Morning Bell: Administration Ignores Law, Delays Exposing New Regulations
After three years of hyper-regulation, the Obama Administration has noticeably slowed its rulemaking in recent months. A variety of major rules have been parked in… Read More
Sugar Prices Not So Sweet This Halloween
It’s Halloween, and people have been stocking up on their candy supplies. What most Americans don’t know is that sugar in the United States is… Read More
What’s Scary: Federal Spending Per Household
On this Halloween, ghastly, ghoulish garb and haunted houses aren’t the only sources of spookiness in Washington. Americans across the country have cause for alarm,… Read More
U.S.–Panama Free Trade Agreement Coming into Force—Five Years Later
On October 31, nearly five years after being signed by both nations, a free trade agreement between the United States and Panama will finally be… Read More
U.S. Drops Out of Top 10 in Latest Legatum Prosperity Index
In an unprecedented fall, the U.S. dropped out of the top 10 for the first time in the 2012 Legatum Prosperity Index that was published… Read More
Is a Tax Cut Always a Good Thing?
According to Friday’s Washington Post, the Administration is considering a new, short-term tax cut. Should conservatives cheer? As a matter of principle, there are at… Read More
New Georgian PM: Promote Economic Freedom, Not the Statism You Learned in Russia
Former AC Milan star Kakha Kaladze is more than comfortable on the soccer pitch, where he played for 10 years as one of the club’s… Read More
Tales of the Red Tape #37: NLRB Wrongs Property Rights
One might reasonably assume that a legal corporation on American soil—in this case, Marriott—would have the right to decide when and where off-duty employees can… Read More
Arab Spring Protests Underscore Urgent Need for Economic Reforms
In Monday’s foreign policy debate, Governor Mitt Romney briefly mentioned the importance of economic reform in addressing some of the problems associated with the eruption… Read More
Debate on Trade: It Isn’t Just About How Many Cases You Bring to the WTO
Trade policy with China was again front and center in last night’s presidential debate, with President Obama defending his Administration’s trade policies. In particular, the… Read More
California Union Members Demand Transparency from Union Bosses
Members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) have launched a protest against their own union in California over waste and corruption. They rallied outside… Read More
D.C. Taxis Fight Uber with Proposed Licensing Requirements
In January, the Washington Taxicab Commission welcomed Uber, a smartphone-based car service, to the District with a sting operation. The charge: operating without a chauffer’s… Read More
Wal-Mart Delivers a Lesson to Antitrust Prosecutors
Wal-Mart made headlines last week for launching same-day delivery service in direct competition with Amazon.com. This new retail rivalry between the big boys—brick-and-mortar versus virtual—provides… Read More
EconomyNews
Will Stay-at-Home Moms Be Allowed Credit Cards Again?
Much has been discussed on the “war on women” this presidential debate season, and yet we haven’t heard much about those rules made in Washington… Read More
Wells Fargo Mortgage Suit: Using Existing Powers to Confront Housing Problems
Last week, Wells Fargo, the nation’s largest mortgage lender, was sued by the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan for allegedly defrauding the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)…. Read More
Sequestration: Spending Cuts Needed, but Get the Policies Right
Tonight’s presidential debate is a good opportunity for President Obama and Governor Mitt Romney to tell the nation what they would do about our spending… Read More
Tales of the Red Tape #36: USDA Lays a Regulatory Egg
The Obama Administration fervently opposes state laws requiring voter identification to cast a ballot. But it is insisting that the nation’s farmers prove the identity… Read More
Vice Presidential Debate: True/False Quiz on Taxes and Entitlements
Taxes and entitlements were two important domestic policy topics discussed during the debate between Vice President Joe Biden and Representative Paul Ryan. Among the many… Read More
What Caused Drop in Unemployment Insurance Claims?
The news that new Unemployment Insurance (UI) claims dropped sharply to 339,000 last week has raised eyebrows—and aroused suspicion the Department of Labor had massaged… Read More
Able-Bodied People Defrauding Social Security Disability Program
After shimmying up trees and doing away with storm debris, the obviously able-bodied tree trimmer asked his customer, “Could you make the check out to… Read More
Bloomberg and Obama Misrepresent Tax Hikes on Small Business
In the recent presidential debate, President Obama said that only 3 percent of small businesses would pay higher rates under his plan to increase the… Read More
September Jobs Report Shows Imports Create Jobs
The jobs report is out, and it reveals more than you may think. While President Obama seems to believe that exports alone will grow us… Read More
Morning Bell: Anemic Job Growth Continues
Job growth continues to sputter—this morning’s jobs report shows that 12.1 million Americans are still out of work. Going against other economic indicators, the unemployment… Read More
Social Security: Runs Permanent Deficits, Benefit Cuts Loom
Social Security paid out more to retirees and other beneficiaries than it collected in tax revenue in 2011. This is the second straight year the… Read More
Another Day, Another Default: Postal Service to Miss $5.6 Billion Payment to Treasury
In August, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) failed to pay $5.5 billion due to the Treasury Department to fund health benefits for its retirees. This… Read More
Washington Post Misses on Romney Tax Plan and Step-Up Basis
The debate about former Governor Mitt Romney’s (R-MA) tax plan has reached a fevered pitch. In fact, The Washington Post published two articles (here and… Read More
FY 2013 Appropriations Tracker Update: Continuing Resolution Spends Even More
Members of Congress left plenty of unfinished business as they hustled out of town last weekend, but they did manage to boost spending through another… Read More
Dropping the Ball on Unions
The NFL’s replacement referees have missed a number of calls in recent weeks. But they’d be correct if they decided to flag Washington Post writer… Read More
Morning Bell: Obama and Congress Are Choosing to Cause a Recession
President Obama recently said, “The most important lesson I’ve learned is you can’t change Washington from the inside.” That’s demoralizing to hear when a recession… Read More
Free Checking No More: Thanks, Dodd–Frank!
Free checking accounts, once considered common, are becoming increasingly rare as the enormous costs of new regulations hit banks’ bottom lines. According to the just… Read More
