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dolanecon.bsky.social
Economist, Senior Fellow at Niskanen Center. Political economy, social policy, environmental economics and more.
224 posts 898 followers 2,146 following
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Former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on the US-Russia negotiations: "It's not really about accepting a loss of territory .... (read the rest below) meduza.io/en/feature/2...

submitted 4 days ago • 0 comments

1/2 @crampell.bsky.social points out that opposing the Trump/Musk wrecking-ball approach to government reform does not mean accepting the status quo. wapo.st/42VXGBl

submitted 5 days ago • 1 comment

If Dems are mad about what Musk is doing to the institution of government, it’s time to go on the offense to reform it, says @pahlkadot.bsky.social. Recklessness will not get us there, but neither will the Dems' excessive caution and addiction to procedure." www.nytimes.com/2025/02/07/o...

submitted 6 days ago • 0 comments

1/3 Tariffs are at best a highly indirect way of lowering the trade deficit. Here is how I explain the trade deficit to my Econ 101 students. Start with a simple accounting truism: Investment + Gov purchases + eXports = Saving + net Taxes + iMports.

submitted 9 days ago • 1 comment

Russian pro-Putin blogger commenting on Putin-Trump phone call: "woe to the vanquished. ... Victory is still far off, but across Ukrainian media, there’s only one word: “catastrophe.” And that’s a good thing—it will take a toll on the morale of Ukrainian troops." meduza.io/en/feature/2...

submitted 9 days ago • 0 comments

Even if you think there is room for some cuts in the federal workforce, and there probably is, is this REALLY the right time to pare down the CIA? www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

submitted 11 days ago • 0 comments

WSJ: "This [Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs] is political rent-seeking at its most brazen, and it benefits the few at the expense of the many." www.wsj.com/opinion/dona...

submitted 12 days ago • 0 comments

Will Trump/Musk go too far in slashing government? navigatorresearch.org/wp-content/u...

submitted 12 days ago • 0 comments

Can we get along without the penny? Yes. The link goes to a piece I wrote several years ago about whether we can get along without the penny. The answer was then yes, and it is still yes. See below for an updated chart. tiny.cc/u3j9001

submitted 13 days ago • 0 comments

Chinese AI startup DeepSeek has laid bare one of the power sector’s greatest fears: The AI boom might not need nearly as much electricity as anticipated. www.wsj.com/tech/ai/powe...

submitted 17 days ago • 0 comments

1/2 The Trump team is trying to scrub the "social cost of carbon" from all areas of policy. It is right to see the SCC as deeply flawed, but ... www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

submitted 17 days ago • 1 comment

To achieve energy abundance we need permitting and transmission reform. Wind and solar are in trouble not because panels and turbines aren’t cheap but because it is too hard to site them and get the power to where it is needed when it is needed. www.breakthroughjournal.org/p/the-case-f...

submitted 18 days ago • 0 comments

Robert Gordon expounds on the paucity of thought and planning behind major government reform initiatives of the Trump administration. The result: Even when the measures address real problems, they often make matters worse, or simply have to be quickly reversed. substack.com/home/post/p-...

submitted 18 days ago • 0 comments

@wsj.com "It’s risky to be America’s enemy but it can be fatal to be its friend." www.wsj.com/opinion/dona...

submitted 22 days ago • 0 comments

1/4 @pkrugman.bsky.social has published an account of his departure from NYT in a newsletter that allows only paid subscribers to comment, contrarian.substack.com/p/departing-... so I will comment here. I have long been an avid Krugman reader, I am a PhD economist of roughly his generation...

submitted 25 days ago • 1 comment

As promised, Trump has been busy breaking the rules in an effort to Make America Great Again. However, world data show clearly that rule-breaking populists weaken their states, while governments that uphold the law are strong and stable. tiny.cc/pya7001

submitted 30 days ago • 0 comments

If Musk were to use DOGE, now reincarnated as the US Digital Service (or is it the other way around?), as an instrument to harness technology to make government management more agile, something good might come of it. See here for some hints of what might emerge: www.milkenreview.org/articles/why...

submitted 32 days ago • 0 comments

Trump speech: "I will direct all members of my Cabinet to ... rapidly bring down costs and prices." Same day Trump rescinds Biden's Executive Order 14087 of October 14, 2022 Lowering Prescription Drug Costs for Americans. Details here: www.newsweek.com/donald-trump...

submitted 33 days ago • 0 comments

1/3 There is an irony here. The "procedure fetish" is one of the big impediments to effective government. FACA requires advisory committees to follow procedures that would plausibly impair their effectiveness. The mission of DOGE is to make government more effective... (more) wapo.st/4h1ekDA

submitted 34 days ago • 8 comments

We might think that Putin had long ago destroyed rule of law in Russia. But he wasn't satisfied. Now the next step: Destruction of the legal profession. All that is left is to get rid of the pretense of having trials and judges at all, just shoot people you don't like. meduza.io/en/feature/2...

submitted 35 days ago • 0 comments

China claims 5% growth for 2024 but Western analysts are skeptical of the numbers. Could it happen here? www.wsj.com/world/china/...

submitted 37 days ago • 0 comments

submitted 42 days ago • 12 comments

Scott Bessent, up for confirmation as Treasury Sec today, says “Tariffs can’t be inflationary because if the price of one thing goes up, unless you give people more money, then they have less money to spend on the other thing, so there is no inflation." I disagree. Read why: tiny.cc/Tariffs

submitted 38 days ago • 0 comments

The GOP is laying the groundwork to cut federal health spending by arguing that access to medical care doesn’t make you sick — other societal ills do. Poor nutrition, neurotoxins, etc. Unfortunately, the rest of the GOP agenda will make those other problems worse, too. wapo.st/3DUcVQM

submitted 40 days ago • 19 comments