Stephen Moore
Columns by Stephen Moore
Renewable energy will only be possible with massive increases in the supply of critical minerals
The recent threats by Beijing to cut off American access to critical mineral imports has many Americans wondering why our politicians have allowed the United States to become so overly-dependent on China for these valued resources in the first place. Published June 16, 2019
The Federal Reserve’s logic on growth, inflation is faulty
I've been shouting from the rooftops for six months that the Federal Reserve is too tight on money, and that this lack of dollar liquidity has cut into growth. So it is somewhat vindicating that Fed Chairman Jerome Powell seems to finally coming around to that idea. The betting markets are now predicting at least one rate cut this year and perhaps two. Published June 9, 2019
Are men becoming economically expendable?
Almost all of the economic discussion of late has been on the "wage gap" between men and women. A case in point: California Sen. Kamala Harris wants to create a federal bureaucracy which will ensure that the government has more influence over workers' pay than workers and employers themselves. This will open up a Pandora's Box for trial lawyers as employers find themselves deluged with lawsuits over pay "gaps" real and imagined. Published June 2, 2019
The Fed hurts farmers more than China does
There's no question that many farmers are struggling this year with incomes down and bankruptcies up. Though some of the more dire reports on the farm sector recorded in the media are exaggerated, what is indisputable is that prices for major commodities such as corn are on a downward trend and are significantly lower than they were less than a decade ago, when prices were at or near record highs. Published May 26, 2019
The Trump immigration plan is pro-America, pro-growth
When I used to talk to candidate Donald Trump about immigration, I would tell him, make sure your "big, beautiful wall" has plenty of gates for people to come here legally. President Trump's new immigration initiative would achieve both goals — border security and a new system to admit the immigrants America needs most. Published May 19, 2019
Trump’s policies help Ohio shatter economic records
I recently took some flak from Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown for saying in a speech at the Heartland Institute several years ago that the "only place to live in the midwest is Chicago." He was particularly upset that I took a tongue-in-cheek swipe at Cleveland and Cincinnati as "armpits" and this was supposedly evidence that I hate Ohio. Published May 12, 2019
Let the sunshine in at the Federal Reserve
I'm disappointed that I had to withdraw from the nomination to be a member of the Federal Reserve Board, because I do believe the Fed needs to change the way it operates. In the last month I started investigating how it makes its decisions that have such a dramatic impact on jobs, wages, interest rates and the overall well-being of the country. How does the board make its monetary policy decisions on setting interest rates, buying bonds and regulating our financial institutions? Published May 5, 2019
Any climate change ‘solution’ that makes America poorer is not a solution
Every time a reporter asks me if I would support a carbon tax, I always say that I might if it led to a dollar-for-dollar reduction in income or payroll tax rates. And the new energy tax would have to replace onerous greenhouse gas regulations. And everytime I say this, the next day a headline reads: "Steve Moore Is For a Carbon Tax." Published April 28, 2019
Why the immigration system must move away from family immigrants and more toward skill and merit
Of all America's immigrant visa programs, arguably the most successful for the U.S. economy has been the H1B program. This program admits highly-skilled foreigners that fill vital employment niches to make our Made in America businesses more successful in international markets. Larry Kudlow, the director of President Trump's National Economic Council, calls these immigrants the "brainiacs." Published April 21, 2019
Is America running out of workers?
If you want one number that encapsulates the enormity of the economic turnaround under Donald Trump it is this: Today in America so far this year there have been between 7.1 million and 7.6 million unfilled jobs. This number is larger than the entire population of the state of Indiana. That is how powerful and relentless the hiring spree has been under Trump policies. Published April 14, 2019
Holding commodity prices stable will help to avoid economic carnage
What caused the financial crisis and Great Recession of 20082009? A decade later, economists still don't have a good answer. Of course, the financial bubble in the housing market was the proximate cause, but this begs the question of what inflated the bubble that burst in the first place. Published April 7, 2019
Elite universities sit on massive tax deducible endowments, and could be tapped to lower costs
The seething anger that Americans feel over the college admissions scandal with wealthy and well-connected families using money, influence and cheating to bump their kids up in line so they get accepted into elite schools is well-justified. Yet this scheme is small potatoes compared to the real scandal on college campuses from coast to coast. That scam is how much universities are charging families once they do get in. Published March 31, 2019
The avalanche of green dollars in Barack Obama’s first term was a colossal waste of money
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Green New Deal has been widely ridiculed for its massive disruption to the economy and a price tag of tens of trillions of dollars. Published March 24, 2019
The Democrats’ $100 trillion agenda could easily tilt the nation toward bankruptcy
Remember when Democrats complained that $5.7 billion for a border wall was too expensive? Well, that's chump change compared to what many of the congressional Democrats and nearly all of those 15 declared Democrats in the presidential race are now rallying behind. Published March 17, 2019
The Trump administration rallies behind car tariffs, but the car industry opposes them
In almost every case, whenever a tariff or quota is imposed on imports that tax is strongly supported by the domestic industry getting the protective shield from lower-priced foreign competition. The sugar industry supports sugar tariffs; textile mills lobby for tariffs on foreign clothing. The steel industry and the aluminum makers are getting rich off of the high taxes on imported metals. Published March 10, 2019
Why Trump must veto the federal land grab bill
President Trump gave one of his most memorable and impactful speeches two weeks ago when he systematically dismantled the case for socialism. In that speech, he recalled the economic harm and destruction in nations that have adopted socialism, communism or Stalinism. "We will never be a socialist country," Mr. Trump pledged in his speech in Florida. Published March 3, 2019
Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey and New York are careening off a progressive cliff
"This is the flip side (of) tax the rich, tax the rich, tax the rich. The rich leave, and now what do you do?" — Andrew M. Cuomo, N.Y. governor (2/4/19) Published February 24, 2019
Pro-trade Democrats go missing with Trump’s creation of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement
Does anyone know where all those free trade Democrats went? Published February 17, 2019
The Green New Deal would weaken the United States
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, New York Democrat, has released her Green New Deal plan to the nation — and to great applause from the Democratic Party. Published February 10, 2019
‘Democrats for border security?’
The government shutdown is over — for now — but the political ramifications are still being sorted out. The media has been chortling that Donald Trump "caved," and he may well have lost this battle with congressional Democrats. Their "victory," such as it is, is to notify American voters that they are so opposed to a wall and a secure border that they were willing to keep the government shut down for four weeks to ensure it doesn't happen. Published January 27, 2019
