Trump's "Systematic" Undermining of the Economy

I sat down with Harry Litman of Talking Feds earlier this week. We covered a lot of ground — and none of it is particularly reassuring.

On inflation: both headline and core numbers are up. The Fed’s 2% target feels distant. But the most alarming detail isn’t price increases — it’s that wage growth isn’t keeping up.

On affordability: oil prices are expected to stay elevated through at least 2028. That matters because energy costs ripple through everything. Add in unilateral tariffs, institutional erosion, and crony capitalism, and you can see how Trump’s policies amount to a direct attack on affordability.

On AI: about two-thirds of recent economic growth is AI-driven — but almost entirely in the form of data center construction. We’re in the foundation-laying phase. What AI actually does to jobs and growth over the long haul remains an open question.

Listen or watch the full conversation here. →