This really was a ktchen sink post. Ideas and links all over the place. You could have put out 3 more focused, but still well sourced posts. Think about it. Too much for one post.
Good to have confirmation that AC supports deployment of the US military on American streets. History must not have been their strong suit in school...
For supposed data geeks, I'm left wondering how they rationalize the "emergency" Don has declared in blue, but not red jurisdictions, to justify the deployment. Maybe math wasn't their strong suit either? Then again, RFK Jr is actually the nations chief health officer, and the feds are charging (unsuccessfully) the subway sandwich man with a felony while the convicted felon in the White House pardons the criminals convicted of seditious conspiracy:) Whatever is necessary to support the dear leader I guess. Will their zeal for the militarization of our streets remain when the next D prez reigns?
Welcome to the world of Don's "new" right. Good luck America.
Oren Cass and his ilk only support troops policing American cities when a republican president orders it. You can be sure they will change their tune if a democratic president did the same thing. They'd suddenly remember the principles of federalism, state's rights, and the constitution.
Agree. It's hard to find an example in history where a national army performing police functions has ended well. Read Don's bleat yesterday on Chicago, it's lunacy, and terrifying.
They're begging to have an altercation. They're only going into blue cities in blue states, not red states, not where the data says crime is the highest (although it's a terrible idea in every circumstance). Remember his first term when he was ready to open fire on protesters, on fellow Americans, but the military refused. In response he's appointed a loyalist as SecDef. A drunkard, serial sexual harassing weekend talk show host whose only qualification is his willingness to follow orders.
I just can't process that the "conservative" party now supports armed federal troops taking over cities run by their political opponents. On blatantly false pretenses.
What rational human thinks this is about crime, which takes targeted, long term strategies to impact. And who doesn't think these are trial runs leading up to future elections, where "emergencies" will be declared and troops deployed to depress turnout in select areas, aka areas with lots of the brown people Don regularly dehumanizes.
Meanwhile, the Senate, the House, the right wing think tanks like AC, the biz community, all stay silent. Historically, the enablers of authoritarians are arguably more culpable than the dear leader. What's infuriating is that they know better, but they're willing to make their own self serving accommodations while selling out the national interest. This for a country that has given them so much.
ICE is an unfolding disaster too. It will be our biggest law enforcement agency, with a budget larger than most militaries worldwide. Staffed hurriedly with low level qualifications and poor training. And reporting only to Don. Lookin forward to those masked, unidentified agents multiplying?
The children and grandchildren of our "leaders" will be able to read where we all stood when called to take a stand. I hope JD, Oren et al sleep well.
Cass's recent op-ed for the NYT was basically his attempt to put some daylight between him and the unfolding catastrophe that is the Trump presidency. The entire piece was a lesson in sophistry. HIs fundamental premise is that Trump will be successful if he behaves and acts like somebody completely different than Donald Trump. We're not even a full year into this term and people like Cass and the other NatCon's are starting to see the contours of a failed presidency - the humiliation of the DOGE fiasco, pointless "made for TV" performative diplomacy with tyrants such as Putin that never leads to any meaningful, lasting outcomes, an economy that is slowing and headed in the wrong direction. Cass, Vance, et al know at some point they are going to be judged on their own records. This is uncomfortable territory for them. Right wing radicals have always enjoyed the most success when their alternative ideas are firmly in the hypothetical or the abstract. Now they're having their "dog catches the car" moment and finding out that solving problems takes more than bluster and bravado. Unfortunately, as you point out, Trump has staffed his admin with shallow, corrupt buffoons who have neither the discipline or the intellect required to make meaningful progress on any of their stated objectives.
Well put. Oren bought the ticket, now he's gonna take the ride. You're right that this leaves him and fellow apologists uncomfortable, knowing that their long term reputation is forever lashed to Don.
Look for the whataboutism to get more strident as they flounder with their plight. It's the smart people who dig in deepest once they've capitulated because they have more invested. They had a bigger leap to reach their original acquiescence, so they cling to it more fiercely than the working class stiff who just voted change but didn't join the cult.
Exactly. The biggest “tell” amongst MAGA “intellectuals” like Cass and Vance that they are uncomfortable with the direction things are going is when they desperately try to change the subject to something bad the democrats did years ago. I can see this already in the editorial pages of the WSJ and the National Review. They’ll spill hundreds of words on something Jen Psaki said on TV but when it comes to say, Florida following RFK Jr’s anti-vaxx lead and dismantling vaccination programs for children, they are curiously quiet. To the extent that they do cover it, they spend the first 300 words with a whole bunch of throat-clearing about “loss of trust in public health. . yada yada yada.” But they know, deep down, when the history books are written they will show that it was the republicans who put loons and kooks like Trump, RFK Jr, Tulsi Gabbord, and Pete Hegseth into power.
“ICYMI: Read this fantastic piece from Mike Lind in Commonplace on why tax-advantaged retirement accounts should not be speculating in private equity and cryptocurrency.”
And while you’re at it, please explain, from a conservative economist’s view, why we should even have gas preferred investment accounts and not just a government funded pension. The rich will still have more money than they will need, but why should the rest of us subsidize it? And yes, I took full advantage of these accounts, maximizing my contributions towards the end of my working life.
Great Links for plenty to read on a quiet post labor day weekend. Lind's piece on how we fund retirement offered lots to think about.
This really was a ktchen sink post. Ideas and links all over the place. You could have put out 3 more focused, but still well sourced posts. Think about it. Too much for one post.
