EconomyNews
Debt Drag: Krugman, Konczal Miss the Point
On their respective blogs, economists Mike Konczal and Paul Krugman criticize the widely cited finding that a nation’s debt above 90 percent of its gross… Read More
America’s Next Trade Chief Should Focus on Promoting Greater Trade Freedom
Senator Max Baucus (D–MT), chairman of Senate Finance Committee, urged strong and unrelenting political leadership in pursuing a comprehensive free trade pact between the U.S…. Read More
North Carolina: Prospering from Trade
North Carolina’s congressional delegation has been among the most protectionist in the country. This is odd, considering that record levels of trade are creating well-paid… Read More
EconomyNews
Stop Sending Foreign Aid to the U.S.
If the Obama Administration is looking for places to make sequestration cuts, it can start with the Economic Development Administration (EDA). In late August 1965,… Read More
2 Problems With House Spending Plan
The House version of the continuing resolution (CR) — necessary to fund the government through the end of the fiscal year on September 30 —… Read More
SKILLS Act Would Cut Duplication and Waste in Job Training Programs
The federal government spends billions each year on job training programs. However, these programs are ineffective and waste billions on duplicative administrative expenses. A 2011… Read More
Mexico Strikes a Blow Against Corruption
Mexico’s new president, Enrique Peña Nieto, has made clear that his re-election does not signal a return to the old days of corruption and cronyism… Read More
Latin America: If You Want to Lower Inflation, Avoid Price Controls!
The recently reelected president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, wants people to know he is determined to fight inflation through combating “speculation.” A noble goal, to… Read More
Morning Bell: Busting 5 Myths About the Minimum Wage
When someone says “minimum wage,” what comes to mind? Do you think of teenagers flipping burgers? Or a single parent trying to feed several kids?… Read More
EconomyNews
Minimum Wage Benefits Suburban Teenagers, Not Single Parents
President Obama argued in his State of the Union address that “no one who works full-time should have to live in poverty.” That is a… Read More
“Overpaid and Underworked” Federal Employees? It’s Not Just a “Perception”
The Washington Post has a sympathetic article today on federal workers who consider themselves unfair victims of the sequester. Unfortunately, the article does not consider… Read More
New Whoppers from U.S. Sugar Producers
According to a recent statement from the American Sugar Alliance: Over the past few weeks, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has released three key… Read More
Unused Federal Buildings: No Room for Sequestration Cuts?
About 77,000 unused or underused federal buildings cost taxpayers $1.67 billion to operate and maintain in 2010 alone (latest data available), according to a Congressional… Read More
Morning Bell: Obama’s Sequester Smokescreen
Suppose you desperately needed to lose weight but had a Big Mac with fries and a Coke staring you in the face. You could take… Read More
India Stays on Path to Economic Failure
Thursday was a really bad day for the Indian economy. Gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the October–December quarter came in at 4.5 percent, continuing… Read More
St. Louis Fed Report Finds Imports, Not Exports, the Lifeblood of U.S. Manufacturing
A new report published in the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review provides strong evidence that the Administration’s obsessive focus on boosting exports as… Read More
Financial Transactions Tax Is Back – Again
Two Members of Congress are reportedly trying again to impose an excise tax on certain financial transactions—i.e., the “Robin Hood tax.” A financial transactions tax… Read More
EconomyNews
Bernanke’s Defense of Fed Policies Neither Comforting nor Convincing
Do the risks from the Federal Reserve’s trillion-dollar annual stimulus program justify the rewards? That was the central question at Tuesday’s Senate Banking Committee hearing… Read More
Small Business Administration: No Room for Sequestration Cuts?
The White House warns that sequestration “would reduce loan guarantees to small businesses by up to $902 million”—loans that it claims are “investments that are… Read More
India Property Rights: Not a New Problem
For the past few weeks, India’s internal turmoil has been on display via news headlines on rape, widespread poverty, and continued civil conflict. Foreign Affairs… Read More
EconomyNews
America’s Double Jeopardy: Surging Debt and Waning Economic Freedom
A new study on public debt presented at the recent University of Chicago Booth School of Business monetary policy forum in New York has highlighted… Read More
National Institutes of Health: No Room for Sequestration Cuts?
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) made it onto an Obama Administration fact sheet listing the “most damaging effects of a sequester on the middle… Read More
Morning Bell: Where Could We POSSIBLY Cut the Federal Budget?
If you had to cut your family’s budget, where would you cut? Would you immediately start starving your children and stop wearing shoes? Of course… Read More
Kosovo’s Independence Welcome, but Work Still to Be Done
Republic of Kosovo’s Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, in his February 17 speech commemorating the 5th anniversary of the country’s independence, expressed pride in his country’s… Read More
EconomyNews
TSA: No Room for Sequestration Cuts?
President Obama claims that unless Congress raises taxes to undo the imminent automatic budget cuts as sequestration, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) would be forced… Read More
Rule of Law Essential for Business
In a globally competitive world, competition is key. Fundamental for competition is the rule of law, according to Myron Brilliant, Senior Vice President for International… Read More
Morning Bell: Obama and the Seuss-quester
On Pennsylvania Avenue, right near the end, there lived a President who wanted to spend. He knew spending meant power, so hour by hour, he… Read More
Protectionist Jones Act Harms Puerto Ricans
An obsolete U.S. law known as the Jones Act makes people in Puerto Rico poorer, according to a new report from the Federal Reserve Bank… Read More
EconomyNews
Mr. President, Don’t Forget: Imports Create Jobs, Too
Trade is again on President Obama’s agenda thanks to some high-profile mentions in his State of the Union address last Tuesday. According to the President,… Read More
In Congress, a Welcome Desire for “Regular Order”
As Members of Congress left town last week for the Presidents’ Day break, a refreshing and commendable sentiment followed them: nostalgia for the “regular order”… Read More
