Economics

Last week, while on a diplomatic trip through Europe, U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, gave a speech at Pnyx Hill in Athens, Greece, where ancient Athenians held democratic assemblies.  This was a fitting location for Rubio’s speech, which the Editorial Board of the Wall Street Journal called its “speech of the year.” I thought he hit the target and also missed a few opportunities. It directly ties the lineage of modern America back to ancient Greece. While some commentators saw this speech as a rationalization for “America First” or

3rd Quarter. You may have thought this was a football-related column!  No, I’m not “tackling” another sports theme. The “third quarter” refers not to the third quarter of a game, but rather, it has to do with the third quarter of the calendar year, which will end next Wednesday.  The “score” that I refer to is the U.S. economy, and how it fared in the third quarter of the year (July through September). (Stay until the column’s conclusion and get your sports fix!)  So, in today’s column, I will look

America is not the only semi-quincentennial in 2026. Economics is turning 250 too. Adam Smith wrote the “An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations” in 1776 and became the father of modern-day economics. He may be turning in his Edinburgh grave, viewing the world today. Smith’s book was largely a defense of free international trade and attacked the prevailing mercantilist system, which aimed to export goods and import gold and silver. Because countries have different advantages in terms of natural resources or acquired skills, a