If you can’t legislate, let the EPA do it… ======== Here’s one good way to consider the vote in 2012: It’s about whether to re-elect President Lisa Jackson, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, which these days runs most the U.S. economy. The EPA heaved its weight against another industry this month, issuing a regulation to sharply increase fuel economy. Under this... Read more
Archive for the ‘Economics’ Category
What Housing Risk?
December 1 | Posted by mrossol | Debt, EconomicsBefore the 2007 housing bust, financial analysts who raised questions about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s shaky finances were dismissed as cranks. So it’s worrying to see a thoughtful critique of another taxpayer-backed monolith—the Federal Housing Administration—receive a similar brush-off. The flap centers around an American Enterprise Institute paper “Is FHA the Next Housing Bubble?” by Wharton real-estate finance professor Joseph... Read more
Italy’s Debt: A Hangover From Joining Euro
November 17 | Posted by mrossol | Debt, Economics Tags: EuropeBy MATTHEW DALTON European authorities are treating Italy’s debt problems as the product of a dysfunctional political culture. The chorus from Brussels and Frankfurt is that dispassionate technocrats, armed with help and advice from the euro zone, are needed to introduce essential reforms into a hidebound economic system. But a closer look at the numbers reveals Italy’s heavy debt burden isn’t a... Read more
Remedial Economics: OWS Learns Basic Econ 101
October 27 | Posted by mrossol | Economics, The LeftNothing like real life learning. Hope someone learns… ——– The Occupy Wall Street protests have drawn huge numbers of confused and directionless young people, but maybe that’s not all bad. Some of them at least seem to be getting a remedial course in economics. Nan Terrie learned an expensive lesson last week about the importance of property rights. “Stealing is our biggest problem... Read more
The Vatican’s Monetary Wisdom
October 27 | Posted by mrossol | EconomicsBy ROBERT A. SIRICO On Monday, the Vatican released an 18-page document titled “Toward Reforming the International Financial and Monetary Systems in the Context of a Global Public Authority.” Since then, it has been celebrated by advocates of bigger government the world over. What’s ignored is that the document—released to stimulate debate, not offer official doctrine—embraces a sound economic theory concerning the... Read more
