General Economics

News                                                                                                                             
Bloomberg | Consumer Comfort in U.S. Declines for a Second Straight Week
The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index dropped to minus 34.4 in the week ended March 24, a six-week low, from minus 33.9 in the prior period.
Market Watch | 30-year mortgage rate rises to 3.57%
The average rate on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 3.57% in the week ending March 28, still near record a low, from 3.54% in the prior week, Freddie Mac said Thursday in its weekly report.
Bloomberg | Economy in U.S. Grew at Revised 0.4% Pace in Fourth Quarter
Gross domestic product rose at a 0.4 percent annual rate, up from a 0.1 percent prior estimate and following a 3.1 percent pace in the third quarter.

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
WSJ | Laffer and Moore: The Red-State Path to Prosperity
Blue states with high taxes are struggling to compete for businesses and workers.
Washington Times | GHEI: Punishing savers, Cypriot edition
There is a deal in place that will bail out the government of Cyprus — but only after extracting more than $5 billion from bank depositors and plunging the economy into uncertainty.
Market Watch | Top 10 economic policy mistakes
A batch of blunders made by economic and financial authorities both here and abroad has created headwinds that are slowing the already-weak economy. Here are some of their more egregious errors:
Washington Post | ‘Trickle-down consumption’: How rising inequality can leave everyone worse off
As income inequality in the United States has soared and median wages have flatlined since 1980, economists have spent a lot of time debating why the top 1 percent have done so much better than everyone else. Is policy to blame? The decline of labor? Technology?
NBER | Are Government Spending Multipliers Greater During Periods of Slack? Evidence from 20th Century Historical Data
We find no evidence that multipliers are greater during periods of high unemployment in the U.S. In every case, the estimated multipliers are below unity. We do find some evidence of higher multipliers during periods of slack in Canada, with some multipliers above unity.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
WSJ: Real Time Economics | Most Cities Saw Improving Economic Conditions in 2012
Overall, Texans enjoyed the most gains in economic recovery, according to the data, although that’s partly because the oil and natural gas boom helped insulate the state from the worst of the slowdown.
Mercatus Center | Third Edition of Freedom in the 50 States
Today the Mercatus Center released the third edition of Freedom in the 50 States by Will Ruger and Jason Sorens. In this new edition, the authors score states on over 200 policy variables. Additionally, they have collected data from 2001 to measure how states’ freedom rankings have changed over the past decade.

Health Care

News                                                                                                                             
National Journal | The Secret Republican Plan to Repeal 'Obamacare'
But, in the next two years, Republicans are looking to bring the issue back in a big way. And they’ll start by trying to brand the law as one that costs too much and is not working as promised.

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Washington Times | CASSIDY: Three years of Obamacare hustling
With the passage of Obamacare’s third anniversary, I’ve been thinking about all the implications of the law and, frankly, I feel hustled. This is how every American should feel about Obamacare.

Monetary

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
WSJ | When a Euro Isn't a Euro
In this sense, capital controls in Cyprus could reinforce a broader confidence crisis if they convince depositors elsewhere in Europe that they too might someday face strictures on capital movement.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
WSJ: Real Time Economics | Flock of Doves Back Fed Bond Buying
Some Fed officials Wednesday downplayed worries that very easy Fed policy may be setting the stage for new financial imbalances that could imperil the recovery effort.

Taxes

Blogs                                                                                                                             
Cato Institute | Issa: IRS Is Violating ObamaCare by Illegally Taxing Employers in 33 States
To combat the sticker shock of Obamacare’s numerous requirements on health insurance premiums, the law creates expensive subsidies, which take the form of tax credits, for individuals who purchase a government-approved insurance plan.

Budget

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Forbes | Short-Term Congressional Budget Fixes Only Prevent Total Disaster
CRs are, in fact, a clumsy way to conduct the people’s business. They include all functions of government in one ugly package.
Washington Times | Fiscal crisis in Cyprus to benefit U.S. banks
Money that’s been trapped in Cyprus banks for the last two weeks could begin to cross the Atlantic and flood the American banking system starting Thursday when banks on the European island reopen, one banking expert predicts.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
WSJ: Real Time Economics | If Rates Rise, Larger Deficit Follows
If interest rates rise to the averages seen between 1991 and 2000 — that is, 4.9% on the 3-month Treasury bill and 6.7% on the 10-year Treasury note in 2023 — then the deficit would be $274 billion bigger in that year than it would otherwise be — and $1.44 trillion bigger over 10 years.

Employment

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
CNN: Money | Jobless claims rise slightly
The number of Americas filing for their first week of unemployment benefits rose last week, suggesting a stall in what has generally been a steadily if slowly improving job market.
Bloomberg | America Losing Technology Workers Denied in Visa Lottery
The employer-sponsored visa allows 65,000 professionals with a college degree or equivalent experience to work in the U.S. for three years with extensions to six years and beyond. It took 10 weeks to reach the quota last year and until Nov. 22 in 2011.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
Forbes | A Knock on the Golden Door
Whether the new applicants are seeking stoop-labor jobs in California's Central Valley or high-tech jobs in Silicon Valley, the laws of economics dictate the outcome: more immigration.