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Articles by Daniel Sutter
Midterm Rebates - The Heartland Institute
Economy Published October 20, 2026 President Trump recently proposed a $5,000 rebate for every American adult if the Republicans keep control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections. Unfortunately, the proposal legitimates an approach to governance guaranteed to doom conservatives. The offer could be seen as a bribe to voters, which may or may not constitute illegal bribery. Nonetheless, this is not a good look.
Oil Market Turbulence
The price of oil has had more ups and downs than a roller coaster since the start of the Iran conflict. The turbulence results from parties coming together to determine what to expect for the most important commodity. Markets combine supply and demand. On the supply side, oil companies are among the world’s largest and most sophisticated companies. The demand side includes businesses like airlines and chemical companies in addition to drivers. The buyers and sellers act in self-interest.
Dr. Daniel Sutter: Do we need AI for growth?
Several researchers have recently expressed fears of AI producing human extinction within perhaps ten years. While AI offers enormous potential to increase our standard of living, increasing economic freedom offers a safe alternative way to grow the economy. I have written before and still believe in AI’s enormous benefits if humans retain control. I lack the expertise to evaluate rogue AI’s potential existential threat. The AI label applies to two distinct innovations.
Dr. Daniel Sutter: Oil market turbulence
The price of oil has had more ups and downs than a roller coaster since the start of the Iran conflict. The turbulence results from parties coming together to determine what to expect for the most important commodity. Markets combine supply and demand. On the supply side, oil companies are among the world’s largest and most sophisticated companies. The demand side includes businesses like airlines and chemical companies in addition to drivers. The buyers and sellers act in self-interest.
Dr. Daniel Sutter: Flock cameras and surveillance
George Orwell’s 1984 offered a nightmarish vision of a surveillance state. The growing nationwide network of automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras evokes Big Brother but now faces significant pushback, including vandalism. Many people refer to these as Flock cameras after the largest provider. Flock was founded in 2017 by three Georgia Tech alums and boasts 120,000 cameras in 49 states, 2025 revenue of $300 million, and 1,500 employees.
Dr. Daniel Sutter: Socialism and government spending
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) seek enormous growth of government. The Cato Institute recently estimated a price tag of possibly $200 trillion for this agenda. Yet socialists proposing government spending still rely on the market economy for their efforts. Cato’s Adam Michel attempted pricing a DSA agenda including Medicare for All, free college, free childcare, free housing, reparations for slavery, and green energy.
Dr. Daniel Sutter: California’s slow-mo rail
California has been planning and building high-speed rail for thirty years. The delays and cost escalation illustrate what government production means in practice. Before examining details, consider the significance of this project for liberals, who overwhelmingly believe that burning fossil fuels imperils the planet.
Dr. Daniel Sutter: Will AI unleash a jobs apocalypse?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is automating jobs previously requiring human intelligence. Some experts predict that AI will soon do most computer jobs. Should we halt the deployment of AI to prevent a jobs apocalypse? Let’s first consider the impact of the elimination of professions on individuals, which economists often gloss over. Our market economy is based on voluntary exchange. We must trade for things we want because producers will not give them away.
Dr. Daniel Sutter: Are some ideas too radical?
The Democratic Socialists of America’s (DSA) new platform could fairly be called communist. America and various states had laws criminalizing communism which could potentially be weaponized against the DSA today. Are any ideas so pernicious to justify criminalization? I have first-hand knowledge of loyalty oaths. I was not a member of the communist party to be a professor at the University of Oklahoma. I have been criticizing communism since high school. Still, I found the loyalty oath troubling.
Dr. Daniel Sutter: Does character matter?
A sexual assault allegation finally ended Graham Platner’s scandal-plagued U.S. Senate campaign. The case highlights whether personal conduct or character is relevant for our elected officials. Character issues have impacted politicians of both parties. President Trump’s Access Hollywood remarks nearly derailed his 2016 campaign. Bill Clinton was impeached over his personal conduct in the Oval Office.
Dr. Daniel Sutter: Elon Musk’s trillion dollars
SpaceX’s initial public offering (IPO) made Elon Musk humanity’s first trillionaire. This threshold has escalated leftist rhetoric against the rich. Mr. Musk’s wealth illustrates important aspects of markets and the nature of seizing wealth. Forbes estimates billionaires’ wealth and puts Mr. Musk at $1.2 trillion, with more than half in SpaceX stock and options (about $750 billion; SpaceX includes the former Twitter and his AI business). Mr. Musk also owns stakes in Tesla, Boring, and Neuralink.
