General Economics

News                                                                                                                             
Wall Street Journal | U.S. Earnings Reassure Investors but Growth Lags
America’s companies have a message for markets: Don’t panic yet.
Market Watch | Homeownership drops to two-decade low
Showing that the housing market is still far from normal, U.S. homeownership dropped to the lowest rate in two decades, with declines across the country and income spectrum, according to government data released Tuesday.

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Wall Street Journal | Obama Soaks the Rich, Drowns the Middle Class
The curse of the U.S. economy today is the downward trend in “take-home pay.” This is the most crucial economic indicator for most Americans, but when President Obama said in a recent speech at Northwestern that nearly every economic measure shows improvement from five years ago, he conspicuously left this one out.

Health Care

News                                                                                                                             
Market Watch | Insider-trading probe focuses on Medicare agency
The day Medicare officials began discussing whether to set new coverage limits on a costly new prostate-cancer treatment, the official in charge emailed three colleagues to put a “close hold” on the process. That meant: Keep quiet until an announcement later that month.

Monetary

News                                                                                                                             
Wall Street Journal | Fed Set to End QE3, but Not the QE Concept
The Federal Open Market Committee is meeting today to plot the future path of monetary policy.
Market Watch | How QE worked in the first place — and how it can be used again
American investors seem tired of quantitative easing. No one less than Carl Icahn said it’s making the market sick.

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Market Watch | With the Federal Reserve, timing isn’t everything
Type the sentence(s) summarizing the link here.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
Wall Street Journal | Grand Central: Fed Critics Have Been Wrong About QE’s Most Ill Effects
In an open letter to former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke in 2010, a group of prominent academics and hedge fund managers urged the central bank to stop its bond purchases known as quantitative easing, warning it risked “currency debasement and inflation.”

Taxes

News                                                                                                                             
CNN Money | Millionaire tax on the ballot in Illinois
Prairie State voters next Tuesday will be asked whether they think the state's constitution should be changed to impose an additional 3% tax on income over $1 million. Revenue from the ballot measure would help fund schools.

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Forbes | Canada Shows How to Eliminate the Tax Bias against Saving
Since all economic theories – even Marxism and socialism – recognize that capital formation is a key to long-run growth, higher wages, and improved living standards, it obviously doesn’t make sense to penalize saving and investment.

Employment

News                                                                                                                             
CNBC | Police pay gap: Many of America’s finest struggle on poverty wages
In the aftermath of the police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, last August, police officers from throughout St. Louis County were dispatched there to respond to mounting protests. Though the officers were doing the same jobs, they were paid starkly different wages, some as low as $10.50 an hour.

General Economics

News                                                                                                                             
Wall Street Journal | Avoiding the Global Slowdown Blues
It has been five years since the end of the Great Recession, yet President Obama and members of his administration still speak of it as if it were yesterday and play down the anemic recovery.
Wall Street Journal | Gas at $3 Carries Rewards—and Risks
Gasoline prices have dropped below $3 a gallon at most U.S. gas stations, delivering a welcome lift to American consumers and retailers heading into the holidays.
Market Watch | U.S. ranks 20th in equality between men and women
Key measures of equality between men and women in the U.S. are improving, and a broad gauge shows the gender gap is narrowing, according to a new report.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
Wall Street Journal | Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Deal Looks as Far Off as Ever
U.S. farmers and pharmaceutical firms eyeing gains from a Trans-Pacific Partnershipshouldn’t hold their breath.

Health Care

News                                                                                                                             
CNN Money | Ebola: The making of a $1 billion drug
At least that's what some experts are betting on. The deadly virus has struck such fear globally that people are betting many governments will start stockpiling Ebola drugs to combat any future outbreaks.

Monetary

Blogs                                                                                                                             
Wall Street Journal | Grand Central: Fed Stays on Course
With Federal Reserve officials kicking off a two-day meeting today, let’s look at the numbers to see what has changed since the central bank last met Sept. 16-17.

