Maxwell School News and Commentary

"We borrowed a lot of money to give tax cuts to big corporations and rich people in not the most effective way," says Leonard Burman, Paul Volcker Chair in Behavioral Economics. "The real concern is the growing debt and the possibility that interest rates won’t stay low forever—and I don’t think they will." 

"I think that if President Trump goes through and raises these tariffs and then China retaliates, there will be a lot more pain and no gain," says Professor of Economics Mary Lovely.

"More tariffs and failure to get a deal will ultimately seem to people like further failure of the government," says Mary Lovely, professor of economics.

According to Mary Lovely, professor of economics, the rules around Made in America labeling can be confusing, and companies can violate them without realizing it. "There are rules, and companies—even if they’re trying to abide by them—may find them complicated, so issuing a cease and desist, it might not be unreasonable."

"The first few rounds of tariffs hit supply chains really hard," says Mary Lovely, professor of economics. Now, the Trump administration "has begun to hit things clearly not processed in the U.S.—consumer goods—and this is going to get people’s attention."

Len Lopoo, professor of public administration and international affairs, and Kerri Raissian '08 M.P.A./'13 Ph.D. (PA), argue that the steady decline of the birthrate in the U.S. could be a "harbinger of difficulties on the horizon," impacting Social Security and Medicare, and affecting the number of young people to enter the military and to innovate in business.

"The Code of Putinism," written by Brian Taylor, a professor in the Department of Political Science, "provides a sober-minded account of how Mr. Putin came to lead Russia and why his almost czar-like role today bodes ill for Russia’s future," according to the book review.

Mary Lovely, professor of economics, explains why lower-income consumers, who tend to buy more goods from countries such as China, might end up feeling squeezed more than their higher-income counterparts.