In this final episode before an indefinite hiatus, Liz and Caleb revisit some of the topics from past episodes.

Tax credits are a popular tool of policymakers to influence the behavior of people and businesses. But they don’t come without tradeoffs or cumbersome rules to follow. Caleb and Liz discuss.

Are Today’s Tax Credits the Best Way to Get Americans to Buy E.V.s? [NYT]

In the midst of a surge of antitrust lawsuits from the last several years, Caleb and Liz break down monopolies, anti-competitive behavior, and what it means for small businesses.

Google, Visa, JetBlue: A Guide to a New Era of U.S. Antitrust Cases [NYT]

‘Google Is a Monopolist,’ Judge Rules in Landmark Antitrust Case [NYT]

After Google Antitrust Ruling, Here’s Where Other Big Tech Cases Stand [NYT]

U.S. Prepares to Challenge Google’s Online Ad Dominance [NYT]

Who or what caused the jump in inflation from the past few years? There is no shortage of alleged culprits, and one popular theory is that it’s been driven by exploitative prices at the grocery store (aka, price gouging). Caleb and Liz discuss the role of price gouging, and how much blame (or not) it deserves.

Corporate Profits Contributed a Lot to Inflation in 2021 but Little in 2022—A Pattern Seen in Past Economic Recoveries [KC Fed]

Tight Labor Markets Have Been a Key Contributor to High Food Inflation [KC Fed]

Are Markups Driving the Ups and Downs of Inflation? [SF Fed]

Are greedy companies to blame for grocery inflation? We looked at the data [NPR] What is ‘price gouging’ and why is VP Harris proposing to ban it? [AP]

Harris Plans to Ban Grocery ‘Price Gouging.’ What Does the Evidence Say? [NYT]

For decades, free trade had been touted by business leaders, economists, and policy makers as the best way for countries to exchange goods and services. But that’s all changed in the last several years, as tariffs have re-entered the conversation as an effective tool to protect American businesses. Caleb and Liz discuss the trend, what it means for small businesses, and where things go from here.

Jobs Report Revisions, Explained [Gustonomics Podcast]

Current Employment Statistics - CES (National) [BLS]

Recession? What Recession? [Gustonomics Podcast]

Harris and Trump Embrace Tariffs, Though Their Approaches Differ [NYT]

Two of the most critical categories of goods for consumers—food and energy—aren’t considered for one of the most critical measures of inflation, Core CPI. Why is that? Caleb asks the questions, Liz has the answers.

Consumer prices up 2.9 percent from July 2023 to July 2024 [BLS]

Consumer Price Index News Release [BLS]

Real Earnings Summary [BLS]

Real Earnings News Release [BLS]

Consumer Price Index [BLS]

Caleb and Liz discuss the most recent jobs report that shows a little softness, as well as the increasing cost of homeowners insurance and how that will ripple through the economy.

Employment Situation Summary [BLS] Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary [BLS] US home insurers suffer worst loss this century [FT, sub required] Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters [NOAA]

Positive economic signals continue to surprise observers. Caleb and Liz discuss the factors that pushed second quarter GDP to exceed expectations and what that means for small businesses.

Gross Domestic Product, Second Quarter 2024 (Advance Estimate) [BEA]

Personal Income and Outlays, June 2024 [BEA]