Fluent Essays

You should respond briefly through a single substantive paragraph with a post to the questions based on the attached article. Thank you!!#1: Economics may be Dismal, but is it Science?What is the best argument in support of economics as viable social science and in response to Joseph Epstein? (Please read the attached file)#2: Italian Deficits and Spending Stimulus !How do you react to these Italian macro policies, given their debt implications? (Please read the Political Stars Promises Raise... for this question.)#3: The Costs of Trade Wars.This is from the President Trumps advisor on trade conflict with China; do you agree? (Please read the The Trade War Hits China... for this question.) proquestdocuments_2020_01_07.pdf proquestdocuments_2020_01_07_2.pdf proquestdocuments_2020_01_07_3.pdf Unformatted Attachment Preview Economics Is Dismal, but Is It Science? Epstein, Joseph . Wall Street Journal , Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]04 Sep 2019: A.17. ProQuest document link FULL TEXT Given the scuttlebutt about a possible recession, over the next few weeks we are likely to hear from a good many economists. With the trained verbosity of experts and the unshakable confidence that seems to be part of their training, they will tell us not to worry, or to worry, or that it is too early to know whether or not to worry. None of this is likely to give much comfort. Thomas Carlyle called economics the dismal science, a point reinforced for him when reading the dire prediction of Thomas Malthus that the production of food would eventually be unable to meet the rise in the earths population, with the certain result of world-wide starvation. Whether economics is a science at all has long been in doubt, chiefly because the subject is heavily politicized. There are no liberal and conservative physics, no right- or left-wing chemistry, but economists do line up politically -- Marxists vs. free-marketeers, Keynesians vs. Hayekians -- in a way that squashes the claim to objective scientific standing. I much like Milton Friedman, George Stigler, Gary Becker and other of the University of Chicago economists, my friend Edward Shils once told me. But you know, Joseph, I fear they are insufficiently impressed by the mysteries of life. Years ago I was at lunch with a Chicago-trained economist who asked me about an article on the subject of psychiatry going awry that was about to run in a magazine I was editing. I mentioned that one of the ways it had done so was by blithely accepting transgender surgical operations, which the author of the article argued would one day be viewed as the lobotomies of our time. I happen to know that until now there have been no lawsuits against physicians performing these surgeries, my companion replied, so I assume market satisfaction. I gulped. Market satisfaction -- surely the least interesting aspect of the complex subject of transgender surgery, and further evidence of the shortsightedness of economic thinking. Economists like few things better than to challenge common sense, and especially snobbish assumptions. A cousin of mine, later to become chairman of the University of Chicago economics department, once responded to my telling him of the sore disappointment of an acquaintance who had a Burger King move in across the street from his apartment, making it the first thing he saw when he emerged for work in the morning. Hes quite wrong, my cousin said. The Burger King will widen the tax base in his suburb, thus lowering his own taxes, and by employing underclass people, it figures also eventually to help lower the crime rate. He ought to be grateful to Burger King. The last time I saw my cousin before his death, I took him and his mother to lunch at my club. He offered to pay his share of the check. Absolutely not, I said, but if you dont mind I would like to have a few of my assumptions back. Many true Trump haters would, I suspect, like to see a genuine recession even if it would hurt their own personal finances, because it would burst the bubble of Donald Trumps often-proclaimed economic miracle and hurt his chances in 2020. For precisely the opposite reasons, true-believing Trumpers insist the prospects of a recession are negligible. Those of us in the middle -- who neither love nor loathe Mr. Trump -- have only the words of the economists to fall back on. But who among them is to be believed? My own advice would be to believe least those who come across as most confident. PDF GENERATED BY SEARCH.PROQUEST.COM Page 1 of 3 --Mr. Epstein is author, most recently, of Charm: The Elusive Enchantment. Credit: By Joseph Epstein DETAILS Subject: Economics; Recessions; Transgender persons Location: Chicago Illinois People: Trump, Donald J Malthus, Thomas (1766-1834) Carlyle, Thomas (1795-1881) Friedman, Milton Company / organization: Name: University of Chicago; NAICS: 611310; Name: Burger King Corp; NAICS: 533110, 722513 Lexile score: 1570 L Publication title: Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. First page: A.17 Publication year: 2019 Publication date: Sep 4, 2019 Publisher: Dow Jones &Company Inc Place of publication: New York, N.Y. Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y. Publication subject: Business And Econ omics--Banking And Finance ISSN: 00999660 Source type: Newspapers Language of publication: English Document type: News ProQuest document ID: 2283792131 Document URL: http://edmonds.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/22837 92131?accountid=1626 Copyright: Copyright 2019 Dow Jones &Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Last updated: 2019-09-04 PDF GENERATED BY SEARCH.PROQUEST.COM Page 2 of 3 Database: eLibrary,US Newsstream Database copyright  2020 ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. Terms and Conditions Contact ProQuest PDF GENERATED BY SEARCH.PROQUEST.COM Page 3 of 3 Political Stars Promises Raise New Questions for Italian Economy; Matteo Salvinis push for lower taxes and infrastructure spending could put the country at odds with the EU and rattle markets Sylvers, Eric; Legorano, Giovanni . Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]12 Aug 2019. ProQuest document link FULL TEXT MILAN—A string of Italian governments has failed to jump-start the worlds eighth-largest economy, which is still smaller than it was before the global financial crisis. The next government to try is likely to be led by a self-declared populist promising sharply lower taxes and more spending. Matteo Salvini, leader of the nativist League party and a firebrand who attacks the European Unions fiscal orthodoxy, on Friday introduced a motion of no-confidence in the government in which he currently serves as a minister. The move is likely to lead to snap elections later this year or in early 2020. Many Italian business people support Mr. Salvinis push for lower taxes and an upgrade to Italys dilapidated roads and railways. Opinion polls put Mr. Salvini in a strong position to win the election and lead Italy. I hope that the next government will make less noise than this current one and will take more action to slim down bureaucracy, free up funds for investments and reopen the hundreds of building projects that are on hold, said Fausto Manzana, who runs a health-care technology company in Trento in Italys far north and is chairman of the main local business association. Mr. Manzana said he is hopeful the League can lead a successful national government based on what he sees as the partys success in governing some of Italys rich northern regions, including Lombardy, where Milan is the capital. But the Leagues apparent willingness to run bigger budget deficits challenges EU rules on fiscal discipline , raising the risk of a clash with Brussels that could unnerve bond markets and drive up the cost of credit for Italian businesses and households. Lower taxes and better roads between small towns in the north of the country are important for the economy but would become meaningless if the economic situation deteriorates considerably, said Francesco Daveri, an economics professor at Milans Bocconi University. A hostile international scenario and less access to credit penalize small and medium companies. Italian bank stocks plunged Friday in response to Mr. Salvinis move, in a taste of what could be a rocky few months for Italian financial markets. They fell further on Monday. The difference between the yield on Italian and German 10-year bonds, a closely watched benchmark, had its largest daily increase in more than a year as investors demanded a higher return to hold Italian government debt. Italian banks are particularly vulnerable to an extended political crisis, since they are heavily exposed to the national debt. Should their balance sheets suffer, they could pare back lending to companies, hampering economic growth. Political tensions in Italy have been rising for months as Mr. Salvini picked a series of fights with his current PDF GENERATED BY SEARCH.PROQUEST.COM Page 1 of 3 coalition partner, the antiestablishment 5 Star Movement. Bickering and the lack of a clear course for economic policy have weighed on business confidence for months. Its impossible to make any plans right now because of the political uncertainty in Italy, said Fabrizio Motta, who owns an engineering company based near Milan. Even