Taxes

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Real Clear Markets | No Band-Aids, Let's Have Real Tax Reform
Whatever the results of the election, Congress is planning to reconvene on November 12 for a lame duck session, so-called because the days in office of some members will be numbered.

Budget

Blogs                                                                                                                             
Wall Street Journal | Gifts to Pay Down U.S. Debt Grow to (a Tiny) $5 Million
The good news: People made a noble $5 million in extra “gifts” last year to help Uncle Sam pay down the debt.

General Economics

News                                                                                                                             
Wall Street Journal | IMF Forced to Raise Key Lending Rate to Protect Lender Nations
The International Monetary Fund has been facing a perverse scenario: Key interest rates slipping into negative territory could have forced its member nations to pay interest for the privilege of bailing out other nations.
Market Watch | 3 reasons why you should expect a 30% market meltdown
In a commentary for Marketwatch just over two months ago, I predicted that the U.S. stock faced at least a 20% correction. The signals now point to a 30% downturn.
Market Watch | Economy on track for best growth in nine years
Global growth is sputtering again. Most Americans remain pessimistic five years after the end of the Great Recession. And the deadly Ebola virus is adding fresh uncertainty.

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Wall Street Journal | Bad Stock-Market Timing Fueled Wealth Disparity
Millions of Americans inadvertently made a classic investment mistake that contributed to today’s widening economic inequality: They bought high and sold low.

Health Care

News                                                                                                                             
CNN Money | Paying thousands before health insurance even kicks in
Got health insurance at work? You may still have to shell out thousands of dollars before it kicks in.

Monetary

News                                                                                                                             
Market Watch | Fed will hold market’s hand as it ends QE3
The Federal Reserve will go out of its way this week to send soothing signals to investors already unnerved by recent market volatility and worries about the global economy.

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Wall Street Journal | The Return of Volatility Is Mainly About Monetary Policy
Four weeks ago I was in London at a conference organized by one of the biggest U.S. banks. The program included a session with the dread title, “2014, The Death of Volatility?”

Employment

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Forbes | Why A Rise In The Minimum Wage Won't Create Jobs
There’s much talk out there about how a rise in the minimum wage will create more jobs, not fewer as the conventional analysis would have it. This new, and surprising, take on it relies on an effect which is undoubtedly there, the marginal propensity to spend, but that’s often true in economics.

Budget

Blogs                                                                                                                             
AEI | Are Americans saving enough for retirement? Some myth-busting by Andrew Biggs
It’s national retirement week, so we have rounded up some of the top pieces by AEI economist Andrew Biggs on retirement, Social Security, and whether or not Americans are saving enough.

General Economics

News                                                                                                                             
Market Watch | Leading indicators climb 0.8% in September
The Conference Board's leading economic index rose 0.8% in September, accelerating after no change in August. "The outlook for improving employment and further income growth are expected to support the moderate expansion in the U.S economy for the remainder of the year," said Ataman Ozyildirim, economist at The Conference Board.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
Bloomberg | Why the Stock Market Rally Is Bad News
U.S. stocks had their biggest rally in a year yesterday. The S&P 500 has now recovered in a blink: a 4.1 percent rise since Oct. 15, reversing a 7.5 percent drop.

Monetary

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
New York Times | The Fed at the Crossroads
Barring unexpected bad economic news in the next several days, the Federal Reserve will finish its bond-buying program at the end of this month. In all, the program has pumped $3.5 trillion into the economy since 2008, helping to revive financial markets and stabilize the economy.
Market Watch | The Fed is deliberately stealing from savers
Recently Janet Yellen expressed both concern and puzzlement over the rising wealth inequality in America.

