This commentary addresses the grave problem of energy policies originating from a political or quasi-religious agenda propelled by climate zealots, misinformation, and obliviousness to basic economic principles. Such a policy is inescapably destined to jeopardize the public to benefit special interests. Appeasing competing special interests at the expense of the general public has been the hallmark of past government-driven energy policies.

The emergence of right-wing leaders in various parts of the world and their counter-offensive against wokeism, global elites, and liberalism has given rise to a narrative according to which the “far right,” the “nationalist right,” or the “populist right” (whatever you want to call them) is taking over from the left and establishing itself as the dominant force in the West and its periphery. Argentina’s Javier Milei, for instance, has talked about a “right-wing international,” while several speakers at a recent gathering of “Patriots for Europe”, a parliamentary bloc made up of various European parties in Brussels, held in Madrid, spoke of a new era.

During its last four months in power, the Biden-Harris administration opened the U.S. government’s money spigots as wide as they could. Appointed officials and bureaucrats across the federal government frantically spent money at a rate never before seen outside of pandemics and wars.

Last November, the European Union confirmed Spain’s Teresa Ribera as Executive Vice President and Commissioner for Competition to replace the outgoing Margarette Vestager. The move will likely bring about a notable shift in antitrust doctrine. Vestager’s time in office saw the aggressive use of competition enforcement against American as well as European firms, often to the frustration of domestic leaders. However, alongside Vestager’s iconic use of aggressive antitrust enforcement came calls from European leaders to support the continental economy and produce homegrown companies that could compete with the Americans and Chinese. In particular, the end of her administration saw the emergence of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a law targeting individual U.S. and Chinese tech firms with discriminatory obligations. Given these realities, combined with public statements from Ribera about the need to support European firms, her nomination suggests that the E.U. intends to openly use antitrust as a tool for industrial policy. 

Members of the Biden-Harris administration went on a massive spending bender during their final four months in office. By that, I mean they figuratively blew a hole in the U.S. government’s budget as they headed out the door.

This year’s NBA All-Star Game will take place on February 16 at the Chase Center in San Francisco, but NBA hall-of-famer Charles Barkley won’t be attending. As the TNT commentator explained, “I’m not going to that rat-infested place out in San Francisco,” a city where “you can’t even walk around down there.” 

The EU is poised to shoot itself in the foot yet again. To punish Russian misdeeds and reward domestic producers, import tariffs on Russian fertilizer are to be increased dramatically. Cost-benefit analysis reveals that the pain will be limited because fertilizer export revenue is a minuscule share of Russian GDP. However, rising fertilizer prices in Europe will drive food prices up, fueling societal unrest. Rather than using subsidies and tariffs to worsen market distortions, hurting all stakeholders, EU policymakers should tackle the root cause of the problem, namely the lack of inexpensive Russian gas, in turn caused by poor political decisions.

The Biden-Harris administration left the fiscal situation of the U.S. government in a world of hurt. In January 2025, the Congressional Budget Office projected federal budget deficits will range between 5.5 and 6.5% of GDP during the next 10 years under current law.

The smoke could be seen from more than 50 miles away, and the massive blaze blocked traffic, burned out power lines and showered ash for miles around. That may sound like recent fires in Los Angeles, but it occurred on March 15, 2007, in Sacramento. 

The pens of U.S. Presidents have extraordinary power. How much power they have can be seen in the short history of a small agency within the office of the U.S. President. That history began in 2013 when the U.S. government launched the most visible website ever: Healthcare.gov. Spawned by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, the site had been in development for three years. It was critical for President Obama’s plan to establish a monopoly digital marketplace as the only place Americans could access subsidized health insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act.