News
FOX News | US trade gap narrows to $40.6 billion as American oil sales boost exports to record level.
The U.S. trade deficit fell in October, helped by a jump in overseas oil sales that lifted American exports to an all-time high.
Bloomberg | Sales of New Homes in U.S. Surge by Most in Three Decades
Purchases of new U.S. homes surged in October by the most in three decades, signaling buyers are starting to take higher mortgage rates in stride.
CNN Money | New mortgage rules may mean less choice
New rules launching early next year designed to make mortgages safer may result in less choice for borrowers.
Bloomberg | Service Industries in U.S. Grow at Slower Pace Than Forecast
The Institute for Supply Management’s non-manufacturing index dropped to 53.9, the lowest in five months, from 55.4 in the prior month, the Tempe, Arizona-based group said today. A gauge above 50 shows expansion. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists was 55.
FOX Business | World Economy Slowly Gains Traction
Global growth was modest and a tepid expansion in the euro zone masked a growing disparity among its key members last month, data showed on Wednesday.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Washington Times | Even Democrats realize Obama won’t fix economy
As President Obama approaches the end of his fifth year in office, he’s nearing the time for his annual report card. It isn’t a pretty picture.
AEI | Republicans must step up and lead the fight for free trade
In the modern era, Republicans have espoused free trade — and free trade agreements (FTAs) — as extensions of their domestic goals to foster vigorous market competition and limit government intervention on behalf of favored protectionist interests.
CATO | Five Food-Stamp Myths
As budget negotiators lurch toward their December 13 deadline for funding the government, another conference committee is struggling to reach an agreement over the farm bill. Unsurprisingly, the dispute is not over the bill’s completely unjustifiable subsidies for agribusiness (both parties support those) but food stamps.
Blogs
Economist | Glorious revolutions and their discontents
I the last two decades, economists have become increasingly interested in how institutions contribute to economic growth. They are particularly enthused by the view that institutions guaranteeing a “credible commitment” to liberal limits on state action—and repayment of the national debt—caused the industrial revolution to get off the ground in eighteenth-century England.
WSJ | New Brookings Center to Study Clash Between Fiscal and Monetary Policy
The Brookings Institution is bringing a new player into Washington’s think tank arena, launching a center to study fiscal and monetary policy that will be led by The Wall Street Journal’s David Wessel.
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Health Care
News
Politico | Poll: 28% would rather pay fine
More than a quarter of uninsured Americans say they are more likely to pay the fine than sign up for Obamacare before the deadline, a new poll shows.
National Journal | Millennials Abandon Obama and Obamacare
Young Americans are turning against Barack Obama and Obamacare, according to a new survey of millennials, people between the ages of 18 and 29 who are vital to the fortunes of the president and his signature health care law.
Blogs
Heritage Foundation | Government Report Warns Obamacare Subsidies Are Ripe for Fraud
For months, Heritage scholars have warned that the Obama Administration created incentives for fraud by allowing Obamacare insurance subsidies to basically operate under an “honor system” instead of requiring the IRS to verify incomes of Americans eligible for subsidies.
Politico | Poll: 28% would rather pay fine
More than a quarter of uninsured Americans say they are more likely to pay the fine than sign up for Obamacare before the deadline, a new poll shows.
National Journal | Millennials Abandon Obama and Obamacare
Young Americans are turning against Barack Obama and Obamacare, according to a new survey of millennials, people between the ages of 18 and 29 who are vital to the fortunes of the president and his signature health care law.
Blogs
Heritage Foundation | Government Report Warns Obamacare Subsidies Are Ripe for Fraud
For months, Heritage scholars have warned that the Obama Administration created incentives for fraud by allowing Obamacare insurance subsidies to basically operate under an “honor system” instead of requiring the IRS to verify incomes of Americans eligible for subsidies.
Monetary
News
Bloomberg | Wall Street Sweats Out Volcker Rule Impact on Revenue
Wall Street banks, which already shut proprietary trading units that helped fuel record profits, are girding to learn next week how much revenue the Volcker rule may cut from the $44 billion they say comes from market-making.
Bloomberg | Wall Street Sweats Out Volcker Rule Impact on Revenue
Wall Street banks, which already shut proprietary trading units that helped fuel record profits, are girding to learn next week how much revenue the Volcker rule may cut from the $44 billion they say comes from market-making.
Taxes
News
National Journal | Can the Government Tax Each Mile You Drive?
The U.S. isn't raising enough revenue to fund its highway programs, and one Democrat has a plan to change that: a per-mile tax on drivers to charge them based on how much they use the roads.