Dr. Daniel Sutter: The AI economy still depends on human nature
Will Artificial Intelligence (AI) liberate or enslave humanity? As an economist with zero technical expertise, I will not venture a guess. But some economic fundamentals offer some perspective on the AI economy. AI will significantly transform the labor market. The potential jobs apocalypse is not my topic today. Many cognitive jobs will surely be automated, as physical tasks have been for decades. Until AI, only humans trained in the field could answer law or accounting questions.
Dr. Daniel Sutter op-ed: Does the trade deficit matter?
We recently passed the first anniversary of President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs. Are trade deficits harmful and do they result from other nations’ unfair trade practices? The trade balance is the dollar value of U.S. exports minus imports, with a deficit when imports exceed imports. We tally trade balances with individual nations and for the U.S. overall. Economic statistics do not always accurately reflect the underlying economic decisions.
Dr. Daniel Sutter op-ed: Should the Federal Reserve be independent?
Confirmation hearings have begun for President Trump’s Federal Reserve chair nominee Kevin Warsh. This follows the President’s threats to fire current Chair Jerome Powell and removal of Board Member Lisa Cook. How important is Federal Reserve independence? Governments today control but did not create money. Money emerged spontaneously, as economist Carl Menger detailed, and provides an example of spontaneous order. Money is a product of human action but not human design.
Immigration As a Right?
I have been dismayed by libertarians arguing for immigration as a human right. The saying, “No human is illegal” has a warm feeling to it. But the rights claim conflicts with the property rights of others. Here’s my hypothetical. Suppose one of America’s large, privately-owned ranches became an independent country. As part of the United States, the owner clearly possesses the right to exclude others; persons entering without permission would be trespassing.
Daniel Sutter
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Dr. Daniel Sutter: Sports socialism?
Payments to players through the Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) deals and the transfer portal are roiling college sports. Some commentators claim that bills in Congress constitute socialism. Is socialism needed to save college football? Two main bills are pending in Congress. The SCORE Act, backed by some Republicans, would override state laws and give the NCAA an anti-trust exemption to impose rules like a salary cap.
Dr. Daniel Sutter: Oil market turmoil
The U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran have dramatically increased oil prices. Iran has “closed” the Strait of Hormuz through which 20 percent of the world’s oil flows. Yet insurance availability is reportedly halting shipping. There’s a lot of economics to unpack. Let’s start with gas prices. AAA reports a national average price of $3.59, up 65 cents from a month ago. Why have prices risen so much if the U.S. is an oil net exporter and gas at stations now was refined before the war?
Dr. Daniel Sutter: Working to stop production
The production of goods and services requires scarce inputs like labor and natural resources. Achieving prosperity in a world of scarcity requires careful use of inputs. What then should we think about people working to stop production? Energy writer Robert Bryce labels this, appropriately, the “anti-industry industry.” In 2021, 25 leading non-profit organizations (or NGOs) opposed to climate change and hydrocarbons had $4.5 billion in revenues.
Dr. Daniel Sutter: Good-paying jobs and economic policy
Good-paying jobs allowing people to support families should be the focus of economic policy. So argues Oren Cass of American Compass. In The Once and Future Worker, Mr. Cass discussed what jobs-centered policy might mean: “creating an economy in which workers of all kinds can sustain strong families and communities. And that requires a policy emphasis on meaningful work.” As an economist, I get nervous when people emphasize jobs. Jobs serve two roles in the economy.
Dr. Daniel Sutter: The economics of population decline
Declining population or depopulation has emerged after years of warnings about overpopulation. While biologists see benefits from depopulation, some economists fear reduced investment, slower economic growth, and stress to social assistance systems. Is depopulation a cause for alarm? The demographic “transition” refers to a decline in death rates leading to significant population growth and then a decline in birth rates.
Dr. Daniel Sutter: Government ownership of the means of production?
New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani is socialist true believer, one who still advocates for government ownership of the means of production. What are the economic consequences of government ownership? We must compare decision-making structures, since economics analyzes decisions. Ownership assigns decision rights; owners make decisions about the use of houses, land, or businesses. And owners get paid for what they own. Profit is a residual.
Dr. Daniel Sutter: The limits of health insurance
Recently, the nonprofit group Alabama Patients First has stirred controversy with commercials criticizing Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama. Such a controversy naturally prompts examination of the economics of health insurance. Insurance is a complex transaction. How much will be paid can never be precisely described when making a contract, especially given new drugs and treatments in the healthcare industry.
Daniel Sutter: On the Affordability of Life
The affordability crisis looms large in today’s policy discussion. Is life becoming less affordable? If so, what can government do about it? And could the poverty line really be $140,000 a year? I will apply economic statistics, which are aggregates. Aggregates do not reflect the economic conditions you face. The Consumer Price Index (CPI), compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), tracks over 8,000 prices. The prices of the things you buy could easily increase more than the CPI.
