Economics journalist, editor @MauldinEcon. Opinions mine. Also on Bsky (patrickww). Once a soldier.

Dripping Springs, Texas
Joined December 2007
When everything is designed to provoke and enrage you, staying calm is a revolutionary act.
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Some personal news...This week my life changed forever when I lost my wife, my soul mate and my best friend Grace. She was diagnosed with cancer in April. She fought for four months, enduring incredible pain with a smile. 1/
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When it became clear treatment was futile, Grace faced death the same way she approached life: with love for everyone around her. She kept spreading joy to her final days. At the hospice I heard dozens of beautiful stories from people whose lives she had touched. 2/
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One of Grace’s last wishes was to know I will all right without her. I promised her I would. It’s going to be hard. But I know I’ll make it… because she’ll always be in my heart. 3/3
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The idea that Trump acts under normal political motivations will lead you wrong every time. He is something entirely different.
1. The last round of tariffs was not only vastly unpopular but completely illegal, according to the US Supreme Court. A sane president would back off, vowing never to repeat the same mistake.
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Wannabe caesars have been picking fights with popes for centuries. They and their regimes are all gone. The Holy See is still there.
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This matter *can't* be fully resolved as long as Donald Trump is still president. A dropped investigation can always be restarted. The threat will remain real until someone else runs DOJ. Which means we won't know whether Powell's replacement is acting honestly or under duress.
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Patrick W. Watson retweeted
Like most statist initiatives, tariffs handicap small businesses much more than large corporations that have the resources (and direct access to the government) to game the system and buy exemptions.
New CAP analysis estimates that US small businesses are now paying ~$40k per MONTH in new tariff costs ($25k-$30k more than last year), PLUS thousands more just to comply with the complex and ever-changing tax system. Brutal.
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No idea why but I'll consider this an honor.
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Patrick W. Watson retweeted
AI won’t kill your job today... but it might ruin your chances of getting one. @PatrickW unpacks the paradox of AI-written cover letters and why they’re backfiring for jobseekers. mauldineconomics.com/connect… #AIJobs #ConnectingTheDots
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Trump's efforts to reindustrialize the economy has been a disaster. According to Southern Business & Development, project activity in 2025 has been the worst in its 31 years of covering manufacturing and plant expansion.
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Patrick W. Watson retweeted
I urge Heads of State and the leaders of nations to listen to the cry of the poorest. There can be no peace without justice. The poor remind us of this in many ways, through migration as well as through their cries, which are often stifled by the myth of well-being and progress, which does not take everyone into account.
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This trend has yet to reach the Texas Longhorns at DKR. Maybe because we have no empty sections in which shirtless fans can assemble.
"Everything is better shirtless. Faces get brighter, friends get closer, teams play better, it's science!" @PatMcAfeeShow and @bertkreischer take a look at how one dare created a movement across college football.
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If your movement needs more than one second of thought to choose whether it embraces an overt racist, maybe something is wrong with your movement.
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NYT framing of this story is terrible, completely ignoring that it is Trump's Republicans causing the increase. The headline and image seem more designed to deflect blame onto Obama.
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Patrick W. Watson retweeted
This is where we’re at
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The Reagan radio address on free trade which Ontario used in a TV commercial that so upset Trump is interesting for another reason: A president spoke clearly and coherently about public affairs and didn't make it all about himself. I suspect that's what really annoyed Trump.
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