| Get the latest policy analysis by Mercatus scholars. |
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Trade Policy Uncertainty and Partisanship
Hurts the Economy |
| Robert Krol | Globe Gazette |
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| Under the current administration, trade policy uncertainty and partisanship have increased substantially. Businesses that engage in international trade are reasonably less likely to expand investment when future trade policies are unclear, slowing economic activity. Projects that look profitable under current trade policies may not be if retaliatory tariffs are put in place by trading partners. To sustain economic expansion, Washington politicians need to dial down the words and deeds that contribute to trade policy uncertainty. |
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Assembly Bill 5 Is Bad for Uber and Lyft,
but It Will Be Worse for Workers |
| Michael Farren and Trace Mitchell | The Orange County Register |
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| Last month, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 5. This bill will make it much more difficult for companies to classify people who work for them as independent contractors. In short, this new law is clearly an attempt to re-engineer the gig economy by forcing platform companies to bring independent contractors in-house as employees. This will substantially increase labor costs, decrease job opportunities for Californians, and pass along some of the higher costs to customers. |
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| Elizabeth Warren’s Wealth-Tax Trap |
| Veronique de Rugy | National Review Magazine |
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| Many of the Democratic presidential hopefuls have endorsed the wealth tax as a way to address income-inequality concerns. For instance, Elizabeth Warren proposes a wealth tax that she believes can raise $2.75 trillion over ten years. However, there are serious problems with a wealth tax, such as a profound misunderstanding of what wealth is and where the money will come from. |
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