Employment

News                                                                                                                             
Wall Street Journal | Minimum Wage Backfire
If there’s a silver lining for McDonald’s in Tuesday’s dreadful earnings report, it is that perhaps union activists will begin to understand that the fast-food chain cannot solve the problems of the Obama economy. The world’s largest restaurant company reported a 30% decline in quarterly profits on a 5% drop in revenues. Problems under the golden arches were global—sales were weak in China, Europe and the United States.
Wall Street Journal | U.S. Jobless Claims Remain Near 14-Year Lows
The number of new claims for jobless benefits rose last week but remained near 14-year lows, the latest sign of an improving labor market.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
Wall Street Journal | Unemployment Rate Below 5% in 15 States
The unemployment rate stood below the 5% line in 15 states in September, signaling a return to healthier labor-market conditions in a growing swath of the country.
AEI | An amazing chart of an amazing job-creating state; we all owe a debt of gratitude to ‘Saudi Texas’ and the shale boom
The chart above shows a most amazing economic phenomenon: Since December 2007 when the Great Recession started, Texas civilian employment has increased by 12% and by more than 1.32 million jobs, from just over 11 million jobs in December 2007 to 12.32 million in September of this year (see blue line in chart). In contrast, civilian employment in the other 49 states without Texasis still 0.73% and almost one million jobs below the December 2007 level (see red line in chart) – 134.27 million non-Texas jobs in September vs. 135.26 million in December 2007.

Budget

Blogs                                                                                                                             
Daily Signal | Top 7 Wackiest Examples of Wasteful Government Spending from Wastebook 2014
During a time when many families have made financial sacrifices to make ends meet, the federal government continues to spend. Washington politicians continue to claim their levels of spending are necessary and that they have cut all of the nonessential spending they could find.

General Economics

News                                                                                                                             
Wall Street Journal | Global Growth Woes Threaten to Beset U.S. Economy
The specter of deflation in Europe and a slowdown in China and other emerging markets are threatening to hobble the U.S. economy at a time when the world could use a reliable growth engine.
Wall Street Journal | U.S. Consumer Prices Up 0.1% in September
Consumer prices rose slightly in September, the latest sign of modest U.S. inflation pressures amid concerns of a global slowdown.
CNN Money | Election issue: Why people still feel the economy stinks
Only 42% of those surveyed by CNN late last month thought the economy was in good shape. While that's the highest share since January 2008 and an improvement from the 29% who felt this way a year ago, it's still weak overall.

Health Care

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Mercauts Center | Fortress and Frontier in American Health Care
For decades America’s health care debate has pitted Left against Right, federal against state, public against private. All sides, however, have shared a similar, inhibiting mindset—an excessive aversion to risk and deference to medical insiders—instead of stressing the ideal goal of better health care for more people at lower cost on a continuous basis.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
Daily Signal | 71% of Obamacare Signups Traced to Government’s Expansion of Medicaid
The vast majority of Americans  gaining health coverage under Obamacare actually qualified for Medicaid because of loosened eligibility —and that’s what boosted enrollment among those previously uninsured, a new report from The Heritage Foundation.

Monetary

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Market Watch | The world’s best market timers: the Federal Reserve
Things were looking grim last week, especially on Wednesday, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at one point down by 460.
Real Clear Markets | Sorry William Dudley, Regulation Itself Is the Culture Killer
The Federal Reserve's talking heads have been hard at work over the last week. They have tackled issues ranging from early childhood education, to the Fed's "duty to advance the maximum well-being of all citizens," to regulatory compliance by financial firms. The Fed's musings on topics far outside of its mandate seem odd for an institution that has a lot more thinking to do about-just to throw out a crazy suggestion-monetary policy. But the Fed's regulatory mandate is also large, so its reflections on compliance are worth a closer look.

Taxes

Blogs                                                                                                                             
Daily Signal | Obama Tax Hikes Drive Federal Tax Revenue Above $3 Trillion for First Time Ever
The Treasury Department released this month figures showing that federal tax revenue exceeded $3 trillion in fiscal year 2014—the first time revenue surpassed that mark.

Employment

News                                                                                                                             
CNN Money | 6-figure oil jobs lead to massive shortage of home builders
In the oil boom towns of North Dakota, Texas and Colorado there's a big demand for new homes -- but there's no one to build them.

Budget

Blogs                                                                                                                             
Wall Street Journal | Americans’ Social Security Benefits to Likely Increase 1.7% in 2015
Americans who receive Social Security benefits will see a modest increase in their checks next year to cover higher consumer prices.

