Gas stations don’t need a smoky back alley. They’ve got something better: giant signs and binoculars. When prices should fall, each waits for the other bloke to move first.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/the-hidden-pattern-in-gas-prices

People notice this because it affects their wallets almost immediately. Oil prices drop, but the pump doesn't seem to get the memo.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/the-hidden-pattern-in-gas-prices

Why do gas prices rise like rockets and fall like feathers?⁣ ⁣ The data show it's real. The economics explain why.⁣ ⁣ And knowing the pattern can actually save you money.⁣ ⁣ New Diving In: https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/the-hidden-pattern-in-gas-prices

Baby bonds are adorable. But a policy that expires in 2028 looks more like a campaign onesie than a savings plan.

The question isn't whether this month's number is exciting. It's whether the labor market is still in good shape. For now, it mostly is.

Economics is ultimately about incentives.⁣ ⁣ So what happens when political power becomes a profitable investment?⁣ ⁣ Our latest collaboration with Blue Amp Media:⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/trump-made-billions-on-crypto-his

Past tech revolutions substituted for brawn. AI substitutes for cognition. That's a different kind of disruption, and it doesn't favor men. Worth thinking about where the labor market goes from here.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/feel-your-feelings-jobs-trump-accounts

What happens when more Americans own a piece of the economy?⁣ ⁣ It's an idea that's been around for years—one that's attracted support from economists across the political spectrum.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/feel-your-feelings-jobs-trump-accounts

17.76% off an annual Platypus Economics subscription. This weekend only.⁣ ⁣ No fine print. No surprise renewal gotchas. Just 17.76% off, exactly as advertised.⁣ ⁣ Offer ends tonight. https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/july4

America in 1776 had about 2.5 million people.⁣ ⁣ What surprised us even more wasn't the population—it was how much living standards have changed since then.⁣ ⁣ That's the power of 250 years of economic growth.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/feel-your-feelings-jobs-trump-accounts⁣

America turns 250.⁣ ⁣ This week's Off the Clock with @svaneksmith looks beyond the headlines—from jobs and consumer sentiment to Trump Accounts—and asks what 250 years of progress can teach us about the future.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/feel-your-feelings-jobs-trump-accounts

90% of new jobs created since January 2025 have gone to women.⁣ ⁣ The data tell a very different story from the headlines.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/the-latest-jobs-report-is-disappointingbut

"This is not a guy who's creating a better widget that enriches people's lives... the company wins when the customer wins."⁣ ⁣ That's the difference between creating value and extracting it.

60,000 jobs was below expectations—but context matters.⁣ ⁣ Earlier job gains were revised down, and the economy still appears to be creating enough jobs to keep unemployment broadly stable.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/the-latest-jobs-report-is-disappointingbut

Everyone wants to know one thing after the jobs report: "Was it good or bad?" The answer is: neither. The economy isn't booming. It isn't crashing. It's treading water—and understanding why requires looking beyond the headline. newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/the-latest...

Inflation is awake and your cash is having a nap. Bad portfolio strategy, mate.⁣ ⁣ If rates are up, money sitting in a zero-interest account is volunteering for a pay cut.⁣ ⁣ More on how to navigate inflation: https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/a-users-guide-to-living-with-inflation

Inflation can turn a raise into a pay cut — but because we see the bigger dollar number, we often miss what’s really happening. Economists call this money illusion.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/a-users-guide-to-living-with-inflation

Your paycheck went up. Did you get richer? Inflation doesn’t just raise prices—it distorts how we think about money. It can make a pay cut look like a raise and make it harder to see what's happening. Today we dive into how to live with inflation: newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/a-users-gu...

Markets work for consumers, but only when competition is protected.⁣ ⁣ Businesses naturally seek market power. That's why the answer isn't just being pro-business. It's being pro-market.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/convenience-has-a-price-but-they

Showing the full mandatory price upfront isn't anti-business. It's pro-market. Food delivery platforms should compete on a clear total price, not on who can best hide fees and add-ons.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/convenience-has-a-price-but-they

''AI is just like past technological revolutions" is only partly true.⁣ ⁣ The difference: previous revolutions mostly replaced brawn. This one is reaching for brains.⁣ ⁣ And it’s happening much faster.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/the-latest-economic-scorecard

The design tells the story. If comparing prices is harder than it should be, consumers make different choices. And sometimes that friction isn’t a bug in the system. It’s a feature of the system.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/convenience-has-a-price-but-they

There are plenty of food delivery apps competing for your business.⁣ ⁣ So why is delivery still so expensive?⁣ ⁣ The answer starts with a simple idea: competition only works when consumers can compare prices.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/convenience-has-a-price-but-they

The $28 burrito isn't just inflation. It's what happens when comparing prices becomes difficult. A new Diving In on food delivery, hidden fees, and the economics of search costs: newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/convenienc...

A strong job market doesn’t automatically mean people feel better off.⁣ ⁣ Jobs are growing. But when prices rise faster than wages, purchasing power falls.⁣ ⁣ That’s the part of the economy people feel every day.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/the-latest-economic-scorecard

Strong job growth. Persistent inflation. Stagnant real wages. The economy can look very different depending on which numbers you follow. Our latest conversation breaks down the signals behind the headlines — and what they mean for everyday life: newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/the-latest...

