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In today’s edition:
Here’s some good news: The U.S. economy is beating forecasts. Here’s some great news: Those forecasts were made even before the pandemic upended everything.
So with GDP growing at a brisk annualized rate of almost 5 percent, why does everybody still think the economy is so bad?
Catherine Rampell’s column takes a tour through this week’s Commerce Department report on the economy, which also contained encouraging numbers on inflation and rising wages. Things, in short, are looking very good.
But look over your shoulder, as many Americans seem to be doing, and the shock of inflation is still there, preserved in the freezer-case window next to the very expensive Eggos. As Catherine writes, “historical research from developed countries suggests that few things make the public angrier than an unexpected burst of inflation.”
Ramesh Ponnuru frames Americans’ discontent a little differently. He writes that wages just haven’t caught up to prices. A great chart in his column shows that wages are one area in which growth is still well below pre-pandemic trends.
“Americans will not consider the economy to be performing well unless their paychecks rise faster than their bills,” Ramesh predicts, arguing also that if the people who make up an economy say the economy is not doing well, it isn’t, period.
Could Republicans do better? The Editorial Board pulled together what it found to be the 2024 presidential candidates’ best and worst ideas for the economy.
Winners included Nikki Haley’s sensible proposals to reform Social Security; losers included Vivek Ramaswamy’s, well, mostly everything. Find the full list in the editorial.
“The case of Clarence Thomas’s motor home gets curiouser and curiouser.” I’m always saying this!
That’s the headline on Ruth Marcus’s column on the latest news of the Supreme Court justice’s fishy financial entanglements. If you’re not up to date, Thomas had claimed he repaid the $267,000 loan from a friend that allowed him to purchase a luxury motor home. But now, a Senate Finance Committee report’s findings on the transaction don’t square with that claim.
If this were a one-off, fine, maybe. But after all the other money high jinks, Ruth writes, Thomas “has forfeited the benefit of the doubt.”
Chaser: Read Alexandra Petri’s imaginary dispatch from the luxury yacht Thomas wished was actually a motor home parked in a Walmart parking lot.
From George Will’s column explaining his concern about the military readiness of the Navy and, therefore, its deterrence capabilities. He considers the fleet “shockingly short of capacities commensurate with the world’s multiplying threats.”
And things aren’t really getting fixed, either. To comply with certain international commitments, the United States would need to be building on average at least 2.3 attack subs every year; it is building 1.2.
Take one more step back: “Shipbuilding facilities sufficient to fulfill the aspirations do not exist and cannot be quickly created,” George writes. That’s not to mention the military’s recruiting shortfalls.
The country is becoming complacent, George worries, and history is not usually kind to leaders who flub safeguards against war.
Chaser: Last month, former defense secretary Mark Esper proposed some promising solutions for the military’s dip in recruiting.
As different as this crisis in the Middle East feels from earlier emergencies in the area — on scale, on global attention — the challenge the United States faces is the same as ever, David Ignatius writes: “How can it protect Israel, its closest ally in the region, while also bolstering stability and maintaining its partnerships with Arab neighbors?”
David recognizes it as a tricky tightrope and lauds President Biden as a particularly talented funambulist so far. His column lays out where the United States ought to go from here, all the while keeping up its leadership mantle.
Jason Willick, however, is not so convinced that the administration is making the right moves. His column is a warning: Constrain Israel too much, and the region might end up more dangerous than ever.
Chaser: Chuck Lane spoke this week with the daughter of an Israeli held hostage by Hamas. Her plea to the world is moving.
- House Speaker Mike Johnson’s conspiracy theories about “illegals” mark a new GOP low on immigration, Greg Sargent writes.
- Rick Reilly could hardly be more excited for Sunday’s NFL matchup between Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel, the league’s “funniest and freshest,” and Patriots coach Bill Belichick, its “frumpiest and frowniest.”
- Post Grad writer Renee Yaseen explains in her latest newsletter why living at home post-college is not a failure to launch.
It’s a goodbye. It’s a haiku. It’s… The Bye-Ku.
Forgive inflation
But don’t ever forget it
(Also, don’t forgive)
Plus! A Friday bye-ku (Fri-ku!) from reader Karen P.:
Poor little peace dove
Feathers charred, plucked out and lost
No calm for this world
***
