Econ Comments & Analysis
Minyanville | Spain on the Run, Italy Not Far Behind
The European Union is on the boil once again and this time it doesn’t look like a patch job will be enough. Greece is a well-known basket case, but not big enough to sink the ship. Now Spain is a different story.
Blogs
AEI | Raising the minimum wage by 38% to $10 per hour could drive the teenage jobless rate to 28% and would be ‘economic malpractice’
Unlike Baker, and contrary to his assertion that the “minimum wage is non-controversial,” most economists believe in the Law of Demand, which means that there is a non-controversial inverse relationship between wages and the number of workers hired.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Budget
News
Market Watch | Health-law costs dip, repeal adds deficit: studies
Adjustments to President Barack Obama’s health-care overhaul as a result of the recent Supreme Court ruling upholding the landmark law will result in some cost savings, and a proposed repeal of the legislation would add to the deficit.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Politico | New farm bill: Welfare in disguise
Lawmakers frequently claim they want to rein in spending. But the Senate’s recent failure to make any meaningful cuts to the farm bill speaks loudly to the contrary. Notably, 16 Senate Republicans — the purported party of smaller government — voted in favor of it.
Market Watch | Health-law costs dip, repeal adds deficit: studies
Adjustments to President Barack Obama’s health-care overhaul as a result of the recent Supreme Court ruling upholding the landmark law will result in some cost savings, and a proposed repeal of the legislation would add to the deficit.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Politico | New farm bill: Welfare in disguise
Lawmakers frequently claim they want to rein in spending. But the Senate’s recent failure to make any meaningful cuts to the farm bill speaks loudly to the contrary. Notably, 16 Senate Republicans — the purported party of smaller government — voted in favor of it.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
General Economics
News
WSJ | Spain's Economy Contracts
Spain's economy weakened further during the second quarter, hit by a sharp drop in domestic demand and by intense volatility in financial markets, the Bank of Spain said Monday.
WSJ | Home Prices Reflect Strengthening
Home prices in the second quarter rose from the year-ago period for the first time since 2007, according to a closely watched index, the latest indication the housing market is starting to recover.
WSJ | Euro-Zone Business Output Falls
Business activity in the euro zone contracted for the sixth straight month in July, a closely watched survey showed, with powerhouse Germany weakening and the government in Greece now predicting an even deeper economic recession for this year.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Forbes | Dear President Obama, You Can't Create Growth, But You CAN Suffocate It
Actually, Mr. President, the Declaration says that “all… are created equal,” implying equality of opportunity not equality of outcomes, not “all of us are equal.” A nuance, perhaps, but a critical one.
NY Post | ‘Too big to fail’ grows
The two-year anniversary of Dodd-Frank has come and gone, and Too Big To Fail is only growing.
Washington Times | Obama ignoring immediate economic fixes
Last month’s dismal jobs report underscored what many across the United States have known for sometime — the economic recovery remains damagingly substandard. With unemployment at 8.2 percent — and real unemployment (counting those who have left the labor force) in double digits — confidence in the economic prospects for 2012 are reaching new lows, while uncertainty among America’s businesses and jobs creators is at an all-time high.
FOX News | The coming economic collapse
The U.S. economy is teetering on the brink of another recession. The bad news is that if it goes down again, there won’t be much we can do to save ourselves. Like a weary heavyweight, if it hits the mat again, it’s down for good.
Politico | Washington isn’t broken — just broke
All of America’s problems, the liberal theory goes, are due to gridlock in Washington, and that’s due to conservatives who refuse to compromise.
Blogs
Neighborhood Effects | Fewer Government-Granted Privileges Means More Economic Growth
When governments dispense privileges to particular firms, businessmen and women learn to play politics. They lobby, campaign, and engage in other political activity in order to obtain and maintain privileges.
WSJ | Can’t Spell ‘Uncertain Outlook’ Without E-U-R-O
All eyes are once again on the euro zone. This week, Spain takes the spotlight, although Greece and Italy are still on stage. Monday’s increase in the yield on 10-year Spanish debt fanned fears that Spain will need a huge bailout, clobbering risk-on assets and boosting demand for safe-haven securities.
Daily Capitalist | Poverty Highest Since 1965
While one could quibble about comparisons to the poor in the U.S. versus other countries, the fact remains that the data tell us that people are slipping backwards. I don’t believe it’s fair to criticize the poor for their predicament.
WSJ | Spain's Economy Contracts
Spain's economy weakened further during the second quarter, hit by a sharp drop in domestic demand and by intense volatility in financial markets, the Bank of Spain said Monday.
