General Economics

News                                                                                                                             
National Journal | How Moving to Another State Could Drastically Change Your Income
The value of a person's salary often depends on which state they're living in. For instance, a $40,000 income in Iowa—where the cost of living is lower—is worth more than a $40,000 income in Hawaii.
FOX Business | Consumer Sentiment Rises in April
U.S. consumer sentiment rose in April to a nine-month high as views on current and near-term conditions surged, a survey released on Friday showed.

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Washington Times | A common-sense approach to coal
In June, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will propose its long-awaited greenhouse-gas standard for the country’s fleet of existing power plants. Depending on how overzealous it is, the rule could be enormously costly to American consumers and profoundly devastating to the U.S. economy.
WSJ | The Moment Is Right for Housing Reform
In his State of the Union address President Obama called for Congress to send him legislation that would provide a solid foundation for housing finance in the future. Such legislation would protect homeowners, communities and taxpayers from another housing crisis. It would also enhance access to home loans for creditworthy borrowers and ensure the availability of consumer-friendly mortgages like the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage.
Investors | Spawn Of Fannie And Freddie
A bipartisan bill to "reform" Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac creates a multibillion-dollar affordable-housing slush fund for Acorn clones who exist to shake down lenders for risky loans.
The American | Have the Limits to Economic Growth Really Been Reached?
Robert Gordon has painted a dark picture of the world’s long-run economic growth prospects. But if the past is any guide, he will likely join the band of earlier distinguished economists who proved to be far too pessimistic about the human capacity to innovate.
CATO | State-Based Visas: A Federalist Approach to Reforming U.S. Immigration Policy
Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) recently proposed a regional visa program that would allow immigrants to live and work exclusively in Detroit or other cities in the United States.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
WSJ | A Fresh Look at the Building Blocks of Economic Growth
The Commerce Department on Friday will unveil a new quarterly report to provide a new way of gauging the composition and growth of the U.S. economy.
Library of Economics | There's only one sensible way to measure economic inequality
Consumption is the bedrock upon which essentially all of economics is built. We assume that all economic activity is aimed at creating consumption (defined broadly to include the value of leisure time, and non-market factors such as clean air.) Of course one could raise objections to this view, but as we'll see if you don't at least start with consumption, you are likely to reach absurd conclusions.

Health Care

News                                                                                                                             
National Journal | The Number of Measles Cases This Year Is Already Troubling—and It's Only April
In the decade after measles was largely eradicated in the United States in 2000, the number of reported cases of the highly contagious disease hovered around 60 each year.
WSJ | Oregon May Give Up on Its Troubled Health-Insurance Exchange Site
The staff of Oregon's troubled health-insurance exchange on Thursday recommended the state switch to the federal government's system for next year's open enrollment.

Monetary

News                                                                                                                             
Bloomberg | Yellen Concerned Fed Model Fails to Predict Price Moves
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is concerned that the standard models central banks use to forecast inflation may be broken.
Bloomberg | Europe Banks Face Toughest Simulated Slump in Stress Test
European Union officials are preparing to pit the bloc’s banks against the toughest simulated recession that they have ever faced in a stress test, three people briefed on the matter said.

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Real Clear Markets | Housing's State Rebukes Fatuous Monetary Assumptions
In the middle of last week, the Census Bureau estimated that permits to build new single-family homes declined on a year-over-year basis for the second consecutive month. That's the first time we have seen anything like that since the middle of 2011, just before this latest "surge" in housing began.
Fortune | The one reason why bond prices won't collapse
Throughout the economic recovery, there have been a number of economists and policy types worried about a "bond bubble" -- the idea that bonds are overpriced and could take a sudden tumble, giving financial markets and the economy the same sort of hits we saw from the collapse of the housing and stock bubbles.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
WSJ | China’s Central Bank Looks for Better Monetary-Measuring Tools
Three years after China’s central bank unveiled a new measure to calculate the amount of credit in the economy, it may be going back to the drawing board.
WSJ | Japan’s Tepid Victory Over Deflation
The good news: Economists increasingly are convinced that Japan has finally slain its deflation dragon. The bad news: The victory they envision doesn’t look like much to celebrate, with a future of slow growth and painful policy choices.

Taxes

News                                                                                                                             
CNN Money | Married with kids vs. singles: Who pays higher taxes?
There are many reasons it pays to have a family. Most of them are not financial. Except, that is, when it comes to federal income taxes.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
FOX Business | Your Tax Bracket vs Effective Tax Rate
News about presidential nominee Mitt Romney enjoying an effective tax rate of 13.9% and billionaire investor Warren Buffett paying a lower tax rate than his secretary, often leads to outcries of a broken tax system.  But did you know that your effective tax rate may be even lower?

Employment

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Real Clear Markets | If We Love U.S. Jobs, We Must Love Tax Competition
It's not every day that a world leader asks you for something, let alone the Prime Minister of Great Britain. So in 2009, when Gordon Brown asked me what it would take to get Eli Lilly and Company to expand our research and manufacturing operations in the U.K., it left an impression: the British government valued the biopharmaceutical industry and was willing to compete for the jobs and research funding we bring.

Budget

Econ Comments & Analysis                                                                                            
Fortune | Fighting debt: How the U.S. is doing it better
GDP growth has been greater than average interest rates -- a big reason why America's economy has outperformed many of its industrialized neighbors.