Has “Creative Destruction” Reached Silicon Valley?
Silicon Valley is in a slump. For all the talk about innovation, there’s a real question as to whether the U.S. tech sector is really all that...
Contagion!
What goes up, must come down. Unless you’re a banker. In which case it’s up, up and away with bailouts and low interest loans! Today’s essay is an...
The Fed and Inflation.
Today, we’re talking about the stories we tell. Narratives that take root and stubbornly refuse to die. The economic version of urban legends....
The (Fake) Debt Ceiling Crisis: The GOP’s Dangerous Gamble
The debt ceiling crisis is a completely manufactured, self-inflicted wound that only the GOP sees fit to weaponize when it suits them. Forget the...
Big Tech Layoffs
GDP growth was stronger than expected. Unemployment remains historically low. Supply chain issues continue to work themselves out. China is entering...
Biden’s Big Student Debt Announcement: PITOTWIU
It’s here! It’s finally here! Today, we review our predictions for student debt relief and square them with Biden’s proposed plan. There’s a lot to...
$5 Gasoline: The Real Culprit Revealed
I know, I know. Didn’t we just do this episode? Kinda, sorta. But not to this extent. In our Peak Oil episode, we reviewed the history of oil as a...
Obsession Over Recession Depression: Feeding the Economic HypeBeast
We just came through the eighth “technical” recession over the past 50 years, and many predict that another is around the corner. Depending upon who...
Elon Gated: Billionaires and Their Toys
The second installment of topical cream peers into the petty world of the billionaire class and the purchase of Twitter by racist enabler and...
Immigration Nation: A Crisis of Our Own Design
As Ukrainians flee the war in their home country, some have found their way to the U.S. southern border, where they are immediately escorted into the...
"UNLESS." Building Back to What?
We’re hitting the pause button in honor of our 50th full episode. Quite the milestone, and we wanted to celebrate together. And, in true UNFTR...
Peak Oil: It's a Crude, Crude World
Oil is everywhere. It’s all around us. It’s in everything, and it makes the world go around. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects...
The Itsfuckedforsure Bill: And the Ghosts of Spending Bills Past
President Biden signed H.R. 3684 into law, with leaders in Washington breaking their arms to pat themselves on the back. Never mind that the...
The Global Order of Money: How Exactly Does It Make the World Go ’Round?
We’ve hit on some big economic themes, from capitalism and socialism to deregulation, privatization and Modern Monetary Theory. And we’re typically...