Rabbit Holes a commonplace book,kept in the open
Tag · 3 folios

Economy

A pencil mark from the long tail. Browse the hand-chosen subjects for broader paths through the book.

260 Link 21 Feb 2026

Trump's stupid trade war takes a stupid new turn

source · nytimes.com ↗

The court’s 6-3 decision has significant implications for the U.S. economy, consumers and the president’s trade policy. The Trump administration had said that a loss at the Supreme Court could force the government to unwind trade deals with other countries and potentially pay hefty refunds to importers. Mr. Trump is the first president to claim that a 1970s emergency statute, which does not mention the word “tariffs,” allowed…

keep reading — 3 min ↗
TariffsTrumpEconomy 4 threads →
228 Link 04 Feb 2026

Age of anxiety

source · economist.com ↗

THERE is still time for the cheerful and the gloomy to disagree, sincerely, about the net impact on employment from automation and artificial intelligence. Perhaps AI will unleash a job-creating economic boom for the ages, as boosters maintain. Maybe on balance the doom-mongers are right, and grim legions of algorithm-guided bots and robots will conquer one industry (and profession) after another. One outcome is not up for…

keep reading — 1 min ↗
EconomyWorkAI 4 threads →
001 Reflection 01 Aug 2025

The Protection Racket: A History of Tariffs and Who Really Pays

On that day, an executive order was signed imposing a sweeping new regime of "reciprocal" tariffs. The action was vast in its scope, targeting nearly 70 countries and territories in addition to the European Union. The tariff rates varied widely, based on justifications ranging from trade imbalances to national security concerns. Rates for some nations were set as high as 41% (Syria) and 39% (Switzerland), while key trading…

keep reading — 27 min ↗
TariffsTrumpTrade 4 threads →