News
CNN Money | Gas prices spike 8% in February
February has been one heck of a month for American motorists, who have been hit with an 8% spike in the price of gas. And things are expected to get worse during the summer driving season, when gas prices could break their current record.
Washington Times | Consumers upbeat despite reports
The U.S. economy sent some mixed signals on growth Tuesday, with bad news on housing prices and durable goods orders, but consumer confidence jumping to its highest level in years and the Dow Jones index closing above 13,000 for the first time since May 2008.
WSJ | U.S. Growth Revised Up
The U.S. economy grew faster than initially thought as the recovery picked up steam in the during the final quarter of last year.
CNBC | What Can US Do to Halt Rising Gas Prices? Not Much
Rising gas prices are always a bad thing for an incumbent president, especially one heading into a tough re-election battle.
Econ Comments & Analysis
CATO | Don't Blame the Depression on the Gold Standard -- But Don't Expect It Back Either
Two of America’s Republican candidates — Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul — have dared to toy with the idea of bringing back the gold standard.
WSJ | Geithner and the 'Privilege' of Being American
Last week Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said that the "most fortunate Americans" should pay more in taxes for the "privilege of being an American."
Washington Times | Keystone XL rejection weakens America and strengthens her enemies
The United States is by far the world’s leading oil importer. Thus, it follows that when the price of oil goes up, our economy is severely taxed and, therefore, it goes down. Indeed, every oil price increase for the past four decades, including those in 1973, 1979, 1991, 2001 and 2008, has been followed shortly afterward by a sharp rise in American unemployment.
Forbes | The "On Your Own" Economy
“From cradle to grave.” So goes the motto of the entitlement state, whose creator Otto von Bismarck said: “Give the working-man the right to work as long as he is healthy, assure him care when he is sick, assure him maintenance when he is old.”
Washington Times | Natural gas export ban would be costly
Despite the private sector’s willingness to invest billions of dollars in our country to develop the physical infrastructure necessary to export this “made in the USA” product, some in Washington are seeking to derail this economic boost by encouraging denial of export permits by the Obama administration’s Department of Energy.
WSJ | Money-Market Funds Aren't What You Think
The Securities and Exchange Commission is reportedly finishing a proposal to increase regulation on money-market funds, the $2.7 trillion industry that provides corporations with an important short-term funding source and individuals and institutions with an alternative to traditional bank deposits.
Blogs
Heritage Foundation | Wind Subsidies vs. Oil Subsidies
In sharp contrast to wind turbines, the wind lobby is spinning at 100 percent capacity—in order to keep the industry in the taxpayers’ pockets. Their dizzying logic makes you wonder if they have been riding the blades instead of examining the facts.
Library of Economics | Peter Thiel on Regulation and Progress
Peter Thiel gave an interesting talk at the International Students for Liberty Conference earlier this month. In it, he claimed that few sectors other than the relatively unregulated IT sector have had substantial progress decade by decade.
The American | Everything you need to know about the power of economic freedom in 3 charts
The West was quite poor heading into the 1700s and then it got richer. A lot richer. Real fast. Its embrace of economic freedom and creative destruction, both legally and culturally—what economist Deirdre McCloskey calls the idea of bourgeois dignity and liberty—led to a rise in real income per head in 2010 prices from about $2-3 a day in 1800 worldwide to over $100 today.
Library of Economics | How Real Wage Increases Have Been Understated
Over the years, In discussing the alleged decline in real U.S. median wages, I've pointed out that there are two important ways in which the growth in real wages has been understated