General Economics

News                                                                                                                             
Real Clear Markets | The Global Economy Is Beginning to Resemble 1982
The global economy is beginning to resemble 1982, a deflationary environment that climaxed with that summer's Peso Crisis and aggressive intervention by Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker. Although certainly not as strong as twenty-two years ago, another bout of deflation (or ‘disinflation') is underway. The bad news is: Federal Reserve officials are only slowly recognizing it. The good news is: they have time to avert its destructive consequences.

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Investors.com | The Harmful Consequences of Government Price Controls
The New York Times is again on the warpath against what it calls "predatory lending."
Market Watch | 5 reasons Janet Yellen shouldn’t focus on income inequality
Janet Yellen heads one of the most important agencies in America, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve. It has many tasks, but analyzing the state of inequality and education in America is not one of them. Nevertheless, Yellen on Friday returned to her role as professor of labor economics and delivered an address on economic inequality at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
Forbes | Has Inequality Driven A Wedge Between Productivity And Compensation Growth?
Whenever those who believe inequality is the defining challenge of our time want to make a supposedly slam-dunk case that inequality has eaten into the incomes of people below the top, they trot out some version of the chart below, which Atif Mian and Amir Sufi call simply, “The Most Important Economic Chart,” one also recently deployed byPaul Krugman.

Health Care

News                                                                                                                             
Wall Street Journal | ObamaCare Shunts My Patients Into Medicaid
Thirty years of experience in private medical practice uncovers many ironies. For example, recently several of my patients who had been paying for their own individual health insurance informed me that they were forced off private insurance and placed into Medicaid when they signed up for health care at Healthcare.gov. This unwanted change—built into ObamaCare with the intention of helping patients—has harmed them by taking away their freedom to choose a health-care plan that works best for them.

Taxes

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Real Clear Markets | Income Growth: The Taxman Cometh
The story of tepid income growth is by no means a new one. Our group has previously discussed the lack of income growth in this recoverty as a sign of stagnation.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
The Daily Signal | Hawaii Ranks Worst for Sales Tax Burden
Hawaii ranks worst in three major categories in the seventh annual “Rich States, Poor States” report, which tracks states’ economic policies based on 15 policy areas.

Employment

Blogs                                                                                                                             
Wall Street Journal | Want a Stable Job With Steadier Raises? Try Working for a Nonprofit
The nonprofit sector largely dodged massive job losses and weak wage growth experienced across most of the U.S. during the recession and first years of the economic recovery, new Labor Department data shows.
AEI | What happened to our entrepreneurial spirit?
If you look at the number of freshly launched firms in a given year and you take that as a share of all firms, that rate declined from about 15 percent or so in the late ’70s to about 8 percent in 2012, which is our latest data.  We actually just had a data release yesterday.  So the startup rate has declined by about half over that period.

General Economics

News                                                                                                                             
Wall Street Journal | Gauging Economic Fear Factor
Gambia hasn’t had a single known Ebola case. But fears of the virus, and canceled flights, have led British bird-watchers to nix planned tours. Hotel bookings to that West African destination are down 65% across the board.
Wall Street Journal | China Growth Seen Slowing Sharply Over Decade
China’s growth will slow sharply during the coming decade to 3.9% as its productivity nose dives and the country’s leaders fail to push through tough measures to remake the economy, according to a report expected to come out Monday.
Washington Times | U.S. economy again drives global growth as top rivals falter
After a long, slow convalescence from the Great Recession, the U.S. economy has emerged this year as a major force for global growth for the first time in a decade, even as some of its top rivals struggle.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
AEI | The US is $40 trillion ahead of China
http://www.aei-ideas.org/2014/10/the-us-is-40-trillion-ahead-of-china/

Health Care

News                                                                                                                             
Washington Post | Obamacare’s small-business exchanges to see major changes in the coming months
One year in, the new small-business insurance marketplaces born out of the new federal health-care law have fallen short of their promise in nearly every state, both in terms of functionality and enrollment.
Washington Times | Obamacare ‘bronze’ plan premiums expected to jump 14% in 2015
Obamacare "bronze" plan owners may be in for a shock next year.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
AEI | Some key principles for fixing Obamacare
I am on the record as being dubious about the “repeal and replace” approach to Obamacare. I think the politics are formidable, to say the least. Now that does not mean I am arguing for the status quo. Far from it.

