The American people now have a censor–North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un–and they can thank President Obama’s failure to defend their rights to free speech and privacy. After hacking Sony’s computer network and subjecting its employees to identity theft and
The U.S. economy can handle higher interest rates, and the Federal Reserve’s policymaking committee has signaled such a move is likely by summer. The Fed has kept short term borrowing rates near zero since December 2008 to support recovery from
Federal Reserve policymakers meet Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss when to raise interest rates and how they will communicate those intentions without upsetting financial markets or the economic recovery. Unfortunately, the Fed is constrained by its own past missteps, and
Falling gas prices add to holiday cheer, but those are not an unvarnished good for the U.S. economy–thanks to bad economic policy. Oil selling at about $65 a barrel gives consumers and many businesses a lot of additional buying power,
The economy added 321,000 jobs in November–a dramatic jump from October. Overall the economy is creating many more jobs, but the outlook remains guarded. Unemployment stayed constant at 5.8 percent because the jobs count is based on the survey of
Black Friday weekend is just not what it used to be. Despite falling gas prices, stock prices posting records, and buoyant consumer confidence, Thanksgiving weekend sales–in stores and on-line–were down about 11 percent from last year. Five forces combined to
Senator Charles Schumer, in a recent speech, stated President Obama and Democratic majorities in Congress were elected in 2008 to get the economy working for middle class families. Consequently, assigning extraordinary priority to passing the Affordable Care Act was a
President Obama’s decision to ignore the law by granting de facto amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants brought to America as children and those who are parents of children with legal status was a terribly foolish act. It will only serve to
President Obama has a peculiar approach to public policy. Listen to what the radical left wants, or political expediency requires, then make up the facts, twist economics and rewrite the law to suit. Here are four examples. 1. Obamacare When
The mid-term elections made clear American voters want Washington to better address high unemployment and stagnant wages. Yet, on issues ranging from energy to immigration to trade, President Obama continues to put politics ahead of strengthening American families. Senator Mary
Getting elected is tough, but for the new Republican majority in Congress, working with President Obama could prove downright daunting. After the drubbing Democrats took in the mid-term elections, the president oddly pronounced if the GOP has some ideas to
The economy added 214, 000 jobs in October. The pace has picked up over the last year, but it is still far short of the 400,000 per month needed to bring unemployment down to acceptable levels. The official jobless rate is 5.8 percent,
Having won control of Congress, the GOP must now put forward a clear program to create jobs and govern reasonably, lest it give Democrats the upper hand for the 2016 presidential election. In recent months, economic growth has accelerated, but
With control of congress, Republicans could push to lower taxes and repeal the Affordable Care Act, but President Obama has the veto. Instead, a new GOP majority could launch an all-out assault on federal abuses of regulatory powers to defend
Voter discontent will give the GOP control of the Senate, but Americans quickly will become as disenamored with a new cast on Capitol Hill. Paychecks are stagnant and health care and many other things too expensive, but Americans won’t accept
The U.S. economy remains locked in mediocre growth and increasing inequality. To help break that cycle, federal and state governments should cut funding and student assistance at colleges and universities and redirect resources and students into vocational programs. The U.S.
If Republicans win the Senate, President Obama risks another bruising recession if he doesn’t embrace compromise and abandon ineffective populist prescriptions. Slower growth in Europe and emerging markets like China and Brazil threaten U.S. exports and demand for American-made products.
Europe faces yet another recession, and the prospect is shaking global financial markets. To eliminate the persistent threat of collapse, Europe must drop the euro, and Germany must abandon mercantilism. When the euro was adopted in 1999, domestic prices, the
The U.S. economy is underperforming, and the Federal Reserve’s low interest rate policies won’t reinvigorate it. To cope with the financial crisis, President Obama pulled out all the stops–record deficits, bank and automaker bailouts, and sweeping financial reform–but since the
Google is in a row with France about how much corporate taxes it pays. Like the Obama Administration’s outrage about businesses moving headquarters abroad, this dispute demonstrates corporate taxes, along with personal income taxes, are obsolete. Google markets ads in
Despite another seemingly good jobs report, President Obama’s approval rating is lower than a snake’s belly, and Republicans could retake the Senate in November. Missteps in the Ukraine, Iraq, and elsewhere weigh on voters’ minds, but the economy–especially the jobs
Friday, the Labor Department is expected to report the economy added about 215,000 jobs in September, about half of what is needed each month to bring unemployment down to pre-financial crisis levels. The official unemployment rate is 6.1 percent, but
President Obama recently proclaimed climate change, more than any issue, will define the contours of the 21st Century. Powerful men searching for legacy often evoke grand challenges and personal solutions, but climate change is only one of several forces that will
Parents don’t need an army of economists to tell them college is too expensive and too many students will default on their education loans. An economy that creates too few good paying jobs is part of the problem, but colleges
Scots will be worse off if they vote for independence. It’s not good economics and not much else is at stake. Unlike the now dormant, but never dead, separatist movement in Quebec, and rising tide for independence in Catalonia, the
