The House mega-omni—the massive nine-bill appropriations package now moving toward a vote in the House—represents another disappointing failure to cut spending and prove Congress can instill some measure of fiscal discipline. Equally troubling: The procedure for considering the legislation allows everyone to vote for something he likes, while taxpayers pick up the tab. The main […]
Canada has become the first country to exit the Kyoto Protocol designed to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Canadian environment Minister Peter Kent explained that Kyoto, far from contributing to a reduction in greenhouse gas and tackling global warming, was actually functioning as an impediment, saying: “We believe that a new agreement with legally binding commitments […]
A study issued by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), a non-partisan think-tank, just confirmed that during the 2009-2010 recessions, every income bracket in California lost income faster than the rest of the United States. But even more disturbing, all but the top 25% of earners now make less than equivalent income classes in […]
It didn’t take long for President Obama’s delaying of the Keystone XL pipeline to start having disastrous economic consequences. Fox 16 reports from Little Rock, Ark., that 60 employees at a local steel pipe manufacturer are now out of work as a direct result of the President’s indecision: Layoffs and a brief company shutdown is […]
Given the economic stagnation in the West, the tendency has been to regard Asia as the supplier of growth engines. Unfortunately China has reported a slowdown and now India is joining suit as the global crisis is depressing demands for Indian exports. Indian manufacturing and export has contracted for the first time since 2009 and […]
Because the concept of opportunity cost is fundamental to all of economics, it is covered in the first chapter of every principles-of-economics textbook. Opportunity cost tells us what we give up when make decisions on consumption and production. There are no free lunches. In spite of the universal agreement on the importance of opportunity cost, […]
In a recent speech in Kansas, President Obama launched a diatribe against “trickle-down” economic policies. Not only did President Obama mischaracterize conservative tax policy, but facts rebut his claim that these policies have been a failure. The President began by invoking his understanding of conservative economic philosophy: “If the winners do really well, then jobs […]
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Occupy Wall Street protesters want to shut down ports up and down the West Coast on Monday in a bid to gum up the engines of global commerce. But organizers who are partly billing this effort as a show of solidarity with longshoremen have not won the support of the powerful […]
While the main matter of business for the EU summit starting Thursday is to come up with another “ultimate” plan to convince investors that the EU has the economic crisis under control, the item of Serbia’s candidacy will also come up. The Serbs believe that they have played ball with the EU on a number of issues […]
As the debate swirls around regulations and jobs, it is refreshing to hear a businessman weigh in on the issue. This week, the CEO of Darden Restaurants, Clarence Otis, Jr., wrote that the excessive burden of new regulation makes it “increasingly difficult for businesses to see why and where creating new jobs makes sense.” Otis […]