Econ Comments & Analysis
WSJ | The Coming Global Wealth Tax
Between ObamaCare, Iran and last quarter's uptick in U.S. economic growth, taxpayers these days may be distracted from several dangers to come. But households from the United States to Europe and Japan may soon face fiscal shocks worse than any market crash.
Blogs
The Hill | Big picture on corporate tax reform
When the Apollo 17 astronauts captured a photograph of the Earth that first showed us what the South Pole actually looks like, it gave people tremendous perspective on this aspect of global geography. That’s what people need sometimes to truly appreciate the scope of something; a very big picture.
National Journal | Can the Government Tax Each Mile You Drive?
The U.S. isn't raising enough revenue to fund its highway programs, and one Democrat has a plan to change that: a per-mile tax on drivers to charge them based on how much they use the roads.
Econ Comments & Analysis
WSJ | The Coming Global Wealth Tax
Between ObamaCare, Iran and last quarter's uptick in U.S. economic growth, taxpayers these days may be distracted from several dangers to come. But households from the United States to Europe and Japan may soon face fiscal shocks worse than any market crash.
Blogs
The Hill | Big picture on corporate tax reform
When the Apollo 17 astronauts captured a photograph of the Earth that first showed us what the South Pole actually looks like, it gave people tremendous perspective on this aspect of global geography. That’s what people need sometimes to truly appreciate the scope of something; a very big picture.
Employment
News
CNN Money | Private sector hiring strongest in a year
Here's something to be merry about this holiday season: Private sector employers added 215,000 jobs in November.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Real Clear Markets | Minimum Wage Boosters Don't Know Basic Economics
On Thursday the Service Employees International Union is organizing strikes at 100 restaurants throughout America. Last Monday, in his New York Times column, Princeton professor Paul Krugman reiterated his plea to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, amounting to a 39 percent increase for minimum wage workers.
NBER | Skilled Immigration and the Employment Structures of U.S. Firms
We study the impact of skilled immigrants on the employment structures of U.S. firms using matched employer-employee data.
Blogs
WSJ | Being Without a Job Doesn’t Always Make You Unemployed
The Labor Department follows strict criteria in deciding who ends up in the jobless rate. The definition of unemployed is someone 16 years or older who does not have a job, has actively looked for work in the prior four weeks and is available for work.
CNN Money | Private sector hiring strongest in a year
Here's something to be merry about this holiday season: Private sector employers added 215,000 jobs in November.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Real Clear Markets | Minimum Wage Boosters Don't Know Basic Economics
On Thursday the Service Employees International Union is organizing strikes at 100 restaurants throughout America. Last Monday, in his New York Times column, Princeton professor Paul Krugman reiterated his plea to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, amounting to a 39 percent increase for minimum wage workers.
NBER | Skilled Immigration and the Employment Structures of U.S. Firms
We study the impact of skilled immigrants on the employment structures of U.S. firms using matched employer-employee data.
Blogs
WSJ | Being Without a Job Doesn’t Always Make You Unemployed
The Labor Department follows strict criteria in deciding who ends up in the jobless rate. The definition of unemployed is someone 16 years or older who does not have a job, has actively looked for work in the prior four weeks and is available for work.
Budget
News
Politico | Paul Ryan’s bipartisan budget moment?
They’ve been slabs of red meat to the Republican base but have served little practical purpose, as differences have only deepened with the Democratic Senate.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Real Clear Markets | Washington Is In Denial About the Budget Deficit
While the Conference Committee on the 2014 budget argues over scraps, the big picture of the nation's budget deficit remains unchanged. Recent reports from the Social Security Trustees, the Congressional Budget Office, and the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget show that, as CBO director Doug Elmendorf puts it, our deficit problem "has hardly been addressed."
Mercatus | Budget Conference 2013: Principles For A Credible Deal
Regrettably, the goal of this year’s budget negotiations appears to have shifted from improving the nation’s finances to eliminating the modest spending sequester to which both sides have already agreed. This would be a mistake with lasting repercussions.
Politico | Paul Ryan’s bipartisan budget moment?
They’ve been slabs of red meat to the Republican base but have served little practical purpose, as differences have only deepened with the Democratic Senate.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Real Clear Markets | Washington Is In Denial About the Budget Deficit
While the Conference Committee on the 2014 budget argues over scraps, the big picture of the nation's budget deficit remains unchanged. Recent reports from the Social Security Trustees, the Congressional Budget Office, and the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget show that, as CBO director Doug Elmendorf puts it, our deficit problem "has hardly been addressed."
Mercatus | Budget Conference 2013: Principles For A Credible Deal
Regrettably, the goal of this year’s budget negotiations appears to have shifted from improving the nation’s finances to eliminating the modest spending sequester to which both sides have already agreed. This would be a mistake with lasting repercussions.
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