EconomyCommentary
Why Are So Many Young Adults Not Looking for Jobs?
Economists are scratching their heads trying to figure out a puzzle in this recovery: Why are young people not working? People retiring at age 60… Read More
EconomyNews
Internet Tax Ban Moves a Step Closer to Becoming Permanent
Tension between federal and state powers over a permanent ban on Internet access taxes took the spotlight this week on Capitol Hill. Unless Congress votes… Read More
EconomyCommentary
House Committee Passes Temporary FSOC Reforms
The U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee passed two good reform bills aimed at fixing the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC). Both pieces of… Read More
EconomyCommentary
Senate’s Minibus Falls Short on Spending Reforms
The Senate’s “minibus” spending bill lumps together three appropriations bills—Commerce/Justice/Science, Transportation/Housing and Urban Development, and Agriculture—into one funding bill. The proposed minibus bill (which has… Read More
EconomyCommentary
China Foreign Exchange Reserves: $4 Trillion and Counting
During the second quarter of this year, China’s foreign reserve holdings will top the $4 trillion mark. Representing approximately 43 percent of China’s GDP, these… Read More
EconomyCommentary
Setting the Record Straight on the 30-Year Mortgage
The Financial Services Roundtable (FSR), a leading lobbyist for the financial services industry, has released a statement titled “Heritage Dismissal of Importance of the 30… Read More
EconomyNews
Starbucks CEO: Minimum Wage Hike ‘Right Thing to Do’ Despite ‘Traumatic Effects’ on Small Business
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said he supports an increase to federal minimum wage even though it could have “traumatic effects” on small business owners and employees…. Read More
EconomyCommentary
You’re Paying for America’s Political Economy
Legendary computer scientist Alan Kay once said “The best way to create the future is to invent it.” It’s an ethos that has animated every… Read More
EconomyCommentary
Laughing All the Way to the Export-Import Bank
This fall, the charter for the Export-Import Bank is set to expire. The Kronies don’t want you to know who or what is truly behind… Read More
EconomyCommentary
A Federal Gas Tax Hike for…What, Exactly?
Senators Chris Murphy (D–CT) and Bob Corker (R–TN) have proposed hiking federal fuels taxes by 12 cents per gallon. Car and truck drivers and bus… Read More
EconomyCommentary
IMF Channels Obamanomics on U.S. Minimum Wage
This week the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) annual U.S. economy review urged an increase in the U.S. minimum wage rate, describing it as “low by… Read More
EconomyAnalysis
Make Export–Import Bank Accounting ‘Fair’ to Taxpayers
The Wall Street Journal in recent days has published a variety of opinions on congressional reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank—which doles out subsidies to foreign… Read More
EconomyCommentary
Economic Crisis Survival: Germany Shows That Preparation Is Key
What do countries that weathered the Great Recession better than others have in common? They got in better shape before the crisis struck. Germany is… Read More
EconomyNews
Cutting Federal Spending, One Portrait at a Time
Conservatives are putting the finishing touches on legislation to end government spending on portraits of cabinet secretaries and members of Congress—artwork that regularly costs taxpayers… Read More
EconomyNews
Mississippi Named Most Corrupt State in the Nation
Mississippi has finally got a top ranking among the states. Problem is, it’s an achievement the state can do without. A study by researchers Cheol Liu… Read More
EconomyCommentary
The Lousy Weather Isn’t the Reason for Our Disappointing Economy
Despite massive fiscal and monetary stimulus since the financial crisis, the economy continues to disappoint. The big news this past week was that the BEA… Read More
EconomyNews
California Can’t Convince Drivers to Trade in Clunkers for Cash
California is paying drivers to get their air-polluting cars off the road—and will throw in some cash to get a newer, more fuel-efficient model. But… Read More
EconomyCommentary
Small-Business Friendly States Experiencing Higher Growth
Eleven state governments received “D’s” or “F’s” in terms of small business friendliness, according to an annual survey of business owners conducted by Thumbtack.com. Rhode… Read More
EconomyCommentary
For Poorer Workers, the Recession Is Nowhere Near Over
The more you play a sport or instrument, the better you get. It’s the same story with work: with more experience, workers become more productive… Read More
EconomyNews
Cheeseheads Prompt Federal Agency to Back Off Regulatory Threat
MADISON, Wis.—Don’t tell cheeseheads how to make their cheese. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration learned this recently when word surfaced the agency might be… Read More
EconomyCommentary
9 Government Programs Your Tax Dollars Are Being Wasted On
If someone approached you on the street and asked for a dollar to promote mohair exports—or to perfect a weight-sensing skateboard—would you give it to… Read More
EconomyNews
Eric Cantor’s Loss Reverberates at Boeing, Biggest Beneficiary of Export-Import Bank Subsidies
Boeing, the biggest beneficiary of the U.S. Export-Import Bank, watched its stock drop by the biggest margin in months following House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s… Read More
EconomyNews
Congressman Says It’s ‘Frightening’ That Obama Thinks $3.5 Trillion in Spending Is ‘Austere’
As far as Rep. Tom Price is concerned, it’s not that “the age of austerity is over,” as President Obama proclaimed earlier this year. It’s… Read More
EconomyNews
Study: Texas, Utah and Idaho Rated Friendliest States by Small Business Owners
Small business owners in Texas, Utah, Idaho, Virginia and Louisiana rated their states as having the friendliest business environments, according to a study released this… Read More
Operation Choke Point: FDIC Cooperated with Justice Department
When reports of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Operation Choke Point surfaced in 2013, the Obama Administration insisted that the program was meant to stop… Read More
EconomyNews
Why One Walmart in North Dakota Is Paying $17.40 an Hour
A Walmart store in Williston, N.D., is offering to pay entry-level workers as much as $17.40 per hour—nearly 2½ times the federal minimum wage—in an… Read More
EconomyNews
Vermont Governor Signs Minimum Wage Hike at Bakery Unaffected by Law
MIDDLESEX, Vt.—Gov. Peter Shumlin yesterday signed a law requiring businesses in Vermont to pay workers a minimum wage of $10.50. The kicker? Shumlin, a Democrat, staged… Read More
Conservatives: Obama’s Approach to Student Loans Hurts Millennials
The job market and student loan debt had lawmakers waxing philosophical at today’s Conversations with Conservatives event on Capitol Hill. “When I graduated from undergrad,… Read More
EconomyCommentary
TPP: The Right Choice for Taiwan
The U.S. is the driver in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks and should take the lead in making Taiwan a part of it. Taiwan’s role… Read More
EconomyCommentary
Don’t Believe The Hype About Trade Deficits. Here’s The Real Story.
One of the most persistent and misguided myths in economics is that trade deficits weaken the U.S. economy. For example, after the government released data… Read More
