Newscom Paul Krugman and many others argue that compensation has not grown as fast as productivity. However, most of the apparent gap between the growth of pay and the growth of productivity is a statistical illusion. On the surface, the numbers appear to show pay and productivity diverging. Hourly wages have fallen slightly since […]
Newscom Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade negotiations are taking place this week in Malaysia. Here’s a modest suggestion to help new U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman bring the TPP to a successful conclusion: eliminate the position of Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Textiles, a job that places the welfare of one special interest group above that […]
Newscom The city of Detroit filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection yesterday with some $18 billion in debt, making it the largest municipal bankruptcy in the United States. There will inevitably be calls for the federal government to bail out Detroit. Washington should set a firm precedent now that it will not bail out reckless […]
By Chris Stirewalt FoxNews.com “We refused to throw in the towel and do nothing. We refused to let Detroit go bankrupt. We bet on American workers and American ingenuity, and three years later, that bet is paying off in a big way.” — President Obama in his weekly address, Oct. 13, 2012. Just before Detroit […]
With open enrollment in Obamacare’s exchanges set to start in fewer than three months, the law’s supporters are attempting to change the subject from Obamacare’s many delays and glitches. Instead, they’re mounting a campaign to sell the unpopular measure to the public. President Obama yesterday gave a speech on Obamacare, trying to justify the fact […]
Newscom A new study argues that the misnamed Marketplace Fairness Act (MFA), better known as the Internet sales tax, would be good for economic growth. But the argument is premised on something that isn’t in the bill. The study says that because the MFA would allow states to enforce their sales tax rules and regulations […]
Newscom Nearly one-third of Americans received government-funded food aid in 2012, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). As Heritage Foundation expert Robert Rector has explained, there are roughly a dozen federal food assistance programs operating today. The USDA reports that 59 percent of households that participated in one of […]
With market participants cheering a new all-time high in the Dow Jones, one man is predicting this “misplaced optimism” will lead to a “worse collapse than in 2008.” Peter Schiff, the eternal provocateur, suggests the Fed’s extraordinary support of bond and housing markets will lead to a market crash as interest rates rise, leaving banks, […]
Album / Raga / Prisma/Newscom At this time last year, the Australian government began collecting the world’s most expensive carbon tax. A year later, it seems unanimous among Australia’s two biggest parties that the tax has got to go. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd yesterday recommended replacing the tax with cap and trade. The change would […]
Starts (NHSPSTOT) of new U.S. homes unexpectedly fell in June to the lowest level in almost a year, indicating a pause in the industry’s progress. Work began on 836,000 houses at an annualized rate last month, the least since August 2012 and down 9.9 percent from a revised 928,000 pace in May, figures from the Commerce […]
