News
WSJ | Politics Drive BOJ Where It Doesn't Want to Go
With political pressure apparently overcoming its reluctance to be seen as financing the nation's budget deficit, the Bank of Japan has drastically increased its purchases of government bonds.
Bloomberg | Manufacturing in U.S. Unexpectedly Expands at a Faster Pace
Manufacturing unexpectedly expanded in April at the fastest pace in 10 months, driven by gains in orders and production that signal the U.S. remains a source of strength for the global economy.
WSJ | Freddie, Fannie Departures Escalate
Concerns are growing about departures at mortgage-finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, a situation that some executives argue is making it difficult to manage the companies and their $5 trillion mortgage business.
CNN Money | Reporting of fracking and drilling violations weak
For Pennsylvanians with natural gas wells on their land, chances are they won't know if a safety violation occurs on their property.
WSJ | Taiwan Sees Growth After Period of Contraction
Taiwan emerged from a half-year of economic contraction in the first quarter, as expected, but an uncertain outlook for its major trading partners—China, the U.S. and Europe—and a rising local currency prompted the government to trim its export and economic growth forecasts for the year.
FOX News | US construction spending barely increased in March
U.S. builders barely increased their spending on construction projects in March after two straight months of declines. A pickup in single-family home construction and commercial projects offset a steep drop in state and local government building.
Econ Comments & Analysis
NBER | Does Inequality Lead to a Financial Crisis?
The recent global crisis has sparked interest in the relationship between income inequality, credit booms, and financial crises. Rajan (2010) and Kumhof and Rancière (2011) propose that rising inequality led to a credit boom and eventually to a financial crisis in the US in the first decade of the 21st century as it did in the 1920s.
Washington Times | Government shutdown threat returns
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is worried House Republicans might try to save a little money with the budget they’re set to release next week.
Politico | Cutting food stamp funding hurts the poor and rural America
The Agriculture Department published new research this month that further cements the significant positive impact of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps, in combating poverty’s effects on low-income Americans.
Washington Times | Obama’s blame game
President Obama must not be familiar with the old saying, “He who excuses himself accuses himself.” With a pessimistic populace still dealing with high unemployment, low economic growth and rising fuel prices, he can’t campaign on his record. His only hope for re-election is to pin the blame on someone or something else.
WSJ | Education Is the Key to a Healthy Economy
In addressing our current fiscal and economic woes, too often we neglect a key ingredient of our nation's economic future—the human capital produced by our K-12 school system. An improved education system would lead to a dramatically different future for the U.S., because educational outcomes strongly affect economic growth and the distribution of income.
Washington Times | Have free car, will travel
Americans love their cars, and federal employ- ees are no different. Bureaucrats espe- cially love when those wheels are paid for and maintained at taxpayer expense. With gas prices sky-high, ordinary citizens have had to cut back. Uncle Sam ought to follow suit.
WSJ | Virginia Could Be an Energy Power—If Washington Would Let It
When President Obama endorsed an "all of the above" energy strategy in this year's State of the Union address, he gave the impression that he was finally adopting an aggressive policy. Unfortunately, the president's words are worlds apart from his actions—especially when it comes to developing our nation's abundant offshore oil and natural gas resources.
Politico | Trustees’ projections mask Social Security shortfall
The Social Security Trustees’ new report reveals serious deterioration in the program’s financial outlook. This decline could have been known much earlier — instead of being gradually revealed to us — if the trustees had used correct projection methods.
Blogs
National Review | More Evidence That ‘Pro-Business’ and ‘Pro-Market’ Don’t Go Together
The very “pro-business” and very not-pro-market letter, which you can find here, is disconcerting for many reasons, the least of which is that Republicans should understand that crony capitalism isn’t capitalism.
Daily Capitalist | The Big Lie—TARP Made Money
The Obama Administration and most liberals repeat over and over that TARP didn’t cost taxpayers a dime and that it made money. Yet it is a lie. SIGTARP (Special Investigator General of TARP) says in its latest report to Congress that so far we have lost $60 billion and another $118.5 billion is owed and unpaid.
Calculated Risk | Personal Income increased 0.4% in March, Spending 0.3%
Personal income increased $50.3 billion, or 0.4 percent ... in March, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased $29.6 billion, or 0.3 percent.
