Washington Post (November 3)
“Donald Trump’s retro economic plan could be a disaster.” Tariff-reliant “Trumpian protectionism can’t create a world-class manufacturing economy.” Tariffs may be useful in narrow cases like “protecting certain strategic industries, such as defense. Indiscriminate, across-the-board tariffs, however, are a recipe for a less efficient, dynamic, economy and, ultimately, a poorer, less equitable society.”
Tags: Defense, Disaster, Economic plan, Efficient, Equitable, Manufacturing economy, Poorer, Protecting, Protectionism, Retro, Society, Strategic industries, Tariff, Trump, World-class
The Economist (May 11)
“The prioritisation of national security above unfettered investment is reshaping the movement of capital across borders. Global capital flows—especially foreign direct investment (fdi)—have plunged, and are now directed along geopolitical lines.” This benefits non-aligned countries, who “play both sides.” Ultimately, however, “as geopolitical blocs pull further apart, it is likely to make the world poorer than it otherwise would be.”
Tags: Borders, FDI, Geopolitical, Geopolitical blocs, Global capital flows, Investment, National security, Non-aligned countries, Plunged, Poorer, Prioritisation, Reshaping, Unfettered
The Economist (November 30)
World trade “works best when there is a referee, and for nearly 25 years a group of seven judges at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has done the job. But on December 11th this body will cease to function, because America is blocking new appointments.” Losing this final arbiter ”will make cross-border commerce unrulier and, in the long run, invite an anarchy that would make the world poorer.”
Tags: Anarchy, Appointments, Cross-border commerce, Judges, Poorer, Referee, U.S., Unrulier, World trade, WTO
The Economist (June 29)
The “metropolis of money, known as the City, generates £120bn ($152bn) of output a year—as much as Germany’s car industry.” Increasingly, Brexit appears to threaten an outcome that “would make the eu poorer and damage London’s position.” In addition, the end result could “change the workings of the global financial system.”
Tags: Brexit, Car industry, Damage, EU, Financial system, Germany, London, Metropolis, Money, Outcome, Output, Poorer, The City
The Independent (May 24)
“One of May’s finest attributes has been the heartening way that, on several occasions, she’s decided to go over the heads of the MPs who have rejected her, so she can appeal to the public and be rejected by them as well…. So successful has Theresa May been, that having been 20 points ahead in the polls in 2017, her party now looks likely to win one quarter of the votes of a party boasting they’ll make us poorer until 2050.”
Tags: Appeal to the public, Attributes, May, MPs, Party, Polls, Poorer, Rejected, Votes
