Daily Clips: September 29th, 2016
Donald Trump’s experts are basing his trade policy on a remarkably silly mistake: Yglesias proves once again that he is the King of Vox.
Because political life is full of dreary reductive binaries, many left-of-center people who are generally strongly critical of Trump have been inclined to praise his criticisms of US trade policy. It is important, however, to understand that Trump is not in any way offering any version of the most sophisticated criticisms of America’s approach to global trade. Not just in his rallies and off-the-cuff remarks but in his policy papers prepared by PhD economists, he is appealing to the idea that arbitrary restrictions on the sale of foreign-made goods will mechanically boost the American economy.
US economy less sluggish in second quarter; companies investing more: Also, consumer spending (which accounts for more than two-thirds of economic activity) “was robust in the second quarter, rising at a 4.3 percent annual rate.”
Underemployment among 20-somethings: A great piece in the Atlantic looks at how the underemployment rate for recent college grads “is still higher today than it was in 2010.”
Progressive politics after Bernie:
If the Sanders revolution is to realize its transformative potential, its adherents will have to recognize that its radical program can advance only if it wins the backing of the broader progressive universe—not just the Sanders-faithful arrayed in the rearview mirror. Its ability to move forward depends on its own strategic decisions and on the political space that a Clinton victory would create for the left, or, conversely, that a Trump victory would close off.
Tweet of the day:
I get that the forecast moves with the polls, but I don’t understand the metaphysical status of a “forecast” that’s this unstable. pic.twitter.com/8zDquGp5Lc
— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) September 29, 2016
