Weekend Special #1
Something extra for paid subscribers
As most readers probably know, I’ve introduced a paid tier for subscribers. I don’t view this newsletter as a money-making operation, but money does make it easier to keep going. And I do feel that paid subscribers should get something extra. On the other hand, I don’t want to touch my almost-every-weekday posts, which will remain forever free.
So I’m trying one possibility. Often, though not always, there’s a post that wants to be written — a bee in my bonnet, if you like — for weekend publication. If it’s a message I think everyone needs to hear, I’ll still make it free. But if it’s less urgent, I’ll try making it available to paid subscribers only.
Today will be the first experiment. It’s a post about how “making America a manufacturing nation again,” which Trump has promised, is impossible. Even if his policies could eliminate the trade deficit, which they won’t, we’ll remain overwhelmingly a service economy. Mild number-crunching involved.
The post, my first effort at paid content , will go up shortly.
Thank you for being ultra considerate of those of us who simply cannot pay for everything we need to read in order to bring informed opinion to the issues of the day. I discovered you because a friend gifted me a NYT subscription years ago. Soon enough, you were one of the few reasons I continued to read it. As more and more of the considered, critical opinion moves to paid platforms, it gets harder for those of limited means to stay informed. So special thanks to you for knowing and acknowledging this and being dedicated to continuing to share your thinking with all of us. That is a great gift and it is deeply appreciated.
Everything you write is worth reading. I’ve been enjoying your posts so much that I began to feel guilty about not paying some amount. You seem to get bees in your bonnet with some regularity; feel free to share whatever the subject.