Tuesday items: Domitrovic on the Fed's third mandate and tax reform; Goldman optimistic on the US economy; Boudreaux challenges Hubbard.

From The Laffer Center, the excellent Brian Domitrovic argues the Federal Reserve pursues a third policy mandate (beyond price stability and low unemployment), of accommodating the federal debt.

On Forbes, Domitrovic advises the President to pursue tax reform.

In The Washington Times, Richard Rahn challenges tax hike advocates.

On The Kudlow Report, David Goldman says the US economy is in good shape and northern Europe will fence off southern Europe to prevent financial contagion:



At Café Hayek, Don Boudreaux responds to Romney advisor Glenn Hubbard’s statement that, “Nobody who is taken seriously as an economist is going to say ‘cancel the Fed.’”

From Human Events, Burton Folsom, Jr sees parallels between today’s China currency pressure and Smoot-Hawley.

In The WSJ, Obama economist Austan Goolsbee argues the euro has damaged southern Europe:

Northern Europe has fueled its growth through exports. It has run huge trade imbalances, the most extreme of which with these same Southern European countries now in peril. Productivity rose dramatically compared to the South, but the currency did not. This explains at least part of the German export and manufacturing miracle of the last 12 years. In 1999, exports were 29% of German gross domestic product. By 2008, they were 47%—an increase vastly larger than in Italy, Spain and Greece, where the ratios increased modestly or even fell.

Germany's net export contribution to GDP (exports minus imports as a share of the economy) rose by nearly a factor of eight. Unlike almost every other high-income country, where manufacturing's share of the economy fell significantly, in Germany it actually rose as the price of German goods grew more and more attractive compared to those of other countries. In a key sense, Germany's currency has been to Southern Europe what China's has been to the U.S.

From Alhambra Investments, Joe Calhoun analyzes the European debt crisis.

At RCM, John Tamny suggests California will make a comeback when the dollar is stronger.

On Kudlow, David Malpass advocates for pro-growth policies in Europe:

 

On NRO, John Berlau reports Republican support for Sarbanes Oxley.

The Economist notes the Congo’s currency rising against the dollar.