About: Walter McLaughlin
Posts by Walter McLaughlin
Dodd-Frank Is a Big Problem for Small Business
Since the passage of Dodd-Frank in 2010, the percentage of loans to businesses of less than $1 million has plummeted. What's behind the...
Mortgage Delinquencies Begin an Upward March
FHA delinquency rates increased to 9.02 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016, up from 8.30 percent in the third quarter. Is a...
It’s the Economic Confidence Index, Stupid
Bill Clinton led an upstart charge to the White House by effectively tapping into voter worries about the economy. Proving that history repeats...
Savings: The Socialism Antidote
With the savings rate in the United States projected to fall to 3.13 percent by year end, it's no surprise that populist rhetoric...
Negative Interest Rates: Reaganomics in Full Reverse
Although supply-side economics produced two of the longest expansions in U.S. history, the current reliance on Keynesian economic principles — including the potential...
Recovering From the Post-Great Recession “Recovery”
Despite historically low interest rates, a massive increase in the money supply, and persistent deficit spending, the U.S. economy is growing at a...
Big Gov’t, Big Payroll: Federal Civilian Workforce Balloons Out of Control
The federal civilian workforce has ballooned since 2014 and is now at the highest level of Obama's presidency. Is there a correlation between...
Trump Versus Clinton: How Would Each Handle the Economy?
Once a new president is installed in the White House, how is he or she likely to handle the economy? ...
Brexit: Advantage, America
Although the historic Brexit vote to leave the EU initially roiled stock markets worldwide, it may well end up benefitting the United States...
U.S. “Peter Pan” Economy Is Unable to Remove Its Training Wheels
The economy is still being force-fed a diet of easy money and low interest rates nearly 10 years after the Federal Reserve began...
Regulatory Overreach Is Killing Small Businesses
Small businesses are the lifeblood of the economy and appear to enjoy bipartisan support in Congress. Yet the amount of rules and regulations...
Robots: $15 Minimum Wage and the Law of Unintended Consequences
With the battle over a proposed $15 federal minimum wage raging, job losses are sure to be forthcoming — from not just traditional...
Does Massive Treasuries Sell-off Point to Coming Global Recession?
With China leading the way by selling a record $187 billion of U.S. treasuries in 2015, a massive global liquidation continued during January...
Is Trump Right About Trade?
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has made trade a signature issue of his campaign. Are trade agreements such as NAFTA and TPP bad...
Millennials Move Socialist
Young Americans born between 1982 and 2002, known as Millennials, widely support Bernie Sanders, but this is not necessarily a permanent trend toward...