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American state capitalism

Not sure if Reagan envisioned American state capitalism.

We wouldn’t be dabbling with state capitalism if not for the public’s and both parties’ belief that free-market capitalism wasn’t working. That system encouraged profit-maximizing CEOs to move production abroad. The result was a shrunken manufacturing workforce, dependence on China for vital products such as critical minerals, and underinvestment in the industries of the future such as clean energy and semiconductors.

The federal government has often waded into the corporate world. It commandeered production during World War II and, under the Defense Production Act, emergencies such as the Covid-19 pandemic. It bailed out banks and car companies during the 2007-09 financial crisis. Those, however, were temporary expedients.

PJH Studios artwork, Portrait of a sun

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  • American state capitalism

    Not sure if Reagan envisioned American state capitalism. We wouldn’t be dabbling with state capitalism if not for the public’s and both parties’ belief that free-market capitalism wasn’t working. That system encouraged profit-maximizing CEOs to move production abroad. The result was a shrunken manufacturing workforce, dependence on China for vital products such as critical minerals,…

  • Texting the number on the sign

    In every city, there are painted signs on telephone poles. In Portland, Kate Bingaman-Burt texted one of the numbers and conversed with them about the craft of sign making.

  • What does a coxswain do?

    A friend of mine has a daughter who will be on a collegiate, Division I rowing team as a coxswain. It’s been interesting hearing about the recruiting process and what they do on a boat–they’re the brains. “They’re pretty much in charge of the whole race,” says Tom Sanford, the Director of Rowing at Marist.…

  • Automobile polo

    There was a time in the early event of the automobile, polo matches were held. Cars. A ball. A person with a mallet hitting said ball.

  • The case for memes as a new form of comics

    There is an argument to be made that memes, the visual kind, are a new form of comics. Communicating an idea or argument in an unexpected way. In a 21st century context, “meme” refers to a piece of online content that spikes in popularity and gets passed from user to user, i.e., going viral. These…

  • ChatGPT as a therapeutic tool

    Can ChatGPT act as a therapeutic tool? Possibly, but you still have to recognize it for what it is. As ChatGPT became an intellectual partner, I felt emotions I hadn’t expected: warmth, frustration, connection, even anger. Sometimes the exchange sparked more than insight — it gave me an emotional charge. Not because the machine was…

  • What modern kids want

    Children want to meet up in person, no screens or supervision. But because so many parents restrict their ability to socialize in the real world on their own, kids resort to the one thing that allows them to hang out with no adults hovering: their phones. One reason kids retreat to their phones is they…

  • Cranes adopt a goose

    Cuteness overload: a pair of cranes adopted a goose after it hatched.

  • 2025 Tiny Award nominees

    For all of the AI slop and corporate influence on the web, weird and fun and unique things still exist. The Tiny Awards attempt to capture this.

  • All the theories about why the stock market keeps going up

    There are a lot of theories about why the stock market keeps going up, but none of them completely explain it. As the stock market soars ever higher, the theories of why it rises have suffered the opposite fate. One by one, every favored explanation of what could be going on has been undermined by…