China's Reliance on Exports

The Hidden Policies That Power China’s Export Boom
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/06/business/china-exports-currency.html
Huge tax breaks and a weak currency sustain exports, widen the government budget deficit and complicate the country’s efforts to rebalance its economy. 

Is France Headed Towards a Fiscal Crisis?

France’s Appetite for ‘Magic Money’ Has Turned into a Debt Bomb
https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/france-debt-bonds-spending-c7981557
After years of overspending, the country has emerged as one of Europe’s weakest links. Investors are bracing for things to get worse.

French bond contagion fears are rattling the euro
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/french-bond-contagion-fears-are-rattling-euro-2026-10-05/

 
Related:
https://www.ft.com/content/9b252b46-a87c-45e7-a09a-45a39ce077b8 

US Higher Education in Crisis

Inside the Enrollment Cliff Hitting US Colleges
https://youtu.be/aZJZV-FODqk
 
Colleges are making themselves obsolete
https://spectator.com/article/colleges-making-themselves-obsolete/?edition=us
Peter Wood:
But as teaching standards have fallen, tuition and expenses have surged. Americans now carry a total of $1.863 trillion in student-loan debt. That’s the second largest sum of consumer debt, behind home mortgages. A house, however, has intrinsic value. A college degree is worth only what the graduate can make of it. Student-loan debt impedes graduates who want to get married or change jobs. It cannot be defaulted on. It can linger even into one’s retirement years.
Then there’s the matter of waste and bloat. More than half the salaried employees of colleges and universities are now in “student services” rather than education. What students get for their tuition dollar is a full range of counseling, stroking, reassurance and diversion from the actual acquisition of knowledge and skills. 

The End of College as We Know It
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/the-end-of-college-as-we-know-it-e222ab3d

My take from Jan 2022: Is the US higher education bubble about to burst?
https://thehill.com/opinion/education/590971-will-the-us-higher-education-bubble-finally-burst

Insights from Ada Lovelace

Ada Lovelace Already Answered the Big Questions About A.I.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/05/opinion/ada-lovelace-ai.html 

Will Consumers Keep Spending?

The Mighty American Consumer Is Crashing Through Inflation and Driving Growth
https://www.wsj.com/economy/consumers/american-economy-consumer-profile-33903de1
Spending is rising because prices are climbing and Americans are buying more stuff, despite long-running frustrations over inflation. 
 
Related:
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/03/business/trump-economy-inflation-midterms.html 

Will the US Government Try to Inflate Away its Debt Burden?

Trump just soft-launched higher inflation as the new solution for rebalancing the $40 trillion U.S. national debt
https://finance.yahoo.com/economy/policy/articles/trump-just-soft-launched-higher-111017831.html

What bond market reveals about Congress and the debt
https://finance.yahoo.com/economy/policy/articles/bond-market-reveals-congress-national-094500766.html

 
Related:
Investors beware: Fiscal dominance and financial repression ahead by Vivekanand Jayakumar, The Hill - 07/13/25
https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/5397963-fed-keeping-rates-low-trump-administration/ 

Race, Politics, and Meritocracy

The Mainstreaming of Anti-Indian Bigotry
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/10/french-rufo-meritocracy-race/688870/
A Republican schism over a social-media post by a Texas politician revealed that the party’s defense of a color-blind meritocracy has its limits.