The piece by Steve H. Hanke and David M. Walker is sharp, provocative, and deliberately constructed to trigger alarm, but it leans heavily on framing choices that blur the line between accounting identity and economic reality. It’s not that the numbers they cite are fabricated — far from it — but the interpretation of those numbers stretches well beyond what most economists … [Read more...] about Insolvency or Framing? A Critical Reading of the “U.S. Government is Insolvent” Argument
Opinion
Iran’s Strategic Breakdown: When Survival Instinct Turns Into Escalation
Something fundamental has shifted in how Iran behaves under pressure, and it’s not a subtle adjustment—it’s a break from its own survival doctrine. For decades, one of the regime’s defining strengths wasn’t raw power but restraint. It knew when to step back, when to absorb a hit, when to disappear into ambiguity and let time do the work. That instinct allowed it to outlast … [Read more...] about Iran’s Strategic Breakdown: When Survival Instinct Turns Into Escalation
Qatar’s Real Alignment Isn’t Neutrality—It’s Ideological Convenience
Watch what states do when pressure peaks, not what they say when things are calm. Qatar is taking hits—from Iran, no less—and yet it’s leaning on Washington to halt operations that are degrading the very regime threatening it. That isn’t just “mediation.” That’s a choice. And it reveals something uncomfortable about how parts of the region prioritize threats. The default … [Read more...] about Qatar’s Real Alignment Isn’t Neutrality—It’s Ideological Convenience
The IRGC’s Survival Trap
Something has shifted in a way that feels almost irreversible. Not in the loud, cinematic sense of a single decisive strike or a dramatic turning point, but in the quieter, more structural way that power systems lose their internal logic. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is no longer operating from a position of calculated deterrence. It is operating from a position of … [Read more...] about The IRGC’s Survival Trap
The Oil Crises of the 1970s: A Painful Wake-Up Call We Dare Not Forget
In the autumn of 1973, Americans stood in lines that snaked for blocks around gas stations, engines idling, tempers fraying, as the fuel gauge hovered near empty. Odd-even rationing days, “Sorry, No Gas” signs, and a national speed limit slashed to 55 mph became symbols of a new reality. The Arab oil embargo—triggered when OPEC’s Arab members retaliated against U.S. support for … [Read more...] about The Oil Crises of the 1970s: A Painful Wake-Up Call We Dare Not Forget