work.

Lawrence Summers, an economist and former Treasury Secretary to Bill Clinton, equated the idea of using anti-trust to fight inflation with being ‘science denial.”

Read the entire column.

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FEE’s Peter Jacobsen writes, “Congress recently passed the White House’s Infrastructure Bill to the tune of $1 trillion. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the legislation into law on Monday.

In the lead-up to the vote, the administration and House Democrats were oddly adamant that the bill would cost zero dollars. That’s right, a free $1 trillion infrastructure bill.

There’s no such thing as free infrastructure. https://t.co/O5AbacTK0j

— FEE (@feeonline) November 15, 2021

Another FEE article already debunked this claim with thorough examination of the concept of forgone alternatives. However, following the poor reception of the rhetoric that the infrastructure bill would cost nothing, messaging seems to have pivoted to a less dubious position. Namely, that the infrastructure bill will not add a penny to the deficit.

There is more truth to this assertion than the last, but a thorough examination still finds this claim wanting. Why? In order to understand, we need to, again, consider the forgone alternatives.”

Read the entire column.

The post The true costs of Biden’s infrastructure bill, explained appeared first on Liberty Tree.

FEE’s Peter Jacobsen writes, “Inflation has ruined one of my go-to examples for my macroeconomics students. Whenever I discuss inflation with my students, I test their understanding of economics by highlighting the puzzle of the Dollar Tree, an American retail chain that sells goods at discount prices. Between the year the Dollar Tree was founded (1985) and today, the price of goods and services have risen 2.63% on average every year.

There used to be 5s and 10s.

Now we will tell the next generation how there used to be dollar stores.

If you don’t understand how and why that happens, hit a pause on politics & take some time to learn economics.@PeterPashute for @feeonline:https://t.co/hs2hLhQP55

— Hannah Cox (@HannahDCox) October 15, 2021

However, in spite of unpredictable swings in the economy and prices, one store has remained consistent throughout it all. Dollar Tree has long been known for being the last true ‘dollar store’ which spans the whole US. For the last 35 years, when you walked into the Dollar Tree, you knew you wouldn’t spend more than one dollar per product.

All of that is changing, however. After 35 years, the Dollar Tree has announced they’ll begin to carry products with a price over one dollar. This invites two important questions: how was the store able to keep prices low for so long, and what is changing now?”

Read the entire column.

The post Dollar Tree loses its 35 year war with inflation appeared first on Liberty Tree.

FEE’s Peter Jacobsen writes, “Brown University’s Watson Institute estimates the US spent $2.2 trillion over the 19 years, increasing the tax burden of every American by $6,000. Further, the Watson Institute estimates ‘241,000 people have died as a direct result of this war. These figures do not include deaths caused by disease, loss of access to food, water, infrastructure, and/or other indirect consequences of the war.’

“So there’s no need to play the blame game with Trump or Biden. The blame for the disaster in Afghanistan falls squarely on the experts in Washington, DC, who began this crusade nearly 20 years ago.”https://t.co/XCiAycII71

— Jon Miltimore (@miltimore79) August 31, 2021

Yet, in the end, it was all for nought. The US-sponsored Afghan government collapsed shortly after the lethally botched US military withdrawal, and the Taliban are once again in power. Only now, they are armed with billions of dollars worth of US military gear.

Who’s to blame?”

Read the entire column here.

The post The Afghanistan War Was a 20-Year Failure in Central Planning appeared first on Liberty Tree.