The Economic Curmudgeon

A sometimes irreverent, often contrarian, usually entertaining and - hopefully - educational discourse on economic and market topics, with occasional forays into politics, faith, music, college football, and whatever else strikes my fancy.

Sunday, August 31, 2025

The Federal Reserve vs. The Supreme Court

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No, I'm not proposing pitting these two institutions against each other. Though a tug-of-war between the Federal Open Market Committee (...
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Saturday, August 2, 2025

A New Take on The Greater Fool Theory

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No, I'm not actually going to delve into the greater fool theory per se, nor am I going to talk about meme stocks, or any other investme...
Tuesday, May 20, 2025

Tax Cuts for Billionaires, Millions Losing Their Health Care, and Other Fairy Tales

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No, billionaires aren't getting a tax cut. Hardly anybody is, actually. The proposed bill, which has yet to pass the full House and Sena...
Tuesday, April 29, 2025

Lesotho, the China Strategy, and the Lingering Risks

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A few weeks ago, I was scratching my head over the Trump administration’s tariff plan. The reason? Lesotho. I did some digging and found...
Sunday, April 27, 2025

The Trump 2.0 Tariff Plan: the Rollout and the End Game

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We’ve defined tariffs and trade deficits, examined why we run trade deficits as the issuer of the global reserve currency, and discussed why...
Saturday, April 26, 2025

The Lawn Guy, the Chicken Tax, and Rice: More Tariff Talk

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A good friend of mine, after reading the first two installments in this series of posts, asked me exactly the right question: “Assume you’...
Thursday, April 24, 2025

King Dollar, Triffin, and the Exorbitant Privilege

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This post is going to focus on reserve currencies and why countries run trade deficits; the benefits that accrue to the issuer of the global...
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About Me

Brian Hague
I am a Senior Risk Consultant, helping financial institutions meet their risk management and strategic needs. Previously, I was President/CEO of an institutional securities broker/dealer and investment advisor, where I worked for 21 years. I was also Chief Economist for the firm’s former parent, a $30B financial institution. Prior to that I worked for an $11B S&L, where I traded interest-rate futures and assessed portfolio risk. I was also an S&L examiner during the thrift crisis. I have a BA in Psychology and an MBA from Pittsburg (KS) State University, and hold the CFA charter. I’ve made numerous regional and national presentations and written many articles and papers on economics and investments, and I’ve authored two books on investments for financial institutions. I am fortunate to be married to the most beautiful woman in the world. I am the proud father of a wonderful daughter and son-in-law, grandpa to an adorable grandson and granddaughter, and dog dad to two miniature schnauzers.
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