News
CNN Money | Child care more expensive than college in many states
Child care costs continue to soar, with prices so high in some parts of the country that they exceed tuition at state colleges.
Market Watch | U.S. service industries grow faster in October
The companies that employ the vast majority of Americans grew slightly faster in October despite the federal shutdown, though some said government policies continue to be a hindrance.
Bloomberg | Bernanke Giving Homebuyers Second Chance With Pledge: Mortgages
This was supposed to be the year that Herb Harrison found a newer, bigger home to replace his current house in Framingham, Massachusetts. Then, in May, mortgage rates began to rise and he put his hunt on hold.
CNN Money | $168 million payout to Johnson & Johnson whistleblowers
Monday's settlement with pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson means a record payout for whistleblowers.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Real Clear Markets | A Lack of Social Mobility May Foretell Rising Class Warfare
I am going to write about John Rawls, the great liberal philosopher. But bear with me: I am also going to consider how much tax people want to pay. Rawls first: in 1971, the quiet, unassuming Harvard professor published a dry treatise, A Theory of Justice. Such a book might hope for a few thousand sales. In this case, it sold in the hundreds of thousands. It was a philosophical blockbuster.
WSJ | Making the Most of the U.S. Energy Boom
In November 1973, members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries implemented an oil embargo against the United States that imperiled the nation's prosperity and international influence. Forty years later, de-linking America's economy and security from high and volatile global oil prices is even more essential to protecting our domestic and international interests. And the U.S. now has the means to achieve true energy security.
Forbes | An Economy-Suffocating American Battle: Our Present Vs. Future Selves
In the midst of the epic dysfunction known as the 16-day government shutdown, we lost sight of the fundamental issue whose inescapable logic cuts across politics and party lines: We are feeding the rapacious appetites of our current selves (we want what we want now) at the dire and escalating cost to our future selves (whom, we assume, will somehow have the patience and resources to bear the burden). If that sounds unworkable and unsustainable, it is.
Washington Times | The Obamanomics rollout
Nearly five years into the rollout of President Obama’s economy, America’s economic portal still isn’t functional. Factory orders have gone down. The housing market is glitchy. The employment numbers resemble either a spinning beach ball or an hourglass.
Politico | United States is open for business
Companies all over the world are choosing to invest in America. Don’t take our word for it. Just look at the latest headlines: Novelis, a subsidiary of an Indian company, is creating 100 manufacturing jobs with a $200 million expansion at its Oswego, N.Y., aluminum plant. German company Siemens is expanding its facility in Crittenden County, Ky., creating 50 new jobs.
Blogs
WSJ | Third Quarter Likely Dragged Down by Lackluster Business Spending
A pullback in capital investment this summer likely dragged down growth in the third quarter, signaling a potential risk to the U.S. economy in coming months.
AEI | Actually, America doesn’t have a trillion-dollar infrastructure crisis
If Democrats have one big economic idea, it’s this: build. Crank up the infrastructure spending. Last summer, for instance, President Obama floated a “grand bargain for middle-class jobs” to cut the US corporate tax rate and use billions of dollars in revenue generated by eliminating tax breaks to fund infrastructure projects. And in his State of the Union address, he called for $50 billion in new public works spending.
