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
Romney’s “60 Minutes” Fix For Social Security and Medicare
President Obama’s and Governor Romney’s appearances on “60 Minutes” Sunday revealed an interesting contrast. The President punted on a serious question about the nation’s concern… Read More
Obama Ducks Responsibility for Washington’s Spending Binge
In a recent “60 Minutes” interview, host Steve Kroft primed President Obama with this statement: “Most Americans think we’re spending too much money.” To which… Read More
Socialist Austerity in France
Francois Hollande won election to the French presidency by promising that more government spending would lead to quick economic growth. He sharply criticized the “austerity”—i.e.,… Read More
Busting Myths About Women in the Workplace
We’ve all heard the recycled arguments: Women face a “gender gap” in pay. Women face a “glass ceiling” keeping them from professional achievement. But one… Read More
Obama: Don’t Worry About $16 Trillion Debt
Last night on the CBS Late Show with David Letterman, President Obama suggested that “we don’t have to worry about [the debt] short term.” Excuse… Read More
Morning Bell: Government Dependency Rises As Number of Taxpayers Declines
The leak of a video featuring former Governor Mitt Romney (R-MA) has sparked debate about government dependency and the number of people in the United… Read More
Dependence on Government vs. the American Dream
Mother Jones has opened a broad debate about the role of government in our society. In a clandestine tape recorded in May and obtained by… Read More
Morning Bell: Shocking News! Trade with China Supports U.S. Jobs
The presidential debate yesterday moved to trade with China, with the usual rhetorical suspects—including “outsourcing” and the “trade deficit”—taking center stage. President Obama announced that… Read More
Chinese Auto Subsidies: Hypocrisy from the Obama Administration
The Obama Administration recently filed a case with the World Trade Organization, alleging that China provided at least $1 billion in subsidies to Chinese carmakers… Read More
Congressional Research Service Wrongly Implies Lower Tax Rates Don’t Strengthen Economy
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) set out to make a convincing case that lower income tax rates do not strengthen the economy. It failed, but… Read More
Two Huge Flaws in the Legend of the Clinton Economy
Two inescapable flaws mar the Clinton economic legend. One is conveniently papered over; the other conveniently forgotten. Even so, a flawed legend is better than… Read More
Morning Bell: $16,000,000,000,000
Yesterday, the U.S. national debt passed $16 trillion. On President Barack Obama’s watch, the debt has increased by 50 percent, as campaign promise after campaign… Read More
National Security Should Not Be an Excuse for Protectionism
The Alliance for American Manufacturing has been busy advocating the idea that the U.S government needs to do more to promote domestic manufacturing, as it… Read More
Morning Bell: Union Money in Elections
This election year, millions of Americans will donate to the political candidates and initiatives of their choice at the local, state, and federal levels. But… Read More
Time to Restore America’s Rule of Law
In his recent Wall Street Journal op-ed, Professor David Skeel of the University of Pennsylvania Law School pointed out: No one doubts that the coming… Read More
Are Spending Cuts as Harmful as Tax Increases?
Wednesday’s warning by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) that the fiscal cliff is likely to push the economy back into recession should bring things sharply… Read More
Conflict Minerals: Another of Dodd–Frank’s Hidden Costs
On Wednesday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted a little-known section (and there are many) of the Dodd–Frank financial regulation bill that will end… Read More
Morning Bell: Another Recession Is Imminent
Yesterday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reported that without a doubt, America will have a fresh recession next year unless Congress and the President prevent… Read More
CBO Warns: President Obama and Congress Risk Triggering Another Recession
About 1.6 million American jobs hang in the balance. That is the clear implication of analysis contained in the annual budget update by the Congressional… Read More
Obama Administration Already Tossed the Food Stamp Work Requirement
The Obama Administration sure is getting defensive about its recent action to waive all work requirements in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) cash… Read More
Budget Deficits vs. Exports
The federal government recently announced that it is expected to run a budget deficit of more than $1 trillion for the fourth straight year. One… Read More