Oren - love your stuff. But we need much better policies if we’re going to win the 21st century.
1. STEM education
2. Much more skilled immigration
3. Much more deregulation
You have a prominent voice. Can you please help?
Greg
Good to have confirmation that AC supports deployment of the US military on American streets. History must not have been their strong suit in school...
For supposed data geeks, I'm left wondering how they rationalize the "emergency" Don has declared in blue, but not red jurisdictions, to justify the deployment. Maybe math wasn't their strong suit either? Then again, RFK Jr is actually the nations chief health officer, and the feds are charging (unsuccessfully) the subway sandwich man with a felony while the convicted felon in the White House pardons the criminals convicted of seditious conspiracy:) Whatever is necessary to support the dear leader I guess. Will their zeal for the militarization of our streets remain when the next D prez reigns?
Welcome to the world of Don's "new" right. Good luck America.
Oren Cass and his ilk only support troops policing American cities when a republican president orders it. You can be sure they will change their tune if a democratic president did the same thing. They'd suddenly remember the principles of federalism, state's rights, and the constitution.
Agree. It's hard to find an example in history where a national army performing police functions has ended well. Read Don's bleat yesterday on Chicago, it's lunacy, and terrifying.
They're begging to have an altercation. They're only going into blue cities in blue states, not red states, not where the data says crime is the highest (although it's a terrible idea in every circumstance). Remember his first term when he was ready to open fire on protesters, on fellow Americans, but the military refused. In response he's appointed a loyalist as SecDef. A drunkard, serial sexual harassing weekend talk show host whose only qualification is his willingness to follow orders.
I just can't process that the "conservative" party now supports armed federal troops taking over cities run by their political opponents. On blatantly false pretenses.
What rational human thinks this is about crime, which takes targeted, long term strategies to impact. And who doesn't think these are trial runs leading up to future elections, where "emergencies" will be declared and troops deployed to depress turnout in select areas, aka areas with lots of the brown people Don regularly dehumanizes.
Meanwhile, the Senate, the House, the right wing think tanks like AC, the biz community, all stay silent. Historically, the enablers of authoritarians are arguably more culpable than the dear leader. What's infuriating is that they know better, but they're willing to make their own self serving accommodations while selling out the national interest. This for a country that has given them so much.
ICE is an unfolding disaster too. It will be our biggest law enforcement agency, with a budget larger than most militaries worldwide. Staffed hurriedly with low level qualifications and poor training. And reporting only to Don. Lookin forward to those masked, unidentified agents multiplying?
The children and grandchildren of our "leaders" will be able to read where we all stood when called to take a stand. I hope JD, Oren et al sleep well.
Good luck America.
Cass's recent op-ed for the NYT was basically his attempt to put some daylight between him and the unfolding catastrophe that is the Trump presidency. The entire piece was a lesson in sophistry. HIs fundamental premise is that Trump will be successful if he behaves and acts like somebody completely different than Donald Trump. We're not even a full year into this term and people like Cass and the other NatCon's are starting to see the contours of a failed presidency - the humiliation of the DOGE fiasco, pointless "made for TV" performative diplomacy with tyrants such as Putin that never leads to any meaningful, lasting outcomes, an economy that is slowing and headed in the wrong direction. Cass, Vance, et al know at some point they are going to be judged on their own records. This is uncomfortable territory for them. Right wing radicals have always enjoyed the most success when their alternative ideas are firmly in the hypothetical or the abstract. Now they're having their "dog catches the car" moment and finding out that solving problems takes more than bluster and bravado. Unfortunately, as you point out, Trump has staffed his admin with shallow, corrupt buffoons who have neither the discipline or the intellect required to make meaningful progress on any of their stated objectives.
Well put. Oren bought the ticket, now he's gonna take the ride. You're right that this leaves him and fellow apologists uncomfortable, knowing that their long term reputation is forever lashed to Don.
Look for the whataboutism to get more strident as they flounder with their plight. It's the smart people who dig in deepest once they've capitulated because they have more invested. They had a bigger leap to reach their original acquiescence, so they cling to it more fiercely than the working class stiff who just voted change but didn't join the cult.
Good luck America.
Exactly. The biggest “tell” amongst MAGA “intellectuals” like Cass and Vance that they are uncomfortable with the direction things are going is when they desperately try to change the subject to something bad the democrats did years ago. I can see this already in the editorial pages of the WSJ and the National Review. They’ll spill hundreds of words on something Jen Psaki said on TV but when it comes to say, Florida following RFK Jr’s anti-vaxx lead and dismantling vaccination programs for children, they are curiously quiet. To the extent that they do cover it, they spend the first 300 words with a whole bunch of throat-clearing about “loss of trust in public health. . yada yada yada.” But they know, deep down, when the history books are written they will show that it was the republicans who put loons and kooks like Trump, RFK Jr, Tulsi Gabbord, and Pete Hegseth into power.
“ICYMI: Read this fantastic piece from Mike Lind in Commonplace on why tax-advantaged retirement accounts should not be speculating in private equity and cryptocurrency.”
And while you’re at it, please explain, from a conservative economist’s view, why we should even have gas preferred investment accounts and not just a government funded pension. The rich will still have more money than they will need, but why should the rest of us subsidize it? And yes, I took full advantage of these accounts, maximizing my contributions towards the end of my working life.
It will be amusing to watch Europe discover that the essential thing to make EVs work is electricity
"Sad!"
Hilarious!
Great info, thanks for the update!
One does wonder if we are capable of measuring short-sightedness at the nanometer level.