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Both The New York Times and Wall Street Journal mention the phrase "industrial policy" today but neither of them attempted to come to terms with what it really means.

This gentleman in the Kansas City area, Thomas Strouod, has just started reading my book and immediately agreed with my analysis that economists don't understand what is happening in the economy. I particularly like his final line--let's declare that all unemployed workers are economists. Then, surely, they would get paid. Here's what he said:

While we're on the subject, I had lunch with an old pay who is a European banker living in Pyongyang. He shall remain nameless, but he shared these insights from the world's most mysterious country:

--The Chinese have opened a department store in downtown Pyongyang that is stuffed with the latest consumer goods and luxury items. It is packed.

--The embargo against trade with the North is largely a joke. Even California raisins are getting through. The "S" in "Made in USA" has been carefully scissored out to make it read "Made in UA."

--Kim Yong-un speaks English.

As I've mentioned, most American policy-makers assume that if, and when, the North Korean regime collapses or suffers some sort of major mishap, it will be the South Koreans and their American allies who march in to save the day. I have argued that the Chinese will never let that happen because they do not want a reunified Korea on their border, particularly one with nuclear weapons and one with some sort of allegiance to the United States.

In a front page story yesterday, the Wall Street Journal seems to have responded to the arguments that Eamonn Fingleton and others have been making about Japan's surprising strengths. The headline was "End of Era for Japan's Exports." It went on to say: "One of the world's greatest export engines is running out of steam." The story was sparked by the fact that Japan has had its first annual trade deficit since 1980. Japan could run trade deficits for years to come, the article warns, particularly if the yen remains at the level of abouot 76 to the dollar, which is very high.