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Articles

Tariffs: Why You Should Fear Them

1 week ago | fee.org | Douglas Carswell

They won’t end the income tax, bring back jobs, or stop China. They will make you poorer. President Trump has established a baseline 10% tariff on nearly all imports. Additionally, the White House announced plans for reciprocal tariffs on 57 countries. A week later, on April 9, the administration then paused these measures for 90 days. We still don’t know whether the reciprocal tariffs will take effect after July 9.
British Voters Lash Out

2 weeks ago | fee.org | Jake Scott

Local election results signal wide discontent. In the United Kingdom, a mini political earthquake has thrown everything up into the air. At the beginning of May, several local councils held elections for the county, allowing voters a say in how their local services are managed—bin collection, potholes being filled in, local development plans, etc. These elections are not, therefore, the most decisive electoral events of the calendar.
Falling for Socialism

3 weeks ago | fee.org | Lika Kobeshavidze

Gen Z’s rage should be against cronyism, not capitalism. Across college campuses, on TikTok feeds, and in everyday conversations, a familiar narrative is gaining steam: capitalism is broken. Rising rents and stagnant wages fuel the claim among some young people that free markets have failed an entire generation. According to a 2024 poll by the Institute of Economic Affairs, more than 60% of young Britons now view socialism favorably.
Water Pressure - FEE

3 weeks ago | fee.org | Rachel Chiu

A new kind of deregulation in the Trump era. The Trump administration has sought to tackle an issue of government overreach that, while seemingly trivial, is bound to have significant consequences for administrative law. On April 9th, President Trump signed “Maintaining Acceptable Water Pressure in Showerheads,” an executive order (EO) that directed the Secretary of Energy to repeal a 13,000-word regulation limiting, by definition, the amount of water that could flow through household nozzles.
Does Britain Hate Wealth?

3 weeks ago | fee.org | Jake Scott

Too expensive even for the rich. Do the wealthy hate Britain? You would be forgiven for thinking so, from the way wealthy people and companies are fleeing the country. As many as 11,000 millionaires have left since the beginning of 2024, often taking their businesses with them. The effects are finally being felt: in April 2025, The Times reported that the receipts from Capital Gains Tax (CGT) fell from £14.5 billion ($19.3 billion) to £13 billion ($17 billion)—a 10% drop.
Taiwan’s Trump Trouble

3 weeks ago | fee.org | Kerry Brown

Taiwan is still tied by informal bonds to the world’s largest military and economic power. The current incumbent of the White House presents daily challenges and quandaries for almost every other country on the planet—including his own. But for Taiwan, these carry a particular edge.
Russian Treasure

3 weeks ago | fee.org | Mark Nayler

What to do with billions in frozen assets. When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, $300 billion of Russian assets held in foreign countries were immediately frozen, the majority of which (about $200 billion) are within Europe. So far, despite pressure from the US, EU leaders have been reluctant to channel these funds into Ukraine’s defense and reconstruction, the latter of which is expected to cost $520 billion.
Manufacturing and Trade

1 month ago | fee.org | Alex Tabarrok

It has become popular in some circles to argue that trade—or, in the more “sophisticated” version, that the dollar’s reserve-currency status—undermines US manufacturing. In reality, there is little support for this claim. Let’s begin with some simple but often overlooked points. The US is a manufacturing powerhouse. We produce $2.5 trillion of value-added in manufacturing output, more than ever before in history.
Generation Gap: Iberia Unplugged

1 month ago | fee.org | Mark Nayler

A five-second grid failure turned into a 12-hour blackout. On Monday, April 28, just after 12:30 PM local time, Spain and Portugal switched off. A massive power outage left the entire Iberian Peninsula and a small part of southern France without phone lines, electricity, and Internet for more than twelve hours. ATMs and traffic lights shut down, over 300 flights were canceled, hospitals resorted to generators, and 35,000 people had to be rescued from stranded trains.
Fall of Saigon, 50 Years On

1 month ago | fee.org | Jon Gabriel

The disaster of the Vietnam War cast a long shadow. Fifty years ago today, Americans were glued to their television sets. Flickering screens showed frightened civilians pushing their way up a rickety rooftop stairway, desperately trying to climb aboard one of the last departing helicopters. On April 30, 1975, Saigon fell to the communist armies of North Vietnam, just two years after the Paris Peace Accords and the departure of American forces. The event still polarizes the American public.