News
Politico | How immigration reform died
Janet Murguia, president of the National Council of La Raza, had just explained why she declared him the “deporter in chief” in a speech in early March. Obama, who was infuriated when he first heard Murguia’s remarks weeks earlier, sat in silence, trying to keep his anger in check, according to advocates in attendance.
CNN Money | Millennial-driven housing boom coming
Some 11 million recent grads were living with a parent in 2012, according to Pew. The homeownership rate for those under age 35 was 36% in the first three months of 2014, down from a high of 43% in 2005, according to the Census.
National Journal | Where Homeowners Are Still Underwater
There's been a lot of encouraging news about the housing market recently. New home sales are up, foreclosures are down, and a decreasing number of people owe more on their mortgages than their homes are currently worth, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Last month, homeowners' equity reached the highest level since the recession began.
FOX News | Texas-Oklahoma segment of Keystone spouts big dividends, says study
A new study claims that a just-built 485-mile stretch of the Keystone XL pipeline has been a huge economic boon for two dozen rural and poor Oklahoma and Texas counties—and will create the same significant impact in five other states if the project’s long stalled northern segment ever wins White House approval.
CNN Money | Americans still hesitant to spend more
Personal income rose 0.4% in May, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. It may not sound like much, but it marked the fifth straight month in a row that incomes rose. Not only that, but incomes are rising faster than inflation -- an encouraging sign that people are gaining more buying power.
Bloomberg | Consumer Sentiment in U.S. Rose in June From Month Earlier
Consumer sentiment improved in June as higher stock prices and an improving labor market helped bolster Americans views of the economy.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Washington Times | The end of American democracy?
There are so many scandals plaguing the administration of Barack Obama that any sentient historian would have to contemplate whether this nation’s status as the world’s model democratic nation has finally come to an end.
Forbes | Conservatives Should Oppose Social Engineering Even By Conservatives
Recently a group of conservative intellectuals banded together to create a conservative policy reform agenda. Using the title “Room to Grow,” these self-styled reform conservatives are pushing conservatives to have a positive agenda, to be for something rather than simply blocking the liberal agenda. That is a good idea, on its face. The problem is that conservative social engineering has the same drawback as liberal social engineering: government is still distorting markets and picking winners and losers.
Bloomberg | Who Wins and Who Loses as Oil Spike Challenges Global Economy
No matter how hard residents of Hungary, the Czech Republic and Turkey work, they won’t strike oil. Nor will those in the Philippines, India and Thailand. They’ll be the biggest losers if this month’s spike in crude prices is extended, say UBS AG economists Larry Hatheway and Andrew Cates.
Market Watch | Summers: Economic pickup could come on unstable ground
The former Treasury secretary for President Bill Clinton and the head of the National Economic Council under President Barack Obama says it’s not out of the realm of possibility that the economy could accelerate — but the acceleration could come on unstable footing.