Dr. Daniel Sutter: When government outsources compassion, fraud moves in
The fraud cases involving Minnesota’s Somali immigrant community highlight nonprofit non-governmental organizations (NGOs) providing social services for government. Do private NGOs improve social services? Reporting by Ryan Thorpe and Chris Rufo at City Journal brought attention to the fraud. The investigations have already led to indictments or convictions.
Book Review: Street Smarts: Using Questions to Answer Christianity’s Toughest Challenges by Gregory Koukl
Recommended Citation Sutter, D. (2025). Book Review: Street Smarts: Using Questions to Answer Christianity’s Toughest Challenges by Gregory Koukl. Great Commission Research Journal, 17(2), 155-158. Retrieved from https://place.asburyseminary.edu/gcrj/vol17/iss2/10
Business Schools Are Embracing Left-Wing Activism
Business schools were once temples of market wisdom, teaching future executives how profits fuel prosperity and voluntary exchange lifts societies out of poverty. Yet our research suggests that these institutions today would rather pursue social change, preaching progressive doctrines with the zeal of converts. In business schools across the globe, this transformation is well underway. Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives have proliferated.
Dr. Daniel Sutter: The due process American immigration needs
The uneven application of due process threatens the Trump administration’s illegal immigration deportation efforts. Ensuring that due process – or the rule of law – applies to everyone helps make government serve the people. Thus, any undermining of the rule of law should concern us all. So it is with current immigration deportation efforts. But insisting on due process after ignoring the law only further diminishes Americans’ respect for the law.
Sutter: To rządy, a nie rynek, napędzają inwestowanie ESG
Źródło: aier.org Tłumaczenie: Jakub Juszczak Pierwotnie będąc dość niszowym tematem akademickim, inwestowanie oparte o zasady i raportowanie ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) pojawiło się na scenie politycznej przeistaczając się w istotną kwestię kampanii wyborczej. Prognozy wskazują, że aktywa funduszy ESG wzrosną z około 20 bilionów dolarów w 2022 roku do oszałamiającej kwoty 40 bilionów dolarów do 2030 roku.
Dr. Daniel Sutter: Can we contain entitlement spending before a fiscal crisis?
The national debt exceeds $36 trillion with a projected $1.9 trillion to be added in 2025. Critics contend that placing entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare off limits dooms Uncle Sam to bankruptcy. Can we contain entitlement spending? Let’s first be precise about entitlement programs. Despite the name, the U.S. recognizes no right to welfare, healthcare, or Social Security. Entitlement refers to the spending mechanism.
Cohen Milstein: Top Ranked ERISA Litigators - 2025
Chambers USA ranked Cohen Milstein Band 1 in ERISA Litigation: Plaintiff – Nationwide for 2025.
Dr. Daniel Sutter: DOGE and the culture of federal spending
Elon Musk has stepped away from DOGE to run his companies full time. Numerous commentators suggest that DOGE has failed. I see DOGE as a crucial step in disrupting Washington’s culture of spending. DOGE could never cut spending by $2 trillion by itself. Discretionary Federal spending, the portion approved by Congress annually, was only $1.8 trillion in 2024, with the remaining $5 trillion being entitlement programs and interest on the debt. Only Congress can cut spending significantly.
Dr. Daniel Sutter: International trade and Liberation Day
President Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs have brought the issue of global trade to the fore. International trade benefits most Americans, not just an economic elite, but free trade economists have neglected some impacts of other nations’ trade barriers. Economists seek to understand complex interactions based on individuals’ goals and actions. This approach instructs that individuals and businesses engage in trade, not nations. This helps us see how Americans benefit.
Gas Co. Retirees Urge 11th Circ. To Revive Pension Suit
Retirees of gas and electric utility Southern Company Services Inc. urged the Eleventh Circuit to revive their proposed class action alleging that their employer’s outdated mortality tables lowered their pension payouts, arguing that a lower court wrongly tossed the dispute.
Luxottica Drops Appeal on ERISA Suit’s Arbitrability
Luxottica shuttered its appeal of a New York federal judge’s order that the company could not compel arbitration of a worker’s representative claims that it violated federal benefits law by using outdated mortality data to calculate pensions benefits.
Dr. Daniel Sutter: Can we drain the swamp?
President Donald Trump promised to drain the swamp in 2016. But despite numerous first term policy successes, the “Deep State” proved resilient, and reducing unelected bureaucrats’ control today will prove challenging. Potential swamp draining actions can be arrayed on levels, from narrow policy changes to the cultural forces behind bureaucratic tyranny. We can start with policy changes possible through executive order, many of which have already been issued.
BDO Gets Accused of Inflating Revenue Ahead of the ESOP Again, This Time in a Class Action Lawsuit
We knew it was only a matter of time before someone filed a class action lawsuit against BDO USA for all that ESOP stuff. Pretty much ever since the secret partner meeting happened back in 2023 we’ve heard from countless current and former partners saying “Gee I wish someone would sue the shit out of BDO” (paraphrasing) for everything related to BDO’s deal with Apollo and the ESOP.
