Two other articles, one I read late in the week and one I read this morning, are too good to pass up.
by Jeffrey Rogers Hummel, The reasonJuly 2024.
This is Jeff Hummel’s review of William Hogeland, The Hamilton Scheme: An Epic Tale of Money and Power in Founding America.
Quote:
Hamilton was one of the main architects of the Constitutional Convention, which was held in secret. When he revealed himself as the king of the closet: Expressing his love for the British system of government as the best in the world, he announced that he preferred a president for life with an absolute veto over all laws. He was surprised that the senators would be elected by the states; indeed, he wished to see the states and their armies completely extinguished. Yet some increase in central power was better than none, so Hamilton was determined to conceal his true views when he offered The Federalist Papers. Many historians have dismissed Hamilton’s speech to the assembly as a fallacy, but Hogeland reveals that this extreme oligarchic tendency informed Hamilton’s efforts throughout his career.
Also:
At that time Washington had called for 12,000 troops [to end the Whiskey Rebellion], which was to march under Hamilton’s effective command, strong opposition had subsided, largely through the calming influence of Gallatin, Findley, and even Husband. To buy time, the government had sent commissioners to negotiate and offer amnesty to anyone who signed the oath of allegiance. Most of the people in the area did—but when the soldiers came, that didn’t matter. Hamilton presided over a reign of terror in which government men raided homes and many Americans were arrested without charge and held for long periods in degrading conditions. Hamilton was trying to gather evidence to bring the perpetrators back to Philadelphia for trial, violating the Bill of Rights’ guarantee that all criminal cases would be tried in the county where the crime was committed. Hamilton hoped to find enough evidence to hang Gallatin, Findley, and Husband.
However, when I used to walk in front of the Treasury Building on Pennsylvania Avenue, when I was a summer student at the Council of Economic Advisers in 1973, I saw a picture and finally asked someone who it was. It belonged to Albert Gallatin, Secretary of the Treasury after Hamilton. Jeff Hummel told me in private interviews that Gallatin was a financial genius who put his talents to good ends, something that comes through in Jeff’s review.
written by Veronique de Rugy, The reasonJune 13, 2024.
Quote:
Excessive government spending, an activity the Biden administration has taken to a new level, has plunged the country into deflation. With billions of dollars in COVID-19 relief programs, infrastructure spending, vote-buying with student loan forgiveness programs, and the “Build Back Better Agenda” politics, the White House has saturated the economy and sapped the purchasing power of consumers. We pay more and get less for everything from energy to food.
According to the House Budget Committee, the average family of four pays about $1,143 more per month than in early 2021 for the same goods and services; this includes rising fuel costs. Instead of reversing course, President Joe Biden is telling voters that the private sector is to blame and that he has answers. He’s doubling down by proposing restrictive, job-killing regulations to “fix” the problem—regulations that will inevitably send inflation to new heights.
Also:
Once again, however, the Biden administration found a scapegoat for the private sector. It revealed the power of the Justice Department to RealPage, a US software provider that helps landlords determine the market value of their rental properties.
The existence of a company like this should not be controversial. Almost every industry today uses the same tool, from grocery stores to airlines, to make better decisions about pricing their inventory based on supply and demand. But the administration needs someone to blame, and there are no other viable targets to shoot at.
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