Category: Economy
Trump’s Two Oil Mysteries: Freedom Fuel and Venezuelan Crude
by Jonathan Winer | Aug 10, 2026 | EconomyGasoline prices are rising again, adding to voter concerns about the cost of living. Yet in the Philadelphia region, a new company, Freedom Fuel, is suddenly selling gasoline substantially below its competitors at more than two dozen stations. President Trump has personally promoted Freedom Fuel, and the White House has presented it as evidence that […]
Consumers Here at Home Paid Trump’s Illegal Tariffs: Here’s How to Refund Their Money
by Steven Pressman | Jul 20, 2026 | EconomyOn April 2, 2025, so-called “Liberation Day”, President Trump invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and put high tariffs on US imports. His base tariff was 10%, but most countries faced higher rates, including 20% for the European Union, and over 40% for Cambodia and Vietnam. Trump has claimed repeatedly that he loves […]
Republicans Made Children More Expensive: Here’s How to Fix the Problem
by Steven Pressman | May 4, 2026 | EconomyThe Department of Agriculture estimates that in 1960 it cost middle-income families $259,711 (in 2025 dollars) to raise a child. In 2015, it cost $414,000 (again, in 2025 dollars), an increase of over 50 percent—substantially more than median household income increased over this time period. As a result, women are having fewer children. During the […]
Trump Gets an F on Housing Affordability: Democrats Can Easily Do Better
by Steven Pressman | Mar 5, 2026 | EconomyAffordability is Donald Trump’s Achilles Heel. Running for President in 2024 he vowed to reduce prices. This dumb promise lacks even the most basic understanding of the US economy. Average prices rarely fall. Over the past century, inflation went negative only during the Great Depression. Another depression would be needed to bring prices down to […]
Tariff Man Tumbles, Fumbles and Bumbles on Trade
by Steven Pressman | Feb 4, 2026 | EconomyWhen it comes to economics, we know two things about Donald Trump. He is obsessed with the US trade deficit. And he thinks tariffs, or import taxes, will solve the trade deficit problem. Trump is wrong on both counts. The trade deficit is not a pressing problem facing the US economy. And to the extent […]
Bad Faith Documentary
