James Pethokoukis

Washington, D.C.

Contributor at CNBC

Fellow and Columnist at American Enterprise Institute

Host at Political Economy with Jim Pethokoukis

@AEI. @CNBC. My book: 🚀THE CONSERVATIVE FUTURIST (2023) 🚀 https://t.co/W3jbFEnXh2 Substack: Faster, Please! https://t.co/TJ7xRaAZkt

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Articles

Federal R&D cuts would be another (massive) unforced policy error

6 days ago | fasterplease.substack.com | James Pethokoukis

My fellow pro-growth/progress/abundance Up Wingers,I see my job, broadly, as having two main parts. First, generate and promote evidenced-based, Up Wing public policy ideas (ones helpful to human flourishing). Second, make the evidence-based case against Down Wing public policy ideas (ones destructive to human flourishing). Sometimes one part takes precedence over the other part. And right now, it seems, quashing Down Wing stupidity is most important.
My chat (+transcript) with science journalist Charles C. Mann on the agricultural history you never learned

1 week ago | fasterplease.substack.com | James Pethokoukis

In the 1960s, a deep anxiety set in as one thing became seemingly clear: We were headed toward population catastrophe. Paul Ehrlich’s “The Population Bomb” and “The Limits to Growth,” written by the Club of Rome, were just two publications warning of impending starvation due to simply too many humans on the earth. As the population ballooned year by year, it would simply be impossible to feed everyone. Demographers and environmentalists alike held their breath and braced for impact.
Discussing growing tensions between President Trump and Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell: Pethokoukis on CNBC’s ‘The Exchange’

1 week ago | aei.org | James Pethokoukis

Senior Fellow James Pethokoukis discusses the growing tensions between President Trump and Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell on CNBC’s ‘The Exchange.’
Space tourist Katy Perry, hero of progress

1 week ago | fasterplease.substack.com | James Pethokoukis

My fellow pro-growth/progress/abundance Up Wingers,Real talk: Iām thankful for the celebrity backlash to this weekās celebrity space flight. It wonderfully illustrates the scarcity-obsessed, zero-sum, Down Wing mindset. Thereās so, so much 1970s-style, āLimits to Growthā energy and thinking thatās happening here. To recap: Journalist Gayle King, popstar Katy Perry, and four other women made a 10-minute space jaunt Monday on Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin rocket.
The larger meaning behind the rising popularity of nuclear energy

1 week ago | fasterplease.substack.com | James Pethokoukis

A question: Why should tomorrow be any different than today? Why should America — stuck for a half-century in relative Down Wing stagnation versus those Up Wing visions from times past — finally break out of its long-term lethargy?
Innovation, Not Nostalgia, Will Power the Future of US Manufacturing

1 week ago | aei.org | James Pethokoukis |Julia Cataneo

Nostalgia fuels populism across the political divide. When times are tough, such as during the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis, populist rhetoric offers emotional solace through promises of economic restoration. Yet policymakers must maintain their forward gaze when thinking about workers. A more prosperous American future will emerge only through productivity-enhancing innovation and by empowering the US labor force with the adaptability required in a dynamic, high-octane economy.
The state of AI, heading into the America Trade Shock

1 week ago | fasterplease.substack.com | James Pethokoukis

What is the state of the AI Revolution? Or, to be more specific, what was the state of the AI Revolution leading up to the 2025 America Trade Shock?
Trade wars and rumors of trade wars

2 weeks ago | fasterplease.substack.com | James Pethokoukis

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Civilizational stakes and opportunity costs

2 weeks ago | fasterplease.substack.com | James Pethokoukis

My fellow pro-growth/progress/abundance Up Wingers,Let’s start with a short scenario about how a world with super AIs might work out in a pretty positive way (adapted with AI from the new and very cool AI 2027 website created by Daniel Kokotajlo, Scott Alexander, Thomas Larsen, Eli Lifland, Romeo Dean):The second half of the 2020s alters the course of human civilization.
Derek Scissors: Trump’s Tariffs and the China Trade War

2 weeks ago | aei.org | James Pethokoukis |Derek Scissors

Today on Political Economy, I talk with Derek Scissors about what the Trump Administration’s newly-declared tariffs mean for US-China relations and what to make of today’s economic uncertainty. Derek is a senior fellow here at AEI, where he focuses on US-Asia economic relations. He is the chief economist of the China Beige Book and previously served as a commissioner on the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission. He is also the author of the China Global Investment Tracker.