Economic Policy

President Donald Trump, alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio (L) and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (R), speaks during a cabinet meeting on April 10, 2025, in Washington, DC.

Were They “Getting Yippy” or Was Trump Manipulating the Market? Were They “Getting Yippy” or Was Trump Manipulating the Market?

I don’t know exactly what went down in the hours before Trump publicly announced a “pause” on tariffs, but it merits investigation.

Apr 10, 2025 / Sasha Abramsky

A MAGA hat on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, April 7, 2025.

A Trade Catastrophe Could Be the Thing That Finally Tears the GOP Apart A Trade Catastrophe Could Be the Thing That Finally Tears the GOP Apart

The fallout from Trump’s tariff plans has pitted the Republican financial elite against MAGA culture warriors in a way that threatens to split the coalition.

Apr 10, 2025 / Chris Lehmann

Scott Bessent speaks to the press outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, DC, on April 9, 2025.

Scott Bessent Is Doing a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Job Scott Bessent Is Doing a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Job

The treasury secretary’s pronouncements keep missing the mark—wildly, weirdly, and dangerously.

Apr 10, 2025 / John Nichols

A shipping container is moved at the Port Jersey Container Terminal in Jersey City, New Jersey, on April 8, 2025.

Shawn Fain Is Right. America Needs to Rethink Trade. Shawn Fain Is Right. America Needs to Rethink Trade.

Trump’s tariff war is chaotic, but there is no way out of neoliberal globalization without some form of protectionism.

Apr 9, 2025 / Dustin Guastella

The Rev. William Barber II’s “Hands Off” Rally Speech: “We Cannot and Must Not Bow”

The Rev. William Barber II’s “Hands Off” Rally Speech: “We Cannot and Must Not Bow” The Rev. William Barber II’s “Hands Off” Rally Speech: “We Cannot and Must Not Bow”

“We cannot be at ease in America. History is pushing us; the present is demanding us; the future is calling us.”

Apr 8, 2025 / Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II

Donald Trump pumps his fist as he boards Air Force One before departing Miami International Airport, in Miami, Florida, on April 3, 2025.

Trump’s Tantrum Tariffs Will Not Renew US Manufacturing Trump’s Tantrum Tariffs Will Not Renew US Manufacturing

Gimmicks like Trump’s economically ignorant, politically jingoistic, and personally self-serving tariff agenda won’t help workers in the US or abroad.

Apr 7, 2025 / John Nichols

A group of workers look on as President Donald Trump announces his new tarrifs plan at the White House Rose Garden

Trump’s Trade Wars Hark Back to an Economy That No Longer Exists Trump’s Trade Wars Hark Back to an Economy That No Longer Exists

The administration’s slapdash tariffs plan is an unworkable wish-fulfillment fantasy.

Apr 7, 2025 / Dean Baker

President Donald Trump holds a reciprocal tariffs poster during a tariff announcement in the White House on April 2, 2025.

A Cowardly Congress Is Letting Trump Crash the Economy A Cowardly Congress Is Letting Trump Crash the Economy

The president’s tariff war is also a constitutional crisis.

Apr 4, 2025 / Jeet Heer

President Trump Holds

Trump’s Delusional Tariff Policy Is Already Wreaking Havoc Trump’s Delusional Tariff Policy Is Already Wreaking Havoc

The economy took an immediate hit after the president’s “Liberation Day ”announcement.

Apr 3, 2025 / Chris Lehmann

Barney Oursler, director of the Mon Valley Unemployed Committee, is photographed at US Steel’s Clairton Coke Works in Clairton, Pennsylvania, January 23, 2025.

The Unemployment System Is Failing Workers. Barney Oursler’s Here to Help. The Unemployment System Is Failing Workers. Barney Oursler’s Here to Help.

Oursler and his staff at the Mon Valley Unemployment Committee have shown over the past 40 years what it means to really care about workers—on the job and off.

Apr 3, 2025 / Daniel Napsha

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