The article argues that the Federal Reserve's recent rate hike decision, while justifiable on inflation grounds, highlights a critical lack of an underlying, transparent policy framework. The core problem is that the Fed's decisions appear discretionary, leading to market uncertainty because the committee's judgment, rather than clear data, dictates policy shifts. The author proposes that the Fed adopt a formal monetary policy rule—an algebraic formula linking the target rate to indicators like inflation and unemployment—to replace subjective guidance. Implementing such a rule would provide market predictability, enhance transparency, and shield the Fed from political attacks by making deviations from the standard easily quantifiable.
China Is Planning Decades Ahead on Clean Energy. The U.S. Has Other Priorities.
English Summary
China's newly approved Five-Year Plan extends its dominance in clean energy technologies—solar, wind, electric vehicles, hydrogen, and fusion—through systematic long-term strategic investment, while the Trump administration prioritizes fossil fuels and abandons international climate commitments. China's planning approach has proven highly effective, quadrupling domestic solar capacity and growing EV market share to over 50% in the past five years, while U.S. renewable investment has collapsed due to inconsistent policy reversals. Beyond energy production, China is investing in climate adaptation and disaster resilience infrastructure, while the U.S. has dismantled federal adaptation programs despite suffering $115 billion in climate damages in 2025. The strategic divergence positions China to capture a growing share of the projected doubling in global renewable energy markets over the coming years.
中文摘要
中國新批准的五年規劃透過系統性的長期戰略投資，鞏固並擴大了其在清潔能源技術（太陽能、風能、電動車、氫能和核融合）領域的主導地位；與此同時，川普政府則優先發展化石燃料，並放棄了國際氣候承諾。中國的規劃模式已證明極其有效，在過去五年中，其國內太陽能產能翻了兩番，電動車市場份額增長至超過 50%，而美國的再生能源投資則因政策反覆無常而陷入崩潰。除了能源生產，中國還在投資氣候適應與防災韌性基礎設施，而美國儘管在 2025 年遭受了高達 1150 億美元的氣候災害損失，卻拆除了聯邦級的適應計畫。這種戰略分歧使中國處於有利地位，得以在未來幾年預計翻倍的全球再生能源市場中奪取更多份額。
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