Monetary

News                                                                                                                             
Wall Street Journal | Federal Reserve Holds Steady Amid Market Volatility
Federal Reserve officials are taking a steady-as-she-goes stance as they prepare for their policy meeting this month, even though market volatility and uncertainties about the global economic outlook have rattled investors in recent weeks and led to some mixed messages from central bank officials.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
Wall Street Journal | Is The Fed Behind The Curve or Jumping The Gun?
Earlier this year, the commentators in the U.S. who had been warning of imminent inflation ever since the Fed began its highly accommodative policies raised the alert to code orange. And for the first time since the crisis, the inflation hawks were joined in their concern by a broader range of commentators. Although inflation remained contained, the “behind the curve” genie was definitely out of the bottle.

Employment

News                                                                                                                             
Washington Post | Survey: Pay raises rarer despite strong US hiring
U.S. businesses were much less likely to boost pay in the third quarter than in previous months, even as hiring remained healthy, a sign that wage gains may remain weak in the coming months.

Budget

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Cato Institute | War on Poverty Turns 50: Are We Winning Yet?
The War on Poverty is 50 years old. Over that time, federal and state governments have spent more than $19 trillion fighting poverty. But what have we really accomplished?

General Economics

News                                                                                                                             
Wall Street Journal | Fed’s Yellen Says Extreme Inequality Could Be Un-American
Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen delivered a strong indictment of rising inequality of wealth and income in the U.S., saying it was creating a vicious circle that was impeding the economic mobility that used to be at the heart of American economic values.
CNBC | Goldman Sachs downgrades outlook on US economy
Goldman Sach's economists on Wednesday downgraded their outlook on the US economy in the second half of 2014 following disappointing data on domestic retail sales in September and business inventory in August
Bloomberg | Consumer Sentiment in U.S. Unexpectedly Rises to Seven-Year High
Consumer confidence in the U.S. unexpectedly rose in October to the highest level in seven years, showing a brightening in Americans’ moods as gas prices drop and the labor market gains traction.

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Forbes | Weak Global Growth Threatens U.S. Recovery
The global economic forecast is dimming, according to an International Monetary Fund survey released last week. This worldwide drag threatens to derail America’s recovery unless Washington prioritizes growth.

Health Care

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Forbes | Now There Can Be No Doubt: Obamacare Will Increase The Deficit
This was no casual, throw-away campaign promise. The pledge was made on September 9, 2009 in his health speech before a joint session of Congress.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
The Daily Signal | Here’s Why Budget Cuts Have Nothing to Do With Developing an Ebola Vaccine
Some government health officials have joined Democrats in blaming the lack of an Ebola vaccine on budget cuts orchestrated by Republicans. However, more federal funding likely would not have led to creation of a vaccine to combat the deadly disease, since pharmaceutical companies had little incentive to do so.

Monetary

Blogs                                                                                                                             
Wall Street Journal | Grand Central: Hard to See Fed Following Bullard’s Lead
St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard is an interesting figure at the U.S. central bank. He isn’t shy about taking out-of-consensus positions among Fed officials. At times this has made him look quite prescient. In the summer of 2010, for example, he openly expressed concerns about U.S. consumer price deflation and opined the central bank might need to launch a new bond buying program to avert it. Four months later the Fed started its second round of bond-buying, also known as quantitative easing, or QE2.

Taxes

Blogs                                                                                                                             
AEI | Bill Gates has a big idea for tax reform — and it’s excellent
Microsoft cofounder and philanthropist Bill Gates offers his thoughts about inequality, particularly concerning economist Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century. Among his insights: (a) extreme inequality is a societal problem, and government has a ameliorative role, (b) Piketty underplays how much of American superwealth comes from entrepreneurs rather than passive rentiers, (c) inequality analysis need to look at consumption data, not just wealth and income, (d) Piketty understates the many forces that decay wealth.

