#Trade – New research from the Tax Foundation suggests that almost all of the Trump & Biden tariffs were passed on to consumers as higher prices. The Tax Foundation is a virulent opponent of tariffs so take it with a grain of salt, but this is still a legitimate concern that trade skeptics need to answer.

#Trade – Speaking of valid concerns about trade restrictions: the CHIPS Act is usually seen as a (at least) moderate success in terms of spurring investment into a strategic industry in the US. There’s one problem: it’s so successful that South Korea has passed its own version of a CHIPS Act, starting what could end up as a dangerous arms race. Martin Chorzempa of the Peterson Institute for International Economics has more.

#Immigration – The Biden Administration claimed that illegal border crossings had decreased by 40%. This statement was highly misleading. Simon Hankinson at The National Interest explains.

#Immigration – Speaking of immigration numbers, an astonishing 99% of illegal aliens and border crossers live freely in the US, according to a new report.

#Immigration – On another topic: should we turn American universities into visa mills, as one Presidential candidate suggested recently? At City Journal, Dave Seminara explains why that’s a bad idea.

#EVs – What if you decide Americans have to buy EVs (or else) but also don’t build charging stations? “According to recent research by Harvard Business School, one in five charging points across the United States are non-functional. This lack of reliable charging infrastructure contributes to ‘range anxiety’ among potential EV adopters, who worry about being stranded with a depleted battery…the U.S. will need approximately 2.8 million charging stations by 2030 to meet forecast demand…Despite these lofty goals, the Biden administration has reportedly failed to produce even a single charging station with $7.5 billion allocated by Congress.” Link.

#Economy – The new unemployment numbers suggest a recession might be on the way, according to the Sahm Rule, which states that a recession is incoming if the three-month moving average of the national unemployment rate rises by 0.50 percentage points or more, relative to its low during the previous 12 months. Peter C. Earle at the American Institute for Economic Research has more.

#Births – Northeast Spain–a magnificent area, more reminiscent of Ireland than usual ideas about Spain, due to the Atlantic winds–has one of the lowest birth rates in Europe. Why? The valuable account More Births explains. It’s a valuable case study in all the ways policy makes it harder to have children.

#EconomicHistory – New NBER paper which we are sure will inform future debates about DEI, affirmative action, and school curricula: Slavery discouraged economic development in the Antebellum United States, from Hoyt Bleakley and Paul Rhode.

Chart of the Day

Meme of the Day

(An oldie but a goodie)