I was just about to treat myself to a little R&R last Friday when — wouldn't you know it? — I received an email message from the Brookings Institution's Hutchins Center.

It wasn’t the severity of the Great Recession that caused the weak recovery, but government policies.

Both Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton want to lower the cost and, presumably, increase the amount of child care. A quick economics quiz: What is the policy change that would have the greatest such effect?

One of my favorite newspaper columnists, Steve Chapman of the Chicago Tribune, has written an article titled "Trump's Economic Fraud." It's partly about what the title says it's about but it's mainly about the question I ask in the title above: Can U.S. Presidents Much Affect the U.S. Economy?. His answer is no.