before Mr. Salvini pulled the plug on the government, Mr. Motta had put his investment plans on hold until there is more clarity about where the country is headed. He had been planning to expand his production facilities and offices, an investment of about €200,000 ($224,000). He was also looking to add two people to his 30-strong workforce. I hope that whoever forms the government wins a big enough share of the vote that allows a stable government with a clear strategy for the next five years, Mr. Motta said. Asked whether Mr. Salvini has the right medicine for Italy, Mr. Motta said: I struggle to see it. But lets give it a try. During the short tenure of the League-5 Star coalition, financial markets have been periodically spooked by Mr. Salvinis deficit plans, but also by his flirtation with the idea of paying public-sector suppliers with IOUs instead of cash—a move that some euroskeptic Italian politicians have suggested could be the basis for a parallel currency, and the first step toward Italy exiting the euro. There is the risk of the re-emergence of the idea of a parallel currency, or even Italexit with a government led by the League, said Lorenzo Codogno, founder of consulting firm LC Macro Advisors and a former official at the Italian Treasury. Giulia Petroni contributed to this article. More * Italian Populist Moves to Bring Down Government Write to Eric Sylvers at eric.sylvers@wsj.com and Giovanni Legorano at giovanni.legorano@wsj.com Credit: By Eric Sylvers and Giovanni Legorano DETAILS Subject: Budget deficits; National debt; International finance; Politics Location: Italy People: Salvini, Matteo Codogno, Lorenzo Company / organization: Name: Bocconi University; NAICS: 611310; Name: European Union; NAICS: 926110, 928120 Lexile score: 1680 L Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y. Publication year: 2019 Publication date: Aug 12, 2019 column: Europe News Section: World Publisher: Dow Jones &Company Inc PDF GENERATED BY SEARCH.PROQUEST.COM Page 2 of 3 Place of publication: New York, N.Y. Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y. Publication subject: Business And Economics Source type: Newspapers Language of publication: English Document type: News ProQuest document ID: 2271924296 Document URL: http://edmonds.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/22719 24296?accountid=1626 Copyright: Copyright 2019 Dow Jones &Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Last updated: 2019-08-13 Database: eLibrary,US Newsstream Database copyright  2020 ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. Terms and Conditions Contact ProQuest PDF GENERATED BY SEARCH.PROQUEST.COM Page 3 of 3 The Trade War Hits China Where It Hurts; Beijings doctored data shows growth has slowed to 6.2\%. The actual rate is almost certainly worse. Puzder, Andy; Talent, Jim . Wall Street Journal (Online) ; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]11 Aug 2019. ProQuest document link FULL TEXT President Trumps tariffs and other sanctions are hitting China at a vulnerable moment. The Chinese National Bureau of Statistics reported July 15 that gross domestic product grew by 6.2\% in the second quarter, Chinas slowest growth since 1992. The actual picture is much cloudier. Beijing has for years cooked the books to make the regimes performance look better, and they are undoubtedly doing the same now. No one outside the Chinese government knows exactly what is happening in China. But even the latest report concedes that economic conditions are still severe both at home and abroad and that the unbalanced and inadequate development at home is still acute. If thats the official line, the real story is certainly far worse. Even 6\% growth would fall short of the Chinese Communist Partys ambitions. While China has grown richer, it is still a relatively poor country. Per capita GDP is $10,000, below Romanias. Even at 6\% growth, it would take decades for China to catch up with its capitalist neighbors Taiwan ($26,000), South Korea ($32,000), Japan ($41,000) and Hong Kong ($49,000), let alone the U.S. ($62,000). With declining growth, Beijing is reaping what it has sown. For two decades after the death of Mao Zedong, the party injected a degree of freedom into Chinas moribund economy. But there is a limit to how much control the socialist regime is willing to sacrifice. It refused to create a private banking system or an independent legal system. It wont privatize the vast state-owned enterprises that account for about 30\% of Chinas economy, serve the regimes goals and enrich political elites. Instead, for the past 20 years—and especially since the financial panic of 2008—the party