[Ana Palacio] Jean-Claude Juncker’s dangerous defense strategy

These days, there are just three events that bring together all of the main actors in international politics: the annual General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly, G-20 summits, and the Munich Security Conference. That makes it all the more disappointing that the latest MSC, which took place in mid-February, brought only one big idea – and not a good one.The MSC has long been a place not just to see and be seen, but also to hear and be heard. Yet, at this year’s meeting, what was not

March 4, 2018

[Tim Duy] Trump’s trade policies could work against fiscal stimulus

The US government has set the stage for an economic experiment with its large, late-cycle fiscal stimulus, but the Trump administration’s trade agenda threatens to undermine the process as soon as it begins.　Tax cuts and spending increases are projected to fuel an ill-advised federal budget deficit for 2019 in excess of $1 trillion. With the economy operating near full employment, the extra impetus from deficit spending could cause inflation to overheat. The Federal Reserve would respond with a

March 4, 2018

[Ann McFeatters] Trump hands out jobs like mints to loyal friends

Hope Hicks, a former model who handled public relations for Ivanka Trump’s purses and shoes, is now Donald Trump’s longest-serving top aide, attending top-level White House decision-making meetings and crafting communications policy.　She testified to Congress this week that she sometimes has been required to tell “white lies” as part of her job. The next day, she said she was resigning.　Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law trying to figure out how to pay a balloon payment on a building he b

March 4, 2018

[Noah Smith] Maybe cities don’t need tech hubs to succeed

There’s a standard playbook for reviving cities by turning them into technology clusters. But not every town can become the next Silicon Valley, or Robot City, or biotech mecca.　Minneapolis has shown that there is another way.　Cities such as Raleigh, San Diego and Pittsburgh have all followed a similar model: Build around a top-ranked research university; bring together elites from government, business, and academia; facilitate the sharing of ideas among campus labs, startups, and big companies;

March 2, 2018

[Howard Davies] Crypto hawks and doves

A few days ago, President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela announced that his government had launched a new state-sponsored cryptocurrency called the petro. He claimed that $735 million worth of the new currency had already been sold, though observers are skeptical, unless state entities have been obliged to buy them. Even they will find it hard to do so, however, as the technology platform on which the petro will be traded has not yet been confirmed.International demand for the petro will not be hel

March 1, 2018

[Leonid Bershidsky] Journalist killings challenge Europe’s idea of itself

The time has come to ask whether membership in the European Union is still a quality assurance seal for democracy and the rule of law among member states. The bloc has clearly failed to enforce its stated values on its periphery. Any additional expansion can only dilute them further.　On Monday, Slovak journalist Jan Kuciak and his girlfriend Martina Kusnirova were found murdered -- shot with a single bullet each -- in the town where they lived near Bratislava. Kuciak had investigated alleged tax

March 1, 2018

[Karin Klein] The real problem with Happy Meals

It’s not about the food. What McDonald’s is really selling to children is the party. The package with puzzles just for them. The games. In some places, the playgrounds. And most of all, the toys.　The fast-food giant must be basking in its latest public-relations victory. By announcing recently that it was taking cheeseburgers and chocolate milk off its Happy Meal menu, it looked like a chain that cared about childhood obesity, while not really changing a thing. That’s right: Cheeseburgers and ch

Feb. 28, 2018

[Adam Minter] Xi shouldn’t be the only one to keep working　

Xi Jinping can hold off on retirement planning for a few more years, now that China’s Communist Party has announced a proposal to eliminate a 10-year, two-term limit for China’s presidency. That sets up the powerful 64-year-old Xi to remain in office well into his golden years. He shouldn’t be the only one.　Set aside for a moment the question of whether China is wise to usher in one-man rule. The fact is that retirement age limits for other Chinese are a drag on China’s economy and the governmen

Feb. 28, 2018

[Eric Planey] Thank you PyeongChang and Korea

On behalf of the people of the United States, I would like to say thank you, South Korea! 　Now I really do not have any formal capacity to say thank you on behalf of my country, but it needs to be said. Your hosting of the Winter Olympics, and the hospitality you showed the country and the world, was perfect timing. Especially for a United States that needed a collective pause, if not another Miracle on Ice. 　For those of you who do not know, the late 1970s until the beginning of 1980 were not e

Feb. 28, 2018

[Christopher Balding] At next Olympics, focus on fans

It has become a widely accepted tenet of modern economics that markets are flawed and need fixing by experts to engineer desired outcomes. At the Winter Games in PyeongChang, which just concluded, the International Olympic Committee appeared to take this conviction to extremes, trying to fill stands through highly restricted, targeted and convoluted ticket sales. The process arguably produced more empty seats than the bitter cold, lack of interest, or fear of North Korea did. Organizers of the 2

Feb. 27, 2018

[Justin Fendos] Don’t forget the Paralympics

As South Korea basks in the afterglow of its second successful Olympic Games, it is important to note that another, equally special event is taking place soon after: the Paralympics. The first official Paralympics were held in Rome in 1960 with about 400 athletes competing from 23 countries in Summer Games such as track and field. The original idea behind the Paralympics was to honor and commemorate war veterans who had been wounded in combat. Unknown to most Koreans, the 1988 Seoul Olympics wer

Feb. 27, 2018

[Noah Feldman] China now faces the downsides of dictatorship

China’s nearly 30 year experiment with time-limited government is officially coming to an end. The Chinese Communist Party has suggested amending China’s constitution to allow President Xi Jinping to serve more than two five-year terms. Considering that the party rules the country, and Xi rules the party, that means two things: The constitution will be amended. And Xi is going to be president for life, much like Mao Zedong or Deng Xiaoping.　From the standpoint of communism, this result isn’t ter

Feb. 27, 2018