fee.org

Articles

Manufacturing and Trade

1 week 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 week 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

2 weeks 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.
Canada Elects Carney

2 weeks ago | fee.org | Jake Scott

The new PM’s British past indicates his Canadian future. The counting has not finished, but the election certainly has. The Liberal Party of Canada, under the new leadership of Mark Carney, is set to form the next government, either with a majority of seats (172 out of 343), or at the head of the coalition. The question now is, quite simply: How did this happen? Indeed, the outcome was a surprise for just about everyone, but three factors combined to turn things around.
Capitalists Against Capitalism

3 weeks ago | fee.org | Paul Meany

The Trump administration’s tariffs and the damage they could cause to people’s livelihoods globally are a rude reminder that free markets matter. But we live in a time when the mainstream voices of the media, academia, and politics are hopelessly preoccupied with their disdain for “capitalism.” Despite the unprecedented progress and technological advancement free markets have brought, much of society still hates the goose that lays the golden egg. But why?
Why Do Domestic Prices Rise with Tariffs?

4 weeks ago | fee.org | Alex Tabarrok

Many people think they understand why domestic prices rise with tariffs—domestic producers take advantage of reduced competition to jack up prices and increase their profits. The explanation seems cynical and sophisticated, and it’s not entirely wrong, but it misses deeper truths. Moreover, this “explanation” makes people think that an appropriate response to domestic firms raising prices is price controls and threats, which would make things worse.
The Goal Is Freedom: Made Everywhere

1 month ago | fee.org | Sheldon Richman

by Sheldon Richman is the editor of The Freeman and In brief. The Commerce Department (whose idea was that?) said last week that 2006 was another record year for the U.S. trade deficit. The value of imports beat the value of exports by $764 billion. That makes five record years in a row. China's trade surplus with us hit $233 billion. Ordinarily, I would ignore this nonstory because, as Adam Smith wisely said, Nothing . . . can be more absurd than this whole doctrine of the balance of trade.
European Leaders Talk of EU Army

1 month ago | fee.org | Mark Nayler

Could a 27-nation force even work? Europe is once again talking about forming its own defense alliance. The idea of a European army—discussed on and off since the early days of the Cold War—was revived in February by Volodymyr Zelensky. The Ukrainian president claims that Donald Trump’s retraction of military support for Ukraine and ambivalence towards the EU shows that the bloc urgently needs its own military unit.
A Missed Opportunity to Curtail Eminent Domain Abuse

1 month ago | fee.org | Rachel Chiu

The Supreme Court declined to hear a case that could have strengthened private property rights. At the end of March, the Supreme Court denied a petition for certiorari in Bowers v. Oneida County Industrial Development Agency, a case involving a county confiscating a private developer’s land to give it to his business rival. Bryan Bowers, a local developer, was under contract to purchase land in Utica, New York, and planned to construct a medical office building.
From Apprenticeships to Microcredentials, Why Alternatives to College Are Gaining Popularity

1 month ago | fee.org | Kerry McDonald

For Chase Buffington, college isn’t a priority right now. The 18-year-old from Enfield, New Hampshire, is currently a high school senior working as a paid apprentice for a local heating, ventilation, and air conditioning company, a job that he plans to continue full-time for at least the next several years.