Veronique de Rugy
@veroderugy
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Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University
Arlington, VA
Joined February 2009
Huh I wonder what happened in April....
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This is average, not median age, but the New York Fed finds that first-time homebuyers were *younger* in 2024 than in the 2000s. Haven't gotten older on average in nearly 20 years. h/t @MosesSternstein
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Michael wants you to think this is some intellectual inconsistency but it's actually quite simple. Tariffs on pasta are a bad idea that will make America poorer. European-style nationalism is a bad idea that will make America poorer. See? Nothing inconsistent at all.
It’s very funny watching the same people argue against tariffs on European pasta, but argue for strict import bans on European goods into the “marketplace of ideas”, which apparently can’t survive any level of competition.
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For the millionth time: The middle class is smaller because the upper class is a lot bigger, and the lower class is smaller too. (Yes, it's adjusted for inflation. Yes, that includes housing/energy/food/whatever you're mad about that costs more.) from @jmhorp
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Let's say you take out a $400,000 mortgage loan at 6.25% - and choose a 50-year mortgage instead of 30 yrs. In return for saving $283 monthly, you will pay an extra $421,302 in interest over the life of loan. Or if you sell at 15 yrs, will have paid off just $29,000 in equity.
INGRAHAM: Is a 50 year mortgage really a good idea? TRUMP: It's not even a big deal. You go from 40 to 50 years. All it means is you pay less per month
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People buy monthly payments unless they are wealthy cash buyers. This is the least controversial, most empirically verifiable fact about housing of the last 25-30 years. A 50-year mortgage will push sticker prices higher, not lower. What creates equilibrium between supply and
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What could go wrong?
Fannie Mae set to drop its 620 credit score minimum. Mortgage giant will instead use its own analysis of risk factors. Officials say they're easing barriers to borrowing. "It's just the latest in a series of policy changes aimed at creating home ownership opportunities in the
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Wonderful essay: The Constitution of Innovation
siliconcontinent.com
A New European Renaissance
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@Reinsch84 On a related note, many of the people who want a friendly "conversation" with racist cranks are also unapologetic about wanting to purge free-market economics from the conservative coalition. The Postliberals' call to curtail "infighting" on the right is selective, and
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We must be willing to associate with racists and anti-American cranks, so that we can learn from them isn't going to wear very well no matter what short term battles its proponents might survive.
November 10, 2025 An Open Letter to the Conservative Movement The battle for the heart and soul of the American Conservative Movement is being fought on many fronts, with the latest trench warfare occurring in the boardrooms of its long-standing and most influential foundations
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November 10, 2025 An Open Letter to the Conservative Movement The battle for the heart and soul of the American Conservative Movement is being fought on many fronts, with the latest trench warfare occurring in the boardrooms of its long-standing and most influential foundations
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Emergency embargo (temporarily blocking all trade): makes sense Emergency license (temporarily & selectively allowing some trade the govt deems safe/secure): makes sense Emergency 10% tariff (allowing all trade, but permanently making Americans pay a tax on it): makes no sense
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More than a quarter of Chinese listed companies posted a loss in the first half of this year https://t.co/lnpdbJktXM
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If Trump wants to stamp his name on something, let it be on a piece of legislation that cements incentives for companies to drop their prices, rather than a website that empowers him to pick and choose corporate winners.
washingtonpost.com
The president cut a deal to reduce prices for weight-loss drugs in exchange for tariff relief.
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People love this data set on manufacturing structures spending, but there's a possible issue with it worth highlighting, at least in terms of how it's interpreted. Thread: https://t.co/WoPzbEorlc
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When Biden blamed meat packers for rising beef prices, the GOP's Ways and Means Committee members put out a "fact check" explaining why Biden was wrong. I wonder if there will be a similar fact check for Trump:
waysandmeans.house.gov
The White House has explained months of working families’ lost income by passing the buck and accusing the meatpacking industry...
Yesterday I tweeted that Trumponomics was Bidenomics on steroids. Well, Greedflation is back. He's playing Biden's greatest hits.
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Communism has killed 100 million people throughout history. Billions have been victims of starvation, forced exile and imprisonment. Today I am in Berlin to commemorate the 36th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. It is a good day to speak about its significance🧵
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Essential chart to understand that the extended ACA tax credits aren't really about lower income Americans.
Less than 10% of those who became eligible for enhanced subsidies in 2021 were what we might consider middle class. Most of the increase in newly eligible beneficiaries constitutes high earners, with household incomes that are often double or more the median household income.
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