Employment

Blogs                                                                                                                             
Wall Street Journal | Fed Chairwoman Yellen Inquires About How the Unemployed Find Jobs
Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen on Thursday visited a nonprofit group here that helps unemployed people find work, and posed a question at the heart of the central bank’s debate over when to start raising interest rates.
Wall Street Journal | Wal-Mart Looks to Bump All Workers’ Pay Above the Minimum Wage
The huge retailer’s chief executive, Doug McMillon, said Wednesday that the company plans to end minimum-wage pay for its workers in the future.  “It is our intention over time that we will be in a situation where we don’t pay minimum wage at all,” he said.

Budget

Blogs                                                                                                                             
Wall Street Journal | U.S. Debt Held by Foreigners Hits Record $6.07 Trillion
Foreign holdings of U.S. Treasury securities hit a record high $6.07 trillion in August, up nearly $70 billion from July, as the dollar began its climb to five-year highs and the U.S. recovery showed signs of gaining steam.

General Economics

News                                                                                                                             
Wall Street Journal | Nobel Prize in Economic Science Awarded to Jean Tirole
Jean Tirole, a French economist whose theories about the behavior of large companies underpin modern antitrust regulation, won this year’s Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.
Wall Street Journal | Global Signs of Slowdown Ripple Across Markets, Vex Policy Makers
Gathering signs of a slowdown across many parts of the world are roiling financial markets and confounding policy makers, who after years of battling anemic economic growth have limited tools left to jump-start a recovery.
Market Watch | Treasurys leap as traders fret over growth slowdown
Treasury prices mounted a powerful climb on Tuesday as global economic growth fears rippled across financial markets.

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
CNN Money | The Chinese like capitalism more than Americans
The United States may be the poster child for capitalism, but people living in China, India and Vietnam are bigger believers in the free market than Americans.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
Wall Street Journal | Small Business Optimism Stuck in ‘Second Gear,’ NFIB Says
Small-business owners remained wary about economic conditions in September, according to a report released Tuesday. The caution has caused a cutback in equipment spending and hiring plans.

Health Care

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Economics21.org | Losing Employer-Provided Coverage: Another ACA Prediction Comes True
This past week provided an important example of the anticipated effects of the Affordable Care Act coming to pass.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
The Daily Signal | Report: Obamacare Will Add $131 Billion to Federal Deficits in Next Decade
Among President Obama’s many high-profile health care promises, there is this gem from his 2009 address to Congress: “I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits–either now or in the future.”

Monetary

News                                                                                                                             
CNN Money | Elizabeth Warren wants to probe if Fed is too close to big banks
Sen. Elizabeth Warren wants Congress to look into allegations the New York Federal Reserve blocked one of its own from criticizing Goldman Sachs.
CNN Money | Federal Reserve stays on cruise control
The U.S. economy is strengthening but the Federal Reserve remains in cruise control.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
Wall Street Journal | Fed’s Evans: Biggest Risk to U.S. Now is Premature Rate Hikes
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans said Monday the “biggest risk” to the economy right now is that the central bank would raise interest rates sooner than it should.

Taxes

News                                                                                                                             
Wall Street Journal | Ireland to Close ‘Double Irish’ Tax Loophole
The Irish government moved Tuesday to close one of the world’s most well-known corporate-tax loopholes, amid a broader tax crackdown on largely U.S.-based technology companies.