Dr. Daniel Sutter: Examining the roots of America’s anger with the healthcare system
The murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson and subsequent arrest of Luigi Mangione have provoked wide-ranging reactions. Sympathy for Mr. Thompson’s family and condemnation of a cold-blooded murder are normal, human responses. Elevating Mr. Mangione to folk hero status is disturbing and invites exploration of the anger toward American healthcare. The murder of Mr. Thompson for being a healthcare executive evidences the rot afflicting America’s elite universities.
Dr. Daniel Sutter: Will the DOGE save Uncle Sam from bankruptcy?
Billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Will the DOGE find the promised $2 trillion in wasteful spending to cut? Eliminating “wasteful” spending may prove harder than expected. Federal spending is seriously out of kilter. The fiscal year 2024 deficit was $1.8 trillion despite the nation at peace and not in a recession. Such deficits will continue without change and worsen during slumps or conflicts.
Dr. Daniel Sutter: Who’s afraid of democracy?
Each side in the recent presidential campaign accused the other of not only promoting ill-advised policies but threatening democracy. While perhaps just campaign hyperbole, let’s consider who might oppose democracy based on their views and values. Losing candidates to start. They may contend that voters failed to fully comprehend the issues at stake. But because people incur significant personal costs running for office, I do not mind if they deflect blame.
Dr. Daniel Sutter: Government subsidies and affordable housing
Vice President Harris’ campaign has proposed $25,000 in government downpayment assistance to help Americans afford homes. Many economists, however, have criticized this. Why might government cash not help families buy homes? Housing has certainly become less affordable. The National Association of Realtors’ affordability index hit an all-time low in 2022 and got worse in 2023. The index evaluates whether a median family income can afford the median priced home.
Citgo Will Increase Pensions $10M To End Mortality Table Suit
Citgo will increase the value of pensioners’ retirements by $10 million to settle a class action alleging it shorted early retirement payouts by basing the allowances on outdated mortality tables that used data from the 1970s, according to filings in Illinois federal court. Citgo Petroleum Corp. retirees entered a motion for preliminary approval Wednesday in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit.
Court Preliminarily Approves Citgo “Marriage Penalty” Class Action Settlement
Settlement provides $10 million in increased pension payments for Citgo retirees. Plaintiffs claimed Citgo used outdated mortality tables to underpay class members in violation of ERISA. CHICAGO – Today, a federal judge granted preliminary approval of a proposed class action settlement that provides $10 million in increased pension benefits to more than 1,700 participants and beneficiaries in two of Citgo Petroleum Corporation’s pension plans.
Dr. Daniel Sutter: A good start in preserving American values in Alabama
There were two notable accomplishments of the Alabama Legislature in 2024: the Creating Hope and Opportunity for Our Students’ Education (CHOOSE) Act, which established school choice, and SB129, eliminating Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs. Each measure took on an important interest group: the Alabama Education Association and the state’s universities. Much work remains to preserve traditional American values in Alabama, but school choice is a true game changer.
Hedge Fund Inks $7.9M Deal In ERISA 401(k) Investment Suit
A Connecticut-based hedge fund that went bankrupt and owner George A. Weiss have agreed to pay $7.9 million to end an ex-worker’s suit alleging the company plowed its employees’ retirement savings into two substandard proprietary funds, according to filings Friday in Connecticut federal court. The proposed class of participants in a 401(k) plan for employees of George Weiss Associates Inc.
Citgo Settles Retirees’ Suit Over Outdated Mortality Data
Citgo struck a deal to settle a class action alleging it shorted retirees in early retirement payouts by basing the allowances on outdated mortality tables that used data from the 1970s, according to a joint notice filed in Illinois federal court. Citgo Petroleum Corp.
Daniel Sutter: Is home ownership disappearing?
Home ownership, a core component of the American Dream, appears increasingly out of reach for many. Much of the concern involves affordability, driven partly by high mortgage interest rates. But corporations own an increasing number of homes which are available only for rent. Are Americans becoming captive renters? I have some statistics on corporate ownership later. Let’s first consider why this might be occurring. Profit seeking is economics’ default explanation.
Dan Sutter: The New College Football Playoff
The new twelve-team College Football Playoff (CFP) has colleges seeing dollar signs. But will the increased revenue prove sustainable, and will the best team now win? All top teams should land playoff spots, and if no team with a good chance of winning gets excluded, the best team should be determined on the field. However, an economic approach illustrates the limits of this thinking. Most sports fans realize that the best team does not always win. Both upsets and rematches demonstrate this.
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