When President Barack Obama wanted to curtail carbon dioxide emissions, he instructed his economic advisors to construct a way to calculate the emissions’ effect on society. The metric thus adopted by the EPA is called the “social cost of carbon” … Continue reading
In September 1993, President Bill Clinton reassured his radio audience that “if you work hard and play by the rules, you’ll be rewarded with a good life for yourself and a better chance for your children.” Picking up that theme over 18 … Continue reading
Once again there is panic running through the halls of Congress, the Oval Office and in the chattering classes that make up mainstream media over the prospect of shutting down the federal government. Most of the panic is a result … Continue reading
As millions of students and their parents are preparing for life after commencement, they’re also preparing to deal with massive student loans. Increasingly, people are concerned about the student debt situation brewing on college campuses. The present state of student … Continue reading
Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at Forbes.com. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) has just announced that GDP grew at a rate of 2 percent during the last three months. Keynesians like Paul Krugman should be happy, and the so-called … Continue reading
Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at Forbes.com.The financial and economic meltdown of 2008 was preceded by large increases in government spending and monetary inflation that artificially lowered interest rates. Those interventionist policies fueled massive capital malinvestment, including housing and credit bubbles, all of … Continue reading
Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at Forbes.com. In light of claims that we’ve been in an economic recovery since late 2009, news such as the unemployment rate bumping up to 8.3 percent is disconcerting. Our so-called “recovery” … Continue reading
Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at Forbes.com.Thomson Reuters’ latest survey of Wall Street analysts’ expectations about next quarter’s corporate earnings has prompted some to wonder whether the canary in the coal mine is beginning to feel lightheaded. … Continue reading
Do we need a supranational authority to enforce social justice? The Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace (PJCP) seems to think so. Its new document, “Towards Reforming the International Financial and Monetary Systems in the Context of a Global Public … Continue reading
That is the question asked by the left-leaning Christian organization, Sojourners, in its campaign of the same name. It is a most appropriate question given the battle over the budget and given this time of year, not long after the … Continue reading
By the time you read this, there’s a good chance that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will have held the Fed’s first press conference following a meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee—the Fed committee that controls monetary policy. Leading … Continue reading
Defenders of the Federal Reserve have been out in force recently declaring the triumph of Money Printing 2, James Grant’s suggested more truthful term for “quantitative easing.” Some pundits point to an 18-percent increase in the S&P 500 since last … Continue reading
Since Fed chairman Ben Bernanke announced his plan for the Federal Reserve to inflate (I’m sorry, “quantitatively ease”) commercial bank reserves by $600 billion, he has come under surprising, but understandable, criticism. So much so that he has felt compelled … Continue reading
Editor’s Note: “On the broadest level, Dr. Ritenour and I are both interested in the relationship between social conditions and human action. We are both advocates of free markets, believing that they contribute more to human thriving than other arrangements. We … Continue reading
Washington’s stunning economic power grabs—healthcare centralization, Keynesian fiscal stimulus, and Federal Reserve bailouts—are creating an unintended consequence: an increasing demand for freedom literature. Exhibit A would have to be F.A. Hayek’s 66-year-old Road to Serfdom’s recently hitting number one for … Continue reading
The President’s Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) has released its most recent quarterly report on the effects of President Obama’s stimulus plan. Not surprisingly, the CEA praises this monumental Keynesian scheme, crediting the stimulus for saving or creating 3.6 million … Continue reading
Editor’s Note: The “V&V Q&A” is an e-publication from The Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College. This latest edition of “V&V Q&A” is an intriguing look at the biblical basis for the free-market economy, dispelling the popular notion among … Continue reading
It seems that when an economy goes bad, the temptation for intellectuals to go and do likewise is too much for them to resist. Public thinkers across the spectrum, from Paul Krugman to Richard Posner, are now calling for a … Continue reading
The last thing we need in the midst of our current recession is what happened last Friday: the third increase in the minimum wage in only two years. Contemporary labor markets throughout the country are not a pretty picture. Last … Continue reading
When facing a major financial problem, it is not uncommon to face the temptation to do something foolish at best or something evil at worst. Our elected officials and un-elected monetary and financial authorities are on the brink of doing … Continue reading
