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Tesla Motors in Christie’s Crosshairs
Because of a new regulation issued on March 11 by the Christie administration, Tesla Motors will no longer sell its electric vehicles in New Jersey, effective April 1. The rationale for this regulation...
View ArticleRecent Monetary Policy and the Fiscal Theory of the Price Level
The policy actions taken by the Federal Reserve over the past six years have left the United States in an unusual condition that has led some prominent economists to suggest that the messages provided...
View ArticleReforming the Rules That Govern the Fed
AbstractThe Fed has achieved both of its central objectives – price stability and financial stability – in only about a quarter of its years of operation. What reforms would be likely to improve that...
View ArticleAchieving Normalcy in Monetary Policy
Economic performance continues to improve and in most regards has moved close to normal, but the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy remains far from normal. As the Fed tapers its asset purchases, it...
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Shifting Perspectives on the Dual Mandate
Historical EvolutionVia its 1977 Amendment to the Federal Reserve Act, the United States Congress instructs our nation’s central bank to conduct monetary policy “so as to promote effectively the goals...
View ArticleHas the Federal Reserve Learned to be an Effective Lender of Last Resort in...
OriginsThe Federal Reserve was established a century ago in large part to serve as a lender of last resort to allay the financial instability of the National banking era and especially to avoid panics...
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The Illusion of Fiscal Responsibility
The rhetoric used to promote President Obama’s fiscal year 2015 budget has many believing his proposal is fiscally responsible. His official message to Congress regarding the budget said, “We have cut...
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Inequality as a Barrier to Growth? Invented Out of Thin Air
The idea that inequality limits a country's economic growth is on the verge of becoming conventional wisdom. But, despite the latest International Monetary Fund report, no one has proved the negative...
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Democrats don't Practice what They Preach on Minimum Wage
Once again, congressional leaders are telling Americans to do as they say, not as they do.The Fair Minimum Wage Act would raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour over two years and then index the rate...
View ArticleThe Relevance of Federal Reserve Surplus Capital for Current Policy
INTRODUCTIONSurplus capital is employed in commercial enterprises as a reserve for contingencies such as absorbing losses or meeting expenses and dividends when earnings are low. The Fed has employed...
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In Defense of Capitalism
Capitalism is not a utopian system, but there is no better system for providing growth and personal freedom. Capitalism’s known alternatives offer less freedom and lower growth, and the “better...
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Busting the Myth That Earnings Lag Productivity
One of the most common arguments in favor of “progressive” economic programs, including a higher minimum wage, higher taxes on capital and labor, broader labor market regulation, and expanded overtime...
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Will the Yellen Era be a Time of Economic Prosperity?
The FOMC statement and press conference on March 19 mark the beginning of the Yellen era at the Fed. Much of the current chatter has centered on the Fed’s communication, but a tension in its monetary...
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The Fed: Extraordinary Measures in Ordinary Times
Economic performance continues to improve and move toward normal, while the Fed’s monetary policy is far from normal. The economy is in its fifth year of expansion, the unemployment rate has fallen...
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FDA’s Double Standards Turn Deadly
The Food and Drug Administration routinely lets regulatory inefficiencies and outdated practices stand in the way of medical progress. Unfortunately, as recent events show, people often pay for this...
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How the Fed is Hurting Seniors
Seniors, wake up and call Janet Yellen. With an increase in interest rates next year, as Chair Yellen implied in her press conference on Wednesday, she can restore your savings accounts to relevance....
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How to Expand Opportunity
The chart below from my book, Why Capitalism?, shows that income inequality declined in all countries during the early- and mid-20th century. Until 1930, the federal government in the United States ran...
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The Next Fiscal Stimulus
The following come from remarks delivered by Martin Feldstein before theMarch 2014 Shadow Open Market Committee conference.I want to look ahead, just for a couple of minutes, about future cyclical...
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Another Blow for Obamacare on Its Fourth Anniversary?
On Tuesday the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear Halbig v. Sebelius, a case that could upend the Affordable Care Act. Jacqueline Halbig and others are taking on Secretary Sebelius...
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Raise Your State's Minimum Wage? Why Be Like California?
Visit a high school, any high school in America, and ask students about their summer plans. Few of them will be looking for a job. With the teen unemployment rate over 20 percent, even fewer of them...
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