The Fed is Playing With Fire
Waiting for the economy to improve before turning off the printing presses is likely to take a very long time. The August numbers on the economy were disheartening for those waiting...
Economic Commentary
Ron Paul, QE3, and Unintended Consequences
One of the prime unintended consequences of the new unlimited QE3 announced by the Fed is that it is difficult to know when to reverse course without sending the economy into...
Preview of Census Data Reveals Muted Optimism for the Economy
A preview of the upcoming Census Bureau's upbeat analysis of the economy was met with little enthusiasm and contrasted sharply with reports from FedEx and elsewhere. ...
Federal Reserve Balance Sheet Set to Explode
When the Federal Reserve announced last week its plan to buy more treasury securities, only a few read the fine print. Many observers envisioned sugar plums dancing in their heads as...
When a Flat Tax Is Still a Progressive Tax
The U.S. tax code is a complex and burdensome maze of rates, exemptions, exclusions, credits, deductions, phase-out levels, and exceptions. People may not agree on anything else, but the nature of...
QE3: Quantitatively Easing America Further Into Inflation
Everybody knew it was coming. With the economy continuing to founder, it was only a matter of time before Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve decided to turn once again — like...
The Unintended Consequences of Low Interest Rates
Keynesian policies allegedly designed (and sold to the American people) to stimulate the economy are actually having the perverse effect of stimulating government spending and putting off the inevitable day of...
Gun Sales Spiking Thanks to Obama, “Preppers” — and Even “Zombies”
Increasing gun sales are driving revenues and profits at Smith & Wesson and Sturm, Ruger & Company, thanks to Obama, "preppers" — and even "zombies." ...
American Middle Class Being Compressed Out of Existence
For the last decade, household incomes have been declining steadily, and the American middle class is being squeezed. In fact, barring a very dramatic change in political sentiment, the American middle...
Arthur Laffer: Wall Street Journal Op-Ed Proves He Still Has Much to Learn
Supply Side economics school godfather Arthur Laffer penned an op-ed column for the Wall Street Journal August 6 that claims increases in government spending inhibited economic growth during the recession, as indicated by a...
Boston Fed President Calls for More “Stimulus”
After reviewing the weak jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) that was released last Friday, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Eric Rosengren, decided it...
Corporate Welfare Spending Hits $100 Billion in FY 2012
Federal subsidies distributed to the private sector in Fiscal Year 2012 cost American taxpayers nearly $100 billion, according to a startling new report by the libertarian Cato Institute. “That includes direct...
House Passes Bill to Curb Excessive Regulations
In an effort to curb an array of new regulations, House Republicans passed a bill Thursday that would shackle major federal rules until the national unemployment rate falls to six percent....
Lemonade Stands Find Government Hurts, Rather Than Helps, Business
President Obama recently commented that business success relied upon government to succeed. Operators of lemonade stands, however, have found govenrment an obstacle, not an aid, to success. ...
Jay Carney: Obama Stimulus Broke “the Back of the Recession”
Last week, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney made a bold assertion: President Obama’s 2009 economic stimulus law is “widely recognized to have broken the back of the recession.” The American...