There's still time to give Dad something he'll actually use.⁣ ⁣ A Platypus gift subscription arrives instantly: go.platypuseconomics.com/fathersday

Markets create wealth. Competition makes them work.⁣ ⁣ Being pro-market isn't the same thing as being pro-business. The force that drives innovation and prosperity is the same force many businesses would rather avoid.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/sifting-through-the-wreckage-of-an

If you're only comparing gas prices to two weeks ago, you're asking the wrong question. The real question is: where would gas prices be if this hadn't happened?⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/sifting-through-the-wreckage-of-an

Trump could pursue tariffs through Congress.⁣ ⁣ Instead, the administration has sought authority to impose them directly.⁣ ⁣ The courts have blocked two versions of that strategy. Yet we're already on version three.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/better-lawyers-worse-economics-inside

Father's Day is almost here.⁣ ⁣ If Dad already has opinions, consider giving him a few more.⁣ ⁣ Only two days left to save.⁣ ⁣ go.platypuseconomics.com/fathersday

What does a war cost an economy even after the fighting stops?⁣ ⁣ I sat down with Slate’s Mary Harris to explore the economic fallout from the Iran conflict, from energy prices to lost growth and global uncertainty.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/sifting-through-the-wreckage-of-an

A tired human can be cranky. An LLM never misses lunch, never rolls its eyes, and never says, 'make it quick, mate.' That’s not consciousness. It’s consistency.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/a-distraction-from-the-most-important

Every family has one. The dad who turns every headline into a five-minute economics lesson.⁣ ⁣ This Father's Day, give him a source to cite.⁣ ⁣ Annual Platypus Economics gift subscriptions are 25% off: https://go.platypuseconomics.com/fathersday

We've spent a year and a half consumed by a trade war and now a real war. Meanwhile, the most important economic question keeps getting pushed aside: What does the AI revolution mean for our kids' futures? Our recent conversation with Grounded: newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/a-distract...

The courts blocked Trump's tariffs. Then they blocked the replacement.⁣ ⁣ Now we're on version three.⁣ ⁣ The lawyers got better. The economics didn't.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/better-lawyers-worse-economics-inside

If you thought the new chair would simply echo the White House, today cut the other way.⁣ ⁣ The Fed's most powerful tool isn't interest rates. It's credibility.

"He keeps changing his mind which means that we are not delivering on our end of the deal."⁣ ⁣ Tariffs are supposed to change other countries' behavior. Constantly changing the rules does the opposite.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/better-lawyers-worse-economics-inside

Trump's trade war has been struck down in court. Twice.⁣ ⁣ So now we're on version three.⁣ ⁣ Same trade war. Better lawyers. Worse economics.⁣ ⁣ This week's Diving In: https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/better-lawyers-worse-economics-inside

For the dad who always has a theory about the news… ⁣ ⁣ Give him a year of Platypus Economics (and maybe a few new talking points).⁣ ⁣ Father’s Day gift subscriptions are 25% off: https://go.platypuseconomics.com/fathersday

A presidential election cost Elon Musk roughly 0.026% of his wealth. For a household worth $200,000, that's about $50. The math is simple. The implications are profound. newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/elections-...

We tend to lump inflation and recession together as “bad news.”⁣ ⁣ But they’re different things: prices rising vs. the economy shrinking.⁣ ⁣ More here: https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/the-jobs-numbers-will-get-revised

BLS revisions aren't a scandal. They're a sign the system is working.⁣ ⁣ The first jobs report is published before all the data is in. As more information arrives, the estimates get updated.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/the-jobs-numbers-will-get-revised

Strong hiring. Stable unemployment. Inflation concerns. Recession fears. How can all of those be true at once? ⁣ ⁣ The latest Professor Is In breaks down the biggest myths surrounding the monthly jobs report.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/the-jobs-numbers-will-get-revised

What would a trillionaire tell us about the economy? Wealth is becoming increasingly concentrated at the very top. ⁣ ⁣ But economists also have to ask: if someone creates enormous value more efficiently than the alternatives, what should we make of that?

This is the American compromise: a social insurance program marketed with the language of private ownership. Not crazy, but it does confuse nearly every public argument about what the system is.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/social-security-is-running-out

Social Security is not a giant piggy bank with your name on it. It's more like a very serious group dinner where today's workers pick up today's bill. That works fine until there are more retirees at the table.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/social-security-is-running-out

Who should get World Cup tickets: the biggest fans or the people willing to pay the most?⁣ ⁣ That's not just a sports question. It's an economics question.⁣ ⁣ https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/social-security-is-running-out

The work week is over. The economy isn't. This week on Off the Clock with @svaneksmith.bsky.social: inflation, World Cup ticket prices, and the biggest economic story that almost nobody is talking about — Social Security. newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/social-sec...

A promised 4–5 week war that's still dragging on three months later tells you something important: the forecast was wildly wrong. ⁣ ⁣ And bad forecasts have consequences. Businesses make plans around them. Allies make plans around them. Families do too.