In brief

Obama Sends Budget Plan to the Hill

“President Barack Obama is sending Congress a new budget that seeks to achieve $4 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade through cuts in government spending and higher taxes on the wealthy. At the same time, he wants to boost spending in key areas such as transportation and education.” (Washington Post) Cuts in the [...]

13Feb2012 | Foundation for Economic Education | 2 comments | Continued

Catholic Officials Say No to Obama “Accommodation”

“President Obama’s effort to accommodate the Catholic Church by altering his administration’s rule on birth control coverage has not appeased the church, congressional Republicans or GOP candidates trying to take his job next year.” (USA Today) Can he square the circle? FEE Timely Classic “Inscrutable Freedom” by Hans F. Sennholz

13Feb2012 | Foundation for Economic Education | 0 comments | Continued

Mortgage-Relief Scheme Finalized

“As state and federal authorities announced the details of their $26 billion mortgage settlement with big banks on Thursday, millions of American homeowners were hoping that this time they would finally get relief.” (New York Times) In fact the program is a favor to banks that should have gone bankrupt. FEE Timely Classic “Wall Street [...]

10Feb2012 | Foundation for Economic Education | 1 comment | Continued

Trade Deficit Up

“The U.S. trade deficit widened in December after exports rose at half the pace of imports.” (USA Today) “Nothing, however, can be more absurd than this whole doctrine of the balance of trade.” –Adam Smith FEE Timely Classic “The Balance-of-Payments Deficit: Not to Worry” by David R. Henderson

10Feb2012 | Foundation for Economic Education | 0 comments | Continued

States Negotiate $26 Billion Deal for Homeowners

“While the $26 billion figure is the one being cited in the negotiations, federal officials said they hope the eventual value for homeowners reaches up to $39 billion. However, mortgages owned by the government’s housing finance agencies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, will not be covered under the deal, excluding about half the nation’s mortgages.” [...]

9Feb2012 | Foundation for Economic Education | 0 comments | Continued

Surplus Surprises Michigan, but Is It Safe to Spend Again?

“Now, however, as a majority of states have begun collecting tax revenues that are on par with or even above expectations, they face some measure of Michigan’s situation — trying to sort out whether the worst is really over, whether it is safe to start spending again, or whether a rainy day fund may be [...]

9Feb2012 | Foundation for Economic Education | 1 comment | Continued

Capitol Assets: Some Legislators Send Millions To Groups Connected To Their Relatives

“Members of Congress have more leeway than executive branch officials or individuals in publicly held companies, who operate under stricter conflict-of-interest rules that generally prevent them from taking actions that might benefit businesses or institutions where their relatives work. The legislators set and enforce their own rules, giving themselves broad latitude to take steps that [...]

8Feb2012 | Foundation for Economic Education | 2 comments | Continued

Student Debt Pushing More People Toward Bankruptcy, Lawyers Say

“Nearly one-quarter of attorneys say the number of potential student loan clients has risen 50% to 100%, while 39% of attorneys report increases of 25% to 50%.” Student debt is rising for obvious reasons: steadily spiraling college costs, financial aid cutbacks at public universities and a stubbornly weak economy that’s making it difficult for graduates [...]

8Feb2012 | Foundation for Economic Education | 1 comment | Continued

Congressional Earmarks Sometimes Personally Lucrative for Members

“Thirty-three members of Congress have directed more than $300 million in earmarks and other spending provisions to dozens of public projects that are next to or within about two miles of the lawmakers’ own property, according to a Washington Post investigation.” (Washington Post) Some are more equal than others. FEE Timely Classic “An Aristocracy of [...]

7Feb2012 | Foundation for Economic Education | 1 comment | Continued

Government’s Health Care Tab to Double in Decade

“Government spending for Medicare, Medicaid and other healthcare programs will more than double over the next decade to $1.8 trillion, or 7.3 percent of the country’s total economic output, congressional researchers said on Tuesday.” (Reuters) If demand is subsidized by the taxpayers, this is what happens. FEE Timely Classic “Wishful Thinking on Health Care” by [...]

7Feb2012 | Foundation for Economic Education | 2 comments | Continued

Unemployment Rate Drop Has Mixed Message

“The big drop in the unemployment rate in recent months to 8.3 percent from double-digit rates during the recession came at a fortunate time for President Obama, but economists say it as much because of young people dropping out of the labor market as it is the result of businesses adding jobs.” (Washington Times) A [...]

6Feb2012 | Foundation for Economic Education | 0 comments | Continued

Foreclosure Settlement Nears Completion

“With a deadline looming on Monday for state officials to sign onto a landmark multibillion-dollar settlement to address foreclosure abuses, the Obama administration is close to winning support from a crucial state that would significantly expand the breadth of the deal…. The settlement would require banks to provide billions of dollars in aid to homeowners [...]

6Feb2012 | Foundation for Economic Education | 1 comment | Continued

Unemployment Rate Drops to 8.3 Percent

“The United States economy gained momentum in January, adding 243,000 jobs, the second straight month of better-than-expected gains. The unemployment rate fell to 8.3 percent….” (New York Times) Imagine if government got out of the way? FEE Timely Classic “Do Machines Destroy Jobs?” by Dean Russell

3Feb2012 | Foundation for Economic Education | 1 comment | Continued

Bernanke Pledges No “Higher Inflation”

“Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke defended the central bank’s newly established price goal and rejected suggestions he was prepared to allow higher inflation to create jobs. “We are not seeking higher inflation,” Bernanke said yesterday….” (Bloomberg) We’ll see. FEE Timely Classic “What’s Up with Inflation?” by Warren C. Gibson

3Feb2012 | Sheldon Richman | 2 comments | Continued

Big Banks Escape Fraud Punishment

“Even as the Securities and Exchange Commission has stepped up its investigations of Wall Street in the last decade, the agency has repeatedly allowed the biggest firms to avoid punishments specifically meant to apply to fraud cases.” (New York Times) It’s called “regulatory capture.” FEE Timely Classic “Business–Government Collusion” by Eric-Charles Banfield

3Feb2012 | Foundation for Economic Education | 0 comments | Continued

Bernanke to Congress: Don’t Cut Deficit Too Fast

“Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will likely tell members of Congress on Thursday that the slowly improving economy may need more help from the Fed and that cutting the deficit too fast could backfire.” (Associated Press) Should anyone be listening to him? FEE Timely Classic “’F’ as in Fed” by Sheldon Richman

2Feb2012 | Foundation for Economic Education | 5 comments | Continued

Unemployment Applications Drop

“The number of people seeking unemployment aid fell last week, a sign that companies are cutting fewer jobs and likely stepping up hiring.” (Associated Press) Why is government determined to impede the recovery? FEE Timely Classic “More Government Action Needed for Job Recovery? It Just Ain’t So “ by Tyler Watts

2Feb2012 | Foundation for Economic Education | 1 comment | Continued
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