Well, 2025 has already come and gone. Hard to believe, isn\u2019t it? It was not a great year for the US economy, but it was a very good year for The Daily Economy.<\/p>\n
More than a million readers have enjoyed TheDailyEconomy.org<\/a> since it spun off from AIER.org<\/a> in 2024, where our headlines previously appeared. Visitors are greeted with the latest on economic ideas shaping everyday life in America: inflation, interest rates, government spending, monetary policy, and more. Along the way, we expanded our roster with 50 new contributors and contributing fellows, sharpened our editorial focus, and reached a broader audience than ever before.<\/p>\n We\u2019d like to thank our many authors and you, our readers. And before 2025 is over, we\u2019d like to leave you with a sampling of our most-read articles of 2025 (in no particular order).<\/p>\n 1. How Congress Created the Doctor Shortage<\/a> by Laura Williams<\/p>\n Laura Williams explores the artificial scarcity of doctors in the US, which drives up health care costs. Why, with demand rising and hospitals desperate for staff, are thousands of \u201cperfectly qualified doctors-in-waiting\u201d locked out of the system? What created this massive bottleneck of healing potential, which is expected to result in a shortage of at least 86,000 physicians by 2036?<\/p>\n The answer is depressingly simple and mind-bogglingly shortsighted: in 1995, Congress made it illegal to train more doctors.\u00a0<\/p>\n 2. How Germany Became the World\u2019s Worst-Performing Economy<\/a> by Mohamed Moutii<\/p>\n Mohamed Moutii breaks down how a one-time economic powerhouse slid into stagnation. Germany\u2019s economy \u2014 once the engine of Europe \u2014 is now struggling with slow growth, high labor costs, and a bloated welfare burden that saps competitiveness.<\/p>\n \u201cThe welfare state as we know it today can no longer be financed by our economy,\u201d declared Chancellor Friedrich Merz.<\/p>\n So what sank the German miracle? Mohamed traces the decline to policy choices that expanded welfare faster than wealth creation \u2014 and the political reluctance to confront these decisions.<\/p>\n 3. Delistings Surge as Housing Market Teeters Toward Correction<\/a> by Pete Earle<\/p>\n As the spring housing market should\u2019ve been heating up, Pete Earle dug into a troubling shift: a rising tide of home delistings.<\/p>\n \u201cSellers are holding out, but buyers aren\u2019t showing up,\u201d Pete wrote. \u201cThe standoff signals a dramatic drop in prices might be closer than you think.\u201d<\/p>\n What\u2019s driving this stalemate between buyers and sellers? Pete traces the trend to a mix of stubborn price expectations, high borrowing costs, and broader economic strain. Even ten months later, this is a juicy read on where the housing market is swiftly heading.\u00a0<\/p>\n 4. Milei\u2019s Economic Miracle: How Argentina Slashed Inflation to 1.5%<\/a> by Emmanuel Rincon<\/p>\n Emmanuel Rincon breaks down Argentina\u2019s \u201ceconomic miracle\u201d: how President Javier Milei dramatically brought inflation under control after years of runaway price increases. Under Milei\u2019s free market reforms, monthly inflation fell to just 1.5 percent, the lowest in five years, after peaking at hyperinflation levels above 200 percent when he took office.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n So how did he do it? Emmanuel points to sweeping spending cuts, fiscal discipline, deregulation, and ending monetary expansion \u2014 moves that slashed inflation, strengthened the peso, and even helped reduce poverty as prices stabilized. Don\u2019t miss this story, which explores one of the most overlooked economic reversals in modern history.\u00a0<\/p>\n 5. DEI: Five Hallmarks of a Hustle<\/a> by Paul Mueller<\/p>\n Paul Mueller takes aim at what he calls the biggest \u201chustle\u201d in academia and corporate America: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs that have expanded into costly bureaucracies with little to show for it. Paul says that while corporations and universities are publicly backing away from DEI, the underlying systems and incentives that support it are still deeply entrenched and expensive.<\/p>\n \u201cCorporations and universities are distancing themselves from social virtue\u2011signaling,\u201d he writes. \u201cBut behind new branding, the grift is alive and well.\u201d<\/p>\n Paul documents how DEI initiatives became lucrative sinecures and consulting gigs siphoning money from students and taxpayers, while encouraging counterproductive attitudes and failing to address genuine abuses on campus.<\/p>\n 6. There\u2019s a New Sheriff at the Fed<\/a> by Bryan Cutsinger<\/p>\n In June, Bryan Cutsinger highlighted a noticeable shift at the Federal Reserve, as Michelle Bowman stepped into her role as Vice Chair for Supervision. <\/p>\n So what\u2019s actually changing at the Fed? Bryan examined Bowman\u2019s first public speech for clues on how she plans to oversee banks and how her approach could reshape the Fed\u2019s regulatory priorities.