In Part I, I covered the “very good indeed” parts of President Donald Trump’s economic policies: the 2017 tax cut and the deregulation and slowing of new regulation. Here I turn to the “horrid:” his attacks on free trade, his hostility to immigration, and his failure to do anything to rein in federal spending. As in Part I, I wear two hats in judging him: (1) as a believer in economic freedom and (2) as an economist who cares about people’s economic wellbeing.

Jack Goldsmith, In Hoffa’s Shadow: A Stepfather, a Disappearance in Detroit, and My Search for the Truth (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Sept. 24, 2019). Jack Goldsmith is the Henry L. Shattuck Professor of Law, Harvard Law School.

California’s latest K–12 test scores were released earlier this month. Despite spending 26 percent more per pupil after inflation since 2011, test scores remain low, and improvement is proceeding at a glacial pace. Just 40 percent of California schoolchildren are proficient at math. What should be done? Seattle’s idea is to teach their students that US math education is racist, is used to oppress people of color and the disadvantaged, and has been used to exploit natural resources.

Recently, there has been a push to lower the voting age from 18 to 16. Last March, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi (D-Cal), advocated the voting age to be lowered. "I myself have always been for lowering the voting age to 16,” Pelosi said. “I think it's really important to capture kids when they're in high school, when they're interested in all of this, when they're learning about government, to be able to vote.” Other supporters include Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass).