Economy
In an earlier posting, I introduced a book entitled The New New Left: How American Politics Works Today by Steven Malanga and a review of the book in the Claremont Review of Books. The core theme of the book was described by one reviewer as “American politics is not about [political] parties, it is about…
We frequently hear phrases like “the government should do something about that.” Do any of us really know what that phrase truly means? Moreover, do any of us really think the government is capable of doing something constructive about the numerous challenges across a society? (If so, why do most government programs fail to meet…
Earlier this week, Marc asked why Rhode Island’s casino proponents are taking such a convoluted route towards changing the state constitution to legalize gambling…Instead of writing a clean, concise line or two saying something like, oh, I don’t know….”gambling does not have to be state-operated”, we have this: “Approval of this amendment to the state…
Walter Williams, once again, cuts through all the political posturing about the rationale for lobbying reforms in his latest editorial: …Whatever actions Congress might take in the matter of lobbying are going to be just as disappointing in ending influence-peddling as their Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, known as the McCain-Feingold bill. Before we…
Secretary of State candidate Guillaume de Ramel helps advance a point I began making at the end of last week (h/t RI Future)…I write today to strongly support legislation (2006 H 6718) that will incrementally increase the minimum wage in Rhode Island from $6.75 to $7.40 by January 1, 2007. Your committee members and House…
Possibilites for tax-reform in this session of the Rhode Island legislature appear strangely muddled. On the one hand, Speaker of the House William Murphy named tax-reform as one of the three highest priorities for the 2006 legislative session…Let it be our New Year’s resolution; let it be our sense of duty to every Rhode Islander…
Tim Graham noticed that the Washington Post seems to have a policy of “Good Economic News on D-1, Bad Economic News on A-1” and Brian Wesbury commented last week about the ominipresent pessimism that seems to surround any and all economic news, noting: During a quarter century of analyzing and forecasting the economy, I have…
This posting continues a discussion about General Motors and the UAW union covered in three previous postings: If You Won’t Deal With Economic Reality, Then It Will Deal With You (includes heavy dose of United Airlines information, too) Outrageous Employee Compensation Liabilities Continue to Haunt General Motors; Will American Taxpayers End Up Paying the Bill?…
Good economic outcomes typically happen when the government does not directly meddle in the marketplace but, instead, acts only to ensure the existence of the rule of law and property rights so third parties can enter into viable contracts as well as count on a level playing field for all participants in the market. Bad…
In the June 13 edition of the Wall Street Journal, Stephen Moore wrote an editorial entitled Real Tax Cuts Have Curves (available for a fee): …The Laffer Curve helped launch the Reaganomics Revolution here at home and a frenzy of tax rate cutting around the globe that continues to this day. The theory is really…