News
USA Today | Gas prices likely to rise after Isaac
"We're definitely going to see a bump," says Brian Milne of energy tracker Telvent DTN. "We're going to get into the $3.80s at minimum and it could go higher, depending on how quickly things are resolved."
Bloomberg | Consumer Confidence in U.S. Declines by Most Since October
Confidence among U.S. consumers fell in August by the most in 10 months as households grew more pessimistic about their employment prospects and the economic outlook.
CNN Money | Home prices signal recovery may be here
A sharp boost in home prices during the spring could signal a recovery in the long-suffering U.S. housing market, according to an industry report issued Tuesday.
Fox Business | Crop Insurance Losses From Drought Could Reach $20B
The drought that left farmland in the U.S. barren and ravaged crop production may add up to total crop insurance losses of more than $13 billion, disaster modeler AIR Worldwide said on Tuesday.
Econ Comments & Analysis
WSJ | The Return of Welfare as We Used to Know It
There are many ways to aid the poor. Ending work rules isn't one of them.
Cato Institute | The Impact of Charter Schools on Public and Private School Enrollments
The flow of private-school students into charters has important fiscal implications for districts and states. When charters draw students from private schools, demands for tax revenue increase.
Washington Times | FEULNER: Teachers unions’ pressure is failing
School choice is passing the test.
Blogs
Marginal Revolution | A look at U.S. income growth
“A provocative “exercise in subtraction” suggests that future growth in consumption per capita for the bottom 99 percent of the income distribution could fall below 0.5 percent per year for an extended period of decades.”
Heritage Foundation | Want Cheaper Gasoline? Waive Regulations
Even as the summer travel season is winding down, drivers have certainly noticed that gas prices are marching back up. Since the law of supply and demand hasn’t yet been repealed (or even suspended by executive order) the answer seems simple enough: increase the amount of gasoline available.
Cato @ Liberty | One of Many Ways the SEC Contributed to the Financial Crisis
I was recently reminded that in its infinite wisdom, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) actually sued banks as the housing bubble was building for putting aside too much money to coverage potential loan losses.
WSJ: Real Time Economics | GDP Per Capita Unlikely to Get Back to Pre-Recession Level Until 2013
What has happened to the economy over the past five years is grim enough. When you look at it in the context of a growing population, it is even grimmer.