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Real Clear Markets | Don't Be Fooled, the Internet Is Already Taxed
Many people think that when the Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA) expires on December 11, this will open the door for the first time to the taxation of the Internet. Wrong. The Internet is already taxed, and taxation can continue even if IFTA is extended.
Mercatus Center | Takings and Tax Revenue: Fiscal Impacts of Eminent Domain
The United States Supreme Court decision in Kelo v. City of New London in 2005 sparked outrage around the country. In this decision, the US Supreme Court allowed the use of eminent domain to transfer property in New London, Connecticut, for private benefit, not for public use as set forth in the takings clause of the US Constitution.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
The Daily Signal | Want an Economic Boost? Let’s Kill the Death Tax
Death and taxes are two of life’s certainties, but the tax on death itself should certainly be eliminated. A recent analysis by The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Data Analysis found that doing away with the federal death tax would provide a much-needed, long-lasting boost to the nation’s economy.

Employment

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
The Washington Times | Why so many are unemployed for so long
If you pay people not to work, what do you think they will do?

General Economics

News                                                                                                                             
CNN Money | Seniors in almost every state are struggling to afford retirement
Households ages 65 and older in the U.S. are living on an average of only $37,847 a year. That's around 60% of the annual earnings of today's 45- to 64-year olds and falls well short of the 70% in pre-retirement income that's typically recommended for retirees, according to an Interest.com analysis of 2013 Census Bureau data.
Market Watch | U.S. wholesale inventories rise 0.7% in August
 U.S. wholesale inventories rose by 0.7% in August, the U.S. Commerce Department said Thursday.
CNN Money | From Brazil to Uganda: What it takes to get ahead
The world may be flat these days, but the path to success differs around the globe.

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Wall Street Journal | Europe’s Next Dip
This week’s stock market rout in Europe, which also hit U.S. markets, is being attributed to a downgrade in the International Monetary Fund’s outlook for the euro zone.
Real Clear Markets | Believe It or Not, Humanity Is Making Progress
Progress has lately gotten a bad rap, because there seems to be so little of it. Violence wracks the Middle East; economies are sputtering; Ebola strikes fear.
Fox News | Why welfare, mimimum wage make it harder for poor Americans to succeed
I was taught at Princeton, “We’re a rich country. All we have to do is tax the rich, and then use that money to create programs that will lift the poor out of poverty.” Government created job-training programs for the strong and expanded social security for the weak.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
Wall Street Journal | Is Japan’s Economy on the Verge of a Recession?
The “r” word is on the lips of economists again in Japan: Did an April sales tax increase send the world’s third-largest economy into recession?
Cato Institute | Yes, Fixing Higher Ed Means Eliminating Federal Aid
National Review Online is in the midst of its “education week” – including offerings byyours truly and Jason Bedrick – and today brings us a piece by AEI’s Andrew Kelly on how to fix our higher ed system. Unfortunately, while he largely nails the problems, he stumbles on the solution.

Health Care

News                                                                                                                             
National Journal | HHS Says Obamacare’s New Website Will Work. For Real This Time.
Federal health officials say they've reconfigured and rebuilt the Obamacare enrollment website to avoid a repeat of last year's disastrous launch.

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
CBO | Assessing the Design of the Low-Income Subsidy Program in Medicare Part D: Working Paper 2014-07
The structure of the Medicare Part D prescription drug program generally encourages plan sponsors to submit low bids. However, rules in the program relating to low-income beneficiaries generate a different set of incentives for plans seeking to serve those beneficiaries.
The Daily Signal | Gallup: US Uninsured Rate Holds at 13.4 Percent—but More Americans Say Obamacare Has Hurt Them
Releasing a pair of polls on the Affordable Care Act, Gallup noted Wednesday that the nation’s uninsured rate remained steady at 13.4 percent for the third quarter.

Monetary

News                                                                                                                             
Wall Street Journal | Fed Minutes Show Wariness Over Global Growth
Federal Reserve officials have become more concerned that weak overseas growth and a strengthening U.S. dollar will crimp the domestic economy and hold down inflation, an outlook that has made them more inclined to stick to low interest rates.

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
AEI | SIFI designations aren't meant to last forever
At Monday's FSOC meeting, council members said that they would review and work to improve the designation process.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
Wall Street Journal | Fed Officials to Be Flexible on How They Raise Rates
Federal Reserve officials agreed at their September policy meeting to be flexible in implementing a new plan on managing future interest rate increases.