WSJ | Home Prices Reflect Strengthening
Home prices in the second quarter rose from the year-ago period for the first time since 2007, according to a closely watched index, the latest indication the housing market is starting to recover.
WSJ | Euro-Zone Business Output Falls
Business activity in the euro zone contracted for the sixth straight month in July, a closely watched survey showed, with powerhouse Germany weakening and the government in Greece now predicting an even deeper economic recession for this year.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Forbes | Dear President Obama, You Can't Create Growth, But You CAN Suffocate It
Actually, Mr. President, the Declaration says that “all… are created equal,” implying equality of opportunity not equality of outcomes, not “all of us are equal.” A nuance, perhaps, but a critical one.
NY Post | ‘Too big to fail’ grows
The two-year anniversary of Dodd-Frank has come and gone, and Too Big To Fail is only growing.
Washington Times | Obama ignoring immediate economic fixes
Last month’s dismal jobs report underscored what many across the United States have known for sometime — the economic recovery remains damagingly substandard. With unemployment at 8.2 percent — and real unemployment (counting those who have left the labor force) in double digits — confidence in the economic prospects for 2012 are reaching new lows, while uncertainty among America’s businesses and jobs creators is at an all-time high.
FOX News | The coming economic collapse
The U.S. economy is teetering on the brink of another recession. The bad news is that if it goes down again, there won’t be much we can do to save ourselves. Like a weary heavyweight, if it hits the mat again, it’s down for good.
Politico | Washington isn’t broken — just broke
All of America’s problems, the liberal theory goes, are due to gridlock in Washington, and that’s due to conservatives who refuse to compromise.
Blogs
Neighborhood Effects | Fewer Government-Granted Privileges Means More Economic Growth
When governments dispense privileges to particular firms, businessmen and women learn to play politics. They lobby, campaign, and engage in other political activity in order to obtain and maintain privileges.
WSJ | Can’t Spell ‘Uncertain Outlook’ Without E-U-R-O
All eyes are once again on the euro zone. This week, Spain takes the spotlight, although Greece and Italy are still on stage. Monday’s increase in the yield on 10-year Spanish debt fanned fears that Spain will need a huge bailout, clobbering risk-on assets and boosting demand for safe-haven securities.
Daily Capitalist | Poverty Highest Since 1965
While one could quibble about comparisons to the poor in the U.S. versus other countries, the fact remains that the data tell us that people are slipping backwards. I don’t believe it’s fair to criticize the poor for their predicament.
Health Care
Blogs
Political Calculations | The Tax Burden of ObamaCare
Upon which income earners will fall the greatest burden of paying the greatest tax burden from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (aka "ObamaCare")?
Political Calculations | The Tax Burden of ObamaCare
Upon which income earners will fall the greatest burden of paying the greatest tax burden from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (aka "ObamaCare")?
Monetary
News
The News | Bank of Japan head keeps monetary policy easy
The Bank of Japan will stick to an ultra-easy monetary policy, Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said on Monday, without telling whether further easing was planned, though the government warned that a strong yen and China’s slowing growth posed risks to the economy.
The News | Bank of Japan head keeps monetary policy easy
The Bank of Japan will stick to an ultra-easy monetary policy, Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said on Monday, without telling whether further easing was planned, though the government warned that a strong yen and China’s slowing growth posed risks to the economy.
Taxes
Econ Comments & Analysis
WSJ | The Rights and Wrongs of Taxing Internet Retailers
Since the Supreme Court's 1992 decision in Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, states may not require retailers to collect sales taxes from online retailers unless those retailers have a physical presence in the taxing state. With their budgets increasingly strained, however, states are now asking Congress to allow them to do so.
Blogs
Tax Foundation | Response to the $21 trillion Tax Avoidance Study
Whether or not the $21 trillion figure is accurate or not, we should not be surprised that taxpayers who have the means, and who live in countries with very progressive tax systems, will try to shelter some of that income from those high rates.
WSJ | The Rights and Wrongs of Taxing Internet Retailers
Since the Supreme Court's 1992 decision in Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, states may not require retailers to collect sales taxes from online retailers unless those retailers have a physical presence in the taxing state. With their budgets increasingly strained, however, states are now asking Congress to allow them to do so.
Blogs
Tax Foundation | Response to the $21 trillion Tax Avoidance Study
Whether or not the $21 trillion figure is accurate or not, we should not be surprised that taxpayers who have the means, and who live in countries with very progressive tax systems, will try to shelter some of that income from those high rates.
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