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CBO Deficit Forecast Breathes New Life into Deficit Debate
Did you notice how the U.S. economy was suddenly thrown into recession this year when tax increases and spending cuts took effect? If you didn’t, that’s no surprise because the economy actually...
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How Would Immigration Reform Affect Social Security Finances?
Comprehensive immigration reform legislation has moved through the Senate committee process and is about to be considered on the Senate floor. The legislation has potentially significant effects on how...
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Housing Recovery on Firm Footing of Economic Fundamentals
The latest data from the S& P Case-Shiller house price index suggest that U.S. housing prices are increasing at an accelerating rate. Sufficient time has elapsed to conclude that U.S. house prices...
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The Regulatory Future
[This is the fourth in a multi-part series on streamlining government services. See part 1 here. See part 2 here. See part 3 here.]To some extent, the regulatory rationality we addressed in the...
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A Guide to the 2013 Social Security Trustees Report
[This is the first of two articles summarizing the findings of the 2013 Social Security and Medicare trustees’ reports. See part 2 here.]The Social Security and Medicare trustees released our annual...
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Recent Volatility Shows Quantitative Easing More Trouble than it’s Worth
Over the past several weeks, financial markets have been extremely volatile. The yield on the 10 year U.S. Treasury increased by about 50 basis points (29%) to 2.15% and the S&P 500 has swung up...
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A Guide to the 2013 Medicare Trustees Report
[This is the second of two articles summarizing the findings of the 2013 Social Security and Medicare trustees’ reports. See part 1 here.]As one of the programs’ two public trustees it has become my...
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Four Tenets to Less Government Spending
We have been writing for the last two months about the simple proposition that government can in fact work much better, faster and cheaper. Despite varying opinions about the appropriate size of...
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Covering Pre-Existing Conditions in a Market-Driven Health System
Opponents of Obamacare have recently been in a vigorous debate over what, if anything, should be done to help people with pre-existing conditions when Obamacare is repealed. This debate was triggered...
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Making Government “Profits” Appear and Disappear: Student Loans vs. Fannie...
Official Congressional Budget Office estimates show that the federal student loan program will earn $184 billion for taxpayers in the next 11 years—about 13 cents for every dollar lent out. Those...
View ArticleHours Worked in U.S. Economy Shrank in July
Despite the headline decline in the unemployment rate from 7.6 percent to 7.4 percent, July’s unemployment numbers were bad news for the economy. This means that the Fed might reconsider tapering off...
View ArticleA Homeless, Minimum-Wage Worker With a Union PR Agent?
National protests at fast food chain establishments are occurring in New York City, Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Kansas City, and Flint, Mich.Restaurants that have seen strikes so far...
View ArticleHiking minimum wage threatens U.S. jobs
Are national minimum wage protests at fast-food chains a spontaneous reaction to the slow-growing economy and sluggish labor market?No, these protests are organized by a campaign called Fast Food...
View ArticleThe Catheter to Serfdom: Crony Capitalist Hospitals
In the current issue of National Review, I have a lengthy piece on a problem that has vexed conservative for decades: Why is it that government keeps growing, despite valiant efforts by conservatives...
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Riordan's federal pension bailout
Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, who has been a prescient critic of current state and local pension plans, published a piece earlier this week in the New York Times with former journalist Tim...
View ArticleWhy the Fed should taper
Some Federal Reserve presidents are talking taper.Based on speeches this week, their apparent consensus may give Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke the support he needs to begin dialing back on the...
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. . .How Big Is The Internet And Where Do I Invest?
“How Green Is The Internet?” was the title for a Google-sponsored Summit early this summer. Al Gore was the keynote, which, along with the title should tell you something.No longer at issue is where...
View ArticleROC United Diners Guide will keep teens out of the job market
Unsure of where to go for dinner tonight? Don't consult the ROC United DinersGuide, the latest attempt by the Restaurant Opportunities Center to pressure restaurants into raising the minimum wage of...
View ArticleUnlearning World Bank Lessons To Fix Local Poverty
Almost everyone knows that Hilton Head Island is home to some of the most beautiful shoreline and golf courses on the eastern seaboard. Few know that the island also boasts a remarkable anti-poverty...
View ArticleThe Real Reason Pols and Bureaucrats Oppose Airline Mergers
When the federal government moved last week to block the merger of American Airlines and US Airways on antitrust grounds, officials in several states joined the federal suit. Not surprisingly, states...
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