Shock Therapy for the Housing Market
The Obama administration, writes the New York Times, has done just about everything in its power to prop up the sagging housing market,...
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Unemployment Rate Rises to 9.6 Percent
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the unemployment rate in the United States increased to 9.6 percent during the month...
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For Mortgage Help, Market Outperforms Government
“Surprise! Banks help more homeowners than Obama” is the headline of an August 30 CNN Money report. ...
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USA Today Restructures to Emphasize Web and Mobile Markets
In a major restructuring of its operations, USA Today, published by Gannet Co., Inc., has announced that it will lay off 130 employees...
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Egg Recalls Bring Statists Out of Their Shells
Government is the only institution whose power and budget grow when it fails. A crisis, real or perceived, is considered an “opportunity” for...
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Conjuring Magic To Cover States’ Debts: Fiscal Reality Sets In
The first warning about the possible bankruptcy of the town of Vallejo, California, was reported by the Associated Press on February 28, 2008,...
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Finance Power Play
On Wednesday, July 21, President Obama triumphantly signed the latest plank in his bid to outdo Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Depression-era radical expansion of...
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And the Next Bailout Goes to … Government Employees
On August 10 President Barack Obama signed into law a $26 billion spending bill that, proponents claim, will save the jobs of 300,000...
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After Losses, Freddie Mac Wants Another $1.8 Billion
On the heels of dismal second quarter results, mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac is asking for more taxpayer money to continue operations. ...
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Temporary Unemployment Benefits — Permanent Welfare?
The White House on July 21 extolled the extension of unemployment insurance by the Senate, claiming it was “not only the decent thing...
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Maine Eyes Social Security for Pension Bailout
Instead of asking for a federal bailout, Maine is considering shifting part of its underfunded pension plan liabilities to Social Security. Without the...
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Financial Reform Bill: Bureaucratic Absolutism
Czarist Russia is looking better and better. Once a byword for bureaucratic absolutism, the apparatchiks of pre-revolutionary St. Petersburg and their endless rule-making...
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The Government and Goldman Sachs
On Thursday, October 24, 1907, Wall Street was in turmoil. Crowds of spectators gathered to watch panicked bankers and their lackeys rushing about,...
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Facing Fiscal Meltdown, Municipalities Struggle With Pensions
Years of big spending by politicians at all levels have left the nation vulnerable to economic turmoil. While at the federal level this...
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The Millennial Generation, Jobs, and Reality
In a microcosm, Scott Nicholson, at age 24, represents his Millennial Generation well: He graduated from college two years ago and is still...
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