The IOU in The Hierarchy of Finance in a Capitalist Economy
We are going to begin this series at its foundation—the IOU. The foundational capacity on which all finance is built is the capacity to make a promise.
Notes on the Crises
OMB Fiscal Year 2025 Memos Part 1: The First Ten Memos
This is a free piece of Notes on the Crises. All pieces in this OMB series will be free. Please take out a paid subscription to support this work. Or leave a tip.
Trump’s 2026 Oil Crisis Again Highlights a Fundamental Truth: Bottlenecks Are the Quintessential Crisis of the 21st Century
Subscribe One of the many things I’m months late to covering is the war of choice that the United States and Israel launched against Iran. This, of course, is related to geopolitical
A New Series: The Hierarchy of Finance in a Capitalist Economy
For a long time I’ve been thinking about doing a series about the concept of a “hierarchy of finance”. This phrase refers to the fact that different households and institutions have access
What Ever Happened to DOGE? The “OMBification” of the Trump-Musk Payments Crisis
Dear readers: My deepest apologies for my absence. I got the so-called “Super-Flu” that hit New York in December, then I followed that up with a very debilitating bout of food
What is a Farmer and How Does the Government Count Them? The High Politics of a Seemingly Mundane Statistical Task
Silvia Secchi is a natural resources economist and a Full Professor in the Department of Geographical and Sustainability Sciences at the University of Iowa. Editor's Note: Dear readers, Nathan here. A
The Federal Reserve Has Created an Entire Page Dedicated to My Successful FOIA Requests
Tomorrow is my 34th Birthday and as such this month's "Birthday" sale is still ongoing. Take advantage today! Birthday Sale! Longtime Notes on the Crises readers will remember that
The Longest Government Shutdown in U.S. History Ends Without Ameliorating Our Constitutional Crisis
This is a free Notes on the Crises piece. Consider tipping here. November is my birth month so I'm doing a birthday sale all month long. I'm turning 34,
What Connects Conventional Wisdom Processors, AI and The Second Trump Administration’s Constitutional Crisis? Part Two
This is Part Two of a three part series. Find Part one here. Subscribe Today! One of the most important microeconomics textbook writers ever is a man named Hal Varian. Generations of people,
BOMBSHELL: 1951-1970 Federal Reserve Chair Bill Martin Was a Committed Segregationist
This is a Premium piece of Notes on the Crises. SubscribeTip! Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook was born and raised in Milledgeville Georgia, about a 100 miles away from Atlanta. She also shares
What the Hell is a Government Shutdown Anyway? The Accounting Gimmicks at the Heart of the Federal Budget
Subscribe Today! So the federal government is shut down. I’ve been late to covering this story because of my focus on events at the Federal Reserve. Well, that was true when I
What Connects Conventional Wisdom Processors, AI and The Second Trump Administration’s Constitutional Crisis? Part One
This is a premium piece of Notes on the Crises. Become a Paid Subscriber to read this piece and support Notes on the Crises Subscribe & Read This year I coined the phrase