<\/p>\n 7. The Economics of Divorce: A New Paper Examines the Harm to Children<\/a> by Peter Jacobsen<\/p>\n Peter Jacobsen explores an important but often overlooked cost of family breakdown: the economic harm divorce can inflict on children. Drawing on new research, he shows that children from broken homes tend to face lower educational attainment, reduced lifetime earnings, and higher chances of poverty compared with those from intact families.<\/p>\n \u201cThese results shouldn\u2019t be surprising. Parenting is a long-term, team project. Early in childhood, parents make plans and establish routines. These plans and routines lay the foundation for the rest of the child\u2019s life. Like any joint project, whether in family, business, or politics, plans are made because the planning process adds value. Scrapping plans is akin to removing an essential part of the foundation.\u201d<\/p>\n Fortunately, laying a positive new foundation is not impossible, Peter writes, but it can be difficult and costly. Read Peter\u2019s analysis to learn more about the hidden economic costs of divorce, an under-discussed element of poverty and inequality.\u00a0<\/p>\n 8. How Did 108 Economists Predict Milei\u2019s Results Exactly Wrong?<\/a> by Jon Miltimore<\/p>\n In February, Jon Miltimore looked at (yet another) striking forecasting failure: before Argentina\u2019s economic turnaround, a group of 108 economists predicted outcomes that ended up being almost the exact opposite of what actually happened under President Javier Milei\u2019s policies.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026we believe that these proposals, rooted in laissez-faire economics and involving contentious ideas like dollarization and significant reductions in government spending, are fraught with risks,\u201d the economists warned.\u00a0<\/p>\n Despite these dark predictions, Milei\u2019s fiscal and monetary changes slashed inflation and grew the economy far beyond what experts expected. How did these 108 economists get things so wrong? Read Jon\u2019s analysis to learn more.<\/p>\n 9. Saudi Arabia Didn\u2019t Learn Anything From China\u2019s \u2018Ghost Cities\u2019<\/a> by Stefan Bartl<\/p>\n Saudi Arabia\u2019s futuristic megaproject The Line \u2014 a state-driven, top-down attempt to engineer an ideal city \u2014 exemplifies how grand government planning fails to respond to real economic signals and human preferences. <\/p>\n Stefan Bartl explains how true urban success stems from voluntary economic activity, market forces, and individual incentives, not utopian design. As a bonus, Stefan reviews what Aristotle taught: a city requires three things \u2014 a citizenry, their economic means, and a shared concept of \u201cthe good life.\u201d Without those, all you\u2019ve got is empty buildings.<\/p>\n 10. The Penny Problem Has a Third Option: Buy Them Back (With Interest)<\/a> by Mike Munger<\/p>\n Mike Munger asked back in July why, instead of wastefully minting new coins at a loss, the government shouldn\u2019t \u201coffer to buy back existing pennies from the public at a small premium.\u201d The minting has since been ended (the penny, like the dollar, has lost 97 percent of its purchasing power since 1913) but we could put many back into circulation if we wished to. Let individuals decide whether to turn in their coins \u2014 a pragmatic, voluntary solution.<\/p>\n 11. Soros and USAID Have Been a Match Made in Hell<\/a> by Matt Palumbo<\/p>\n Amid media controversy about cuts to the US Agency for International Development (USAID), Matt Palumbo argued the organization had strayed too far from its humanitarian mission. Instead, USAID had become a siphon to divert taxpayer money into politically driven, ideological projects rather than genuine economic development. He provided significant examples of USAID\u2019s meddling around the globe, including attempts at outright regime change.<\/p>\n 12. NIH: The $47-Billion Sacred Cow Is Scared<\/a> by Walter Donway<\/p>\n If there\u2019s nothing more permanent than a temporary government program, there\u2019s nothing more predictable than special interests holding tight to their sources of funding. Walter Donway profiled some of the major institutions and leading laboratories that capture much of the National Institutes of Health\u2019s $47 billion annual budget.<\/p>\n No surprise, the pattern of funding rewards prestige and politics, and neglects genuine innovation. One quoted scientist said, \u201cThe current NIH funding mechanism discourages innovative research and perpetuates a cycle where only established investigators receive grants.\u201d That\u2019s pretty backwards for anyone hoping to make real scientific progress.<\/p>\n 13. $42 Billion Broadband Boondoggle Brought Internet to Zero Homes<\/a> by Joel Griffith<\/p>\n Joel Griffith detailed the absurdity of the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, which spent $42 billion without actually connecting a single home to the internet.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEven if we presume all the 24 million households currently without access will benefit from increased access and affordability, this comes to $1750 per household,\u201d Joel pointed out. <\/p>\n Mandates and bureaucratic requirements deter private investment and distort incentives. Meanwhile, private markets have steadily expanded internet access and lowered prices without subsidies, including by expanding alternatives like satellite broadband.<\/p>\n