has generated growth through debt-financed investment and, increasingly, aggressive exploitation of the global trading system that amounts to stealing from other economies. Mr. Trump wasnt far off when he called it the greatest theft in the history of the world. The Chinese Communist Partys policies created tremendous economic imbalances, saddled China with debt, and bred suspicion and disillusionment among trading partners. Even before 2016, many observers believed China was headed toward stagnation. Its against this context that the Trump trade policy has put such pressure on Beijing. The first wave of U.S. trade actions was announced in March 2018, and included strategic tariffs on Chinese products, restrictions on investment in several key industries, and a World Trade Organization case challenging Beijings institutionalized theft of technology and intellectual property. When Beijing refused to meet U.S. demands, the White House increased the countertariffs, dealing another major blow to the Chinese economy. While trade talks will continue, Mr. Trump has now announced that the U.S. will impose a 10\% tariff on an additional $300 billion in Chinese goods beginning Sept. 1. The tariffs are working. Big tech companies are taking their manufacturing out of China; retailers are pulling out as well. The Chinese National Bureau of Statistics reports that in July Chinese factory activity declined for the third month in a row. That means fewer jobs. The South China Morning Post recently reported that economists at China PDF GENERATED BY SEARCH.PROQUEST.COM Page 1 of 3 International Capital Corp., an investment bank, say Chinas industrial sector has lost five million jobs in the past year, nearly two million of them because of the trade war with the U.S. Exports so far this year have increased only 0.6\% while imports, an indicator of domestic economic strength, fell at a 5.6\% annual rate in July, according to Chinas General Administration of Customs office. The U.S. Census Bureau reported last week that China dropped from being the top U.S. trading partner to third behind Mexico and Canada for the first half of 2019. To weather the economic storm, Beijing resorted to devaluing its own currency—a policy that has helped keep the price of Chinese exports to the U.S. from rising due to the tariffs. But a cheaper currency probably wont reverse Chinas economic slump or encourage businesses to invest in the country. Comprehensive reform from the Chinese Communist Party is unlikely in the near term. But the Trump administration has at least succeeded in substantially increasing the costs to the regime of its authoritarian and exploitative policies. For the first time in a long time, the pressure is really on Beijing, and the initiative in the national competition between China and the U.S. finally belongs to Washington. Mr. Puzder is a former CEO of CKE Restaurants and author of The Capitalist Comeback: The Trump Boom and the Lefts Plot to Stop It. Mr. Talent was a Republican senator from Missouri, 2002-07. Credit: By Andy Puzder and Jim Talent DETAILS Subject: International trade; Tariffs; Political parties; US exports; Gross Domestic Product-GDP; Census of Population; Trade disputes Location: Mexico Beijing China United States--US Romania Canada Missouri China Hong Kong Taiwan Japan South Korea People: Trump, Donald J Mao Zedong (1893-1976) Company / organization: Name: Communist Party-China; NAICS: 813 940; Name: CKE Restaurants Holdings Inc; NAICS: 722513; Name: World Trade Organization; NAICS: 928120; Name: Bureau of the Census; NAICS: 926110; Name: China International Capital Corp; NAICS: 523110; Name: South China Morning Post; NAICS: 511110 Lexile score: 1420 L Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online); New York, N.Y. Publication year: 2019 Publication date: Aug 11, 2019 column: Commentary (U.S.) Section: Opinion Publisher: Dow Jones &Company Inc Place of publication: New York, N.Y. PDF GENERATED BY SEARCH.PROQUEST.COM Page 2 of 3 Country of publication: United States, New York, N.Y. Publication subject: Business And Economics Source type: Newspapers Language of publication: English Document type: News ProQuest document ID: 2271344587 Document URL: http://edmonds.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/22713 44587?accountid=1626 Copyright: Copyright 2019 Dow Jones &Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Last updated: 2019-12-05 Database: eLibrary,US Newsstream Database copyright  2020 ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. Terms and Conditions Contact ProQuest PDF GENERATED BY SEARCH.PROQUEST.COM Page 3 of 3 ... Purchase answer to see full attachment