Michael Meeropol

The way a recurring ad attacking a candidate in the 17th Congressional District of New York is constructed is fascinating. The candidate is Cait Conley, the Democrat who is running against the sitting Republican Congressman Mike Lawler. The ad is not by the Lawler campaign but rather by one of these “educational” organizations, which is only identified by three letters.

When I taught economics I led countless discussions with my students about the proposal to change how education was funded. The idea is simple.

The Republicans have decided that their best way to retain control of the House and Senate is to run against - drum roll please - communism.

Contrary to popular myths, the industrial revolution with its increased productivity in both agriculture and manufacturing did not translate into increased leisure for workers.

When I was a kid, I remember a radio show called Amicus Curiae. It followed a character who would intervene in court cases as a “friend of the Court.”

Question: if the economy is doing great – as in lots of jobs being added in a particular month and the unemployment rate stays low -- why does the stock market tank?

Today, I am taking off my economist’s hat and putting on the hat of a movie critic. Memorial Day weekend, my daughter Ivy is releasing Ask E. Jean (which she directed) an absolutely brilliant biopic about the life of the writer E. Jean Carroll.

My last commentary introduced what I considered a “skunk at the picnic” argument - namely that the interdiction of oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz was a good thing for the long term survival of humanity. My argument was that we need to stop consuming fossil fuels as quickly as possible - yesterday would not have been soon enough.

As we watch and wait for the shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz to open, the economic impact on the world because of the choking off of a significant chunk of world oil supply is being debated.

On Tuesday, April 7, the moment of truth was at hand. After a number of postponements of a deadline by President Trump, the Iranians were confronted with a demand that they give up their one piece of leverage in this war --- the control of the Strait of Hormuz --- in return for a cease fire. Working indirectly through Pakistan as an intermediary, Trump and the Iranians presented positions that seemed completely irreconcilable.