Stephanie Pomboy on the coming pension crisis

The pension funding problem will be the next crisis.  We are looking at a $4 trillion pension deficit across the public and private sectors in the U.S., after nine years of rampant asset inflation.  That's a stunning statistic.  If the market corrects even 15%, and stays there, it will bore massive holes in pensions.  New Jersey, Illinois, state after state, are figuring out how to close this gap.

~ Stephanie Pomboy, founder, MacroMavens, "How the Fed Will Trigger the Next Crash," Barron's, March 24, 2018

Reason magazine on Trump's steel tariffs

According to 2015 Census data, steel mills employed about 140,000 Americans and added about $36 billion to the economy that year, but steel-consuming industries employed more than 6.5 million Americans and added $1 trillion to the economy. In other words, for every steel-producing job that might benefit from Trump's proposed tariffs, 46 steel-consuming jobs that could be hurt.

~ Eric Boehm, “Trump’s Tariffs Will Make Housing More Unaffordable,” Reason.com, March 19, 2018

Francis Biddle on the Constitution and war

The Constitution has never greatly bothered any wartime president.

~ Francis Biddle, Franklin Roosevelt's Attorney General, writing in 1962

Wilbur Ross on the recent steel and aluminum tariffs

This is not going to be a big trade war.

~ Wilbur Ross, Commerce Secretary, as appeared on CNBC with U.S. Steel CEO, March 7, 2018

Fortune cookie: "life is like a dogsled team"

Life is like a dogsled team.  If you ain't the lead dog, the scenery never changes.

~ fortune cookie