From Forbes, Charles Kadlec explains how the market
disciplined JP Morgan.
At Forbes, Ralph Benko argues sound money is needed for the economy to boom.
On Face the Nation, Mitt Romney advocates balancing the
budget through tax cuts and growth:
In a later segment, Romney discusses monetary policy:
BOB SCHIEFFER: The Federal Reserve, as I understand, is going to meet this week to weigh the possibility of a new economic stimulus for our economy. Now, you didn't think much of the last stimulus. What do you think they should do now--is it time for another?
MITT ROMNEY: Well, the QE2, as it's called, which was a monetary stimulus,
did not have the desired effect. It was not extraordinarily harmful, but it
does put in question, the future value of the dollar, and will, obviously,
encourage some inflation down the road. A QE3 would do the same thing. I know
how it is. Politicians in office want to do everything they can just before an
election to try and temporarily boost something, but the potential threat down
the road of inflation is something which we have to be aware of, and at the
last QE2, the last monetary stimulus, did not put Americans back to work, did
not raise our home values, did not bring jobs back to this country or encourage
small businesses to open their doors. What's wrong with our economy is that our
government has been warring against small, middle, and large businesses. And
people in the business world are afraid to make investments and to hire people.
I want to make it very clear that in my administration, government will see it as
the friend of enterprise and job creators, and we'll start building jobs again.
On Bloomberg, Ramesh Ponnuru profiles Grover Norquist.
At The American, James Pethokoukis defends Grover for opposing a hypothetical spending cut/tax increase deal.
From Alhambra Partners, Joe Calhoun analyzes Greece and
the Eurozone.
From The Money Illusion, Scott Sumner argues monetary policy is at its tightest since Herbert Hoover.
On TGSN, Ralph Benko recounts the Democratic Party split
of 1896 over gold.
At International Liberty, Dan Mitchell notes the President’s
wise economic advice… to other nations.
From The WSJ, Stephen Moore discusses the possibility
that the House could go Democrat:
CNBC reports Goldman Sachs predicts monetary easing from
the Fed (h/t: Drudge).
In The NYT, Bruce Bartlett examines income changes at the
top and bottom of the spectrum.
From The Financial Post (Canada), supply-side guru Robert Mundell sees a
bright future for the euro, but blames excessive spending and unstable exchange
rates for the Eurozone’s current troubles.
Also on The Financial Post, Terry Corcoran supports
Mundell’s analysis.
At Forbes, Nathan Lewis suggests a dual currency system
featuring gold for nations outside the major currency zones.
On The Kudlow Report, David Malpass discusses the
markets:
At The American, James Pethokoukis responds to Paul
Krugman’s claims that government spending led to the Reagan boom.
The WSJhighlights the President’s disastrous press
conference remarks on the economy.
At China Daily, Mundell applauds the People’s Bank of China
for lowering interest rates.
On CNBC, James Grant notes the Fed’s shrinking balance
sheet.
The WSJcriticizes Ben Bernanke for opposing spending
cuts, but applauds his rejection of tax increases.
From Forbes, Peter Ferrara compares the Obama economy to Argentina.
In The WSJ, Stephen Moore reports Democratic nervousness
about Taxmageddon.
At Newsmax, Steve Forbes advocates tax cuts rather than bailouts to revive Europe.
IBDnotes the President of Estonia’s response to Paul Krugman’s dismissal of its economic success.
From The Sun News Network, David Goldman doesn’t see a
way to keep the weak nations in the Eurozone:
On Fiscal Times, Bruce Bartlett notes the decline and
fall of organized labor.
From Market Watch, Harold Gold uses the Bush tax cuts to
declare supply-side economics false.
From the archive, here’s my assessment of the Bush tax
cuts.
On TGSN, Jon Decker reports the past use of vodka as a currency in Russia.
From Forbes, Brian Domitrovic highlights Herman Cain’s
sound money advocacy. On TGSN, Lew Lehrman advocates a modern gold standard. In The WSJ, Austan Goolsbee argues without flexible exchange
rates to adjust balance of payments, the Eurozone must rely on fiscal transfers
or immigration. At The Daily Beast, Bruce Bartlett applauds President
Reagan’s tax and monetary achievements but argues today’s problems require
different remedies:
In The WSJ, Stephen Moore reports Ted Cruz’s run-off
chances in the Senate GOP primary.
From Alhambra Partners, Joe Calhoun highlights worrisome
market conditions. In The Washington Post, Robert Samuelson wonders why
Greece hasn’t experienced a bank run yet. At National Review, Kevin Williamson doubts that tax
rates drives state to state migration.
From Forbes, Nathan Lewis outlines how to transition to a gold standard.
At PJ Media, David Goldman explains that a trade deficit nation like Greece is different from a trade surplus nation like Argentina. In a speech, John Tamny compares the Great Depression to the current era. On The Kudlow Report, Stephen Moore opposes sugar taxes:
At Forbes, Peter Ferrara defends US Rep. Paul Ryan (WI) from Catholic claims his budget proposal violates Church teaching. In The WSJ, Stephen Moore reports on the Texas GOP primary. From Project Syndicate, Barry Eichengreen suggests the eurozone will survive if it has the will to devalue. On Fiscal Times, Bruce Bartlett applauds the rich as earlier adopters of technology.
