Real Clear Politics

Why Bet Against the Edison of Our Time?

Elon Musk's repost of an All-In podcast talking up a Tesla-SpaceX merger within 6-12 months has been treated by much of the mainstream financial commentariat as just another bout of celebrity volatility. TSLA pops, shorts reload, the "it's just a car company" refrain makes another lap around cable. The coverage tells you less about Musk than it does about how little the market has internalised what he is actually building.

Jerome Powell's Mixed Legacy

NEW YORK - Call it one of the biggest turnarounds in the U.S. Federal Reserve's storied history. When Jerome Powell concludes his two-term tenure a...

Gun Background Checks Are Failing the Wrong People

The background check system for gun purchases is a mess. Republicans have criticized Democratic presidents for failing to prosecute people denied gun purchases through background checks. Democrats have leveled the same criticism at Republican presidents. But both sides miss the real problem. The system generates mistaken denials - "false positives" - by confusing felons with non-felons, so the denials aren't real cases. And those errors disproportionately affect black and Hispanic males.

TrumpIRAs Are the Right Move, Sorely Needed

As a progressive economist, I wrote a paper in 2021 with a generally conservative colleague, Kevin Hassett, who now directs the National Economic Council in the Trump White House.

Honeypot Traps Real for Members of Congress

Tennessee GOP Rep. Tim Burchett said during an interview this week with Joe Rogan that he stands by his previous comments about "honeypots" being used to blackmail members of Congress.

Democrats Have a Biden Problem. Again

When was the last time you thought about Joe Biden? If the answer is "recently," that's probably a sign that you should consider taking up a hobby or joining a club-anything, really, that doesn't involve politics.

Trump and Mamdani Are Smart To Make Nice

Political opposites President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani continue to have a surprisingly friendly relationship.

Trump and the CEOs Go to China

In Washington, a carefully constructed decade of political consensus on China policy lies in ruins.

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