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1 week ago | 
cepr.net | Data Bytes |Dean Baker |Eileen Appelbaum |Brandon Novick
Elon Musk and his “super-high IQ” DOGE team have apparently put the IRS’s Direct File program in their gunsights. Direct File is a free and simplified program that would allow the vast majority of taxpayers to quickly do their taxes without paying fees to a tax preparation service. The program saves taxpayers time and money, as well as much anxiety.
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1 week ago | 
cepr.net | Data Bytes |Greg Grandin |Mark Weisbrot |Pedro Herrera
Ecuadorians go to the polls Sunday in what is expected to be a close runoff election between incumbent president Daniel Noboa and left-leaning challenger Luisa González. Polls show the two candidates in a statistical tie, with some polls giving González a slight lead and some showing Noboa ahead.
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1 week ago | 
cepr.net | Data Bytes |Greg Grandin |Mark Weisbrot |Pedro Herrera
Ecuadorians will return to the polls this Sunday for a decisive presidential runoff between the right-wing incumbent Daniel Noboa and leftist challenger Luisa González. The closely contested race follows a first-round election in February where neither candidate secured the majority, with Noboa receiving 44.17% of the vote and González 44%.
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2 weeks ago | 
cepr.net | Data Bytes |Dean Baker
Seven Republican Senators have joined together in a proposal that would limit the president’s authority to impose tariffs. If the Democrats in the Senate joined with the Republicans, they would have the votes needed to approve the bill. While they would face a certain presidential veto and other hurdles, it is a goal worth pursuing. The bill, the Trade Review Act of 2025, would sunset any tariffs after 60 days if they are not approved by Congress.
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2 weeks ago | 
cepr.net | Data Bytes |Pedro Herrera |Greg Grandin |Mark Weisbrot
Elections and DebateEcuador’s April 13 runoff presidential election is fast approaching, with conservative incumbent Daniel Noboa and progressive candidate Luisa González tied at 44 percent in last month’s first round. Ahead of the runoff, the National Electoral Council (CNE) launched the official 18-day campaign period — the only time candidates are allowed to campaign — with a presidential debate on March 23.
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2 weeks ago | 
cepr.net | Data Bytes |Dean Baker
Many reporters and commentators have claimed the United States has the upper hand in a trade war with China because we have a large trade deficit with China. We import almost $440 billion a year in goods from China, while they import only a bit over $140 billion from us. That means we can impose tariffs on far more Chinese goods than they can on US-made goods. While that claim is true, it loses sight of what tariffs are. Tariffs are a tax on goods we import.
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2 weeks ago | 
cepr.net | Data Bytes |Eileen Appelbaum |Alex Richwine |Dean Baker
It’s no secret that the private equity industry wants to get into the personal retirement business. The investment giant BlackRock is pledging to “open up private markets to millions of everyday investors.”BlackRock president Larry Fink claims the company wants to give ordinary people access to risky assets and high returns. Risky assets? Yes. High returns? Well, let’s ask the sophisticated investors at the nation’s largest university endowment funds how that worked out.
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3 weeks ago | 
cepr.net | Data Bytes |Dean Baker
Thomas Friedman devoted his New York Times column to China today, making the point that it is ahead of the US technologically in many areas and that its lead is likely to grow rapidly. As he notes, this fact is hugely underappreciated in US policy circles, where there is a prevailing view that China is well behind us and still badly needs our technology. As Friedman makes clear, that day has long passed. China is way ahead in producing EVs, batteries, solar and wind energy and many other areas.
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3 weeks ago | 
cepr.net | Data Bytes |Dean Baker
With Donald Trump seemingly determined to push the U.S. economy on a path towards autarky, our major trading partners will need to make alternative arrangements. This is especially the case with Canada, since its economy is so closely tied to the U.S. economy. At this point, Mark Carney, the country’s new Prime Minister, knows there is little possibility of dealing with Trump rationally. Trump has bizarre and totally imagined grievances against Canada.
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3 weeks ago | 
cepr.net | Data Bytes |Dean Baker
I haven’t read Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson’s new book, Abundance, but everyone I know seems to be talking about it. Therefore, I thought I would throw in my two cents, not on the book for obvious reasons, but on what a serious Abundance Agenda (AA) should look like. Specifically, I want to talk about patents and how reform of the rules on intellectual property really needs to be at the center of a serious AA.