From The WSJ, Alan Reynolds demolishes arguments for 70% tax rates on the rich (full text from Cato).
In The WSJ, Amar Bhide provides an excellent defense of the euro:
But here's the catch. Devaluation works its magic to the extent it doesn't trigger demands for wage hikes, even though a depreciating currency increases the price of imports and reduces the purchasing power of workers' incomes.
Now, individual employees might be susceptible to a money illusion and worry only about their nominal wages. But it isn't the demands of individual workers that make labor markets excessively rigid—it's unions and other such institutionalized players. Unions that won't negotiate pay cuts with employers are unlikely to allow devaluations to erode real wages through the back door. Indeed union contracts often contain protections against inflation....
Worse, devaluations clip the real incomes of those least able to afford the loss—the elderly who depend on their meager savings and pensions, low-wage employees who aren't unionized and lack valuable skills, and small businesses scraping along that don't get even a temporary boost to profit margins because they ply a purely local trade.
At Forbes, Brian Domitrovic explains the folly of investing in GM. In Human Events, John Hayward suggests a shift in the Left’s view of the Laffer Curve. On The Kudlow Report, US Rep. Ron Paul (TX) discusses the dollar and the economy:
At International Liberty, Dan Mitchell argues European austerity hasn’t been as severe as Paul Krugman suggests. The NY Sunrebuts Berkshire Hathaway’s Charles Munger on gold. In The Washington Times, Richard Rahn argues spending in Europe still increased during the recent debt crisis. From Alhambra Partners, Joe Calhoun sees some positive trends in the economy. On Fox Business News, Stephen Moore discusses state tax rates:
In The American Interest, Barry Eichengreen foresees declining use of the dollar in world commerce. From The WSJ, Justin Lahart suggests unemployment would be down to 7.1% without government spending cuts. At The NYT, Bruce Bartlett doubts rich people will relocate from the US if taxes go up.
From Forbes, Charles Kadlec notes the failure of Europe’s tax-increase austerity.
At TGSN, Ralph Benko highlights Jacques Rueff’s critique of the post-war gold exchange standard.
On C-SPAN, Steve Forbes supports US Rep. Ron Paul (TX) for Fed Chairman:
At The American, Alex Brill examines tax fairness. In The Washington Times, Richard Rahn lambasts the Obama Administration’s new foreign reporting requirement for US banks. From Alhambra Partners, Joe Calhoun investors stay in cash. On NRO, Larry Kudlow analyzes the weak recovery. At The WSJ, James Swanson discusses Bill Clinton’s claim that President Obama is ahead of the curve pulling the US out of the financial crisis:
In The WSJ, Stephen Moore reports a congressional debate over highway spending. From The Washington Post, Ezra Klein notes the return of many GW Bush economists on the Romney campaign. At The WSJ, Cass Sunstein highlights an executive order to harmonize US and foreign regulation.
On Salon, Michael Lind argues the era of globalization is over. The coal industry highlights the financial strain of rising energy costs:
In The NYT, Bruce Bartlett argues current tax rates aren’t blocking economic growth. From Bloomberg, Rich Miller argues higher tax rates won’t discourage the wealthy from working harder.
At City Journal, Brian Domitrovic critiques Noam Scheiber’s claim that recent Keynesian spending stimuli failed because they were too small.
From Alhambra Partners, John Chapman responds to calls for a third round of quantitative easing from the Fed. At Forbes, Tim Worstall suggests the eurozone cannot work without fiscal transfers between rich and poor states. Bloomberg reports Ben Bernanke’s public rejection of Paul Krugman’s call for higher inflation. Neither mentions the impact of the dollar’s seesawing exchange rate on inflation/deflation pressures.
The WSJnotes the recovery’s slow pace. At The American, James Pethokoukis rebuts Paul Krugman’s attack on fiscal austerity. From Forbes, Jerry Bowyer argues the US is declining, but not as fast as doomsayers like Glenn Beck imagine. At The American, Joel Kotkin, Mark Schill and Ryan Streeter highlight positive economic trends in the Midwest. In Forbes, Peter Ferrara designates Wisconsin’s public employee unions an aristocracy. On The Kudlow Report, a panel discusses the weaker-than-expected GDP numbers:
At Philanthropy Daily, Scott Walter notes the downside of religions partnering with governments. From Fiscal Times, Bruce Bartlett critiques the President’s scapegoating of oil speculators.
From Forbes, Steve Forbes talks taxes and trade with President George W. Bush.
At Forbes, Louis Woodhill quotes Jude Wanniski to argue Obamacare must be repealed. The Washington Timesreports Mitt Romney leading the President on the economy. In The WSJ, Karl Rove urges Romney to counter the