There is an idea that is dear to the hearts of every candidate that ought to be discarded, at least until the U.S. electoral map shifts dramatically from what it has been in recent years: that the victor walks away with a “mandate” for action. The reality is that presidential and congressional elections no longer produce a mandate for much of anything. The sooner we drop that notion, the sooner our elected officials can get on with the messy business of actually governing a divided country. Read more »

I have a suggestion for everyone who writes about international trade: it is time to bury, once and for all, the concept of a “trade war.” The phrase is so ubiquitous that it will be awfully hard to abolish; I have probably been guilty myself from time to time. Indeed, it is almost a reflex that every time the United States or some other nation takes any action that restricts imports in any fashion, reporters and editorial writers jump to their keyboards to warn that a trade war is looming. But it is a canard that makes it far harder to have a sensible discussion about U.S. trade policy. Read more »

Of the competitive disadvantages faced by the United States, its democratic system is not supposed to be one of them. Quite the opposite. The stability of the U.S. democratic process and the trusted legal system it has produced have long been a competitive advantage. It is a big reason why so many global business powerhouses are headquartered in the United States. Read more »

It did not take long for the verdict to be reached on the first face-to-face debate of the campaign: President Obama’s performance was about as lackluster as the current state of the U.S. economy. It may not matter much to the final election outcome, but his inability to make a stronger case for his economic management highlights one of the disadvantages of incumbency  — that governing is a chastening experience. Read more »

I will be traveling to Detroit this week to speak on a panel at the Techonomy conference, which is an annual event normally held in Arizona. It’s a gutsy decision by the organizers to shine the spotlight on a city that Techonomy founder David Kirkpatrick noted is usually considered “a gritty, depressed, financially troubled city that seems well past its glory.” The conference will highlight the transformative economic potential of modern technologies, and as Kirkpatrick writes: “If technology is the key ingredient to rejuvenating the American economy, it has to work where the problems are biggest and the task the hardest.” Read more »

In a presidential election year, it’s almost impossible to find any balanced and nuanced analysis on an issue as volatile as immigration. So it’s tremendously refreshing to watch the new, three-hour PBS documentary series, “Homeland: Immigration in America,” which begins airing across much of the country this week. The episodes will also be available on a website created for the program, at www.explorehomeland.org. Read more »

Outsourcing is a big problem. That’s about the only thing The Washington Post got right in its front page story this morning, “Obama struggles to make headway on outsourcing,” that sadly does much to misinform about one of the most important issues confronting the U.S. economy. Read more »

Many years ago I was attracted to the idea that advanced economies could gradually move from a relentless focus on economic growth to a “steady state” in which they would grow only slowly, if at all. It all seemed quite logical – as societies became generally wealthy, as population growth slowed,  and as non-renewable resources were further depleted, more modest rates of growth would be more sustainable and perhaps even conducive to a higher quality of life that was less focused on the next percentage point of growth. Read more »

Richard Mourdock, who defeated long-serving Senator Richard Lugar this week for the GOP nomination in Indiana, is a serious politician. He served two terms as state treasurer and ran for the House of Representatives three times. Therefore, his comments in the wake of his decisive primary victory over Lugar, a highly respected conservative senator known for his occasional willingness to work across the aisle, deserve to be taken seriously. And they demonstrate as clearly as anything I’ve read why the Congress is becoming so dysfunctional and incapable of dealing with the enormous challenges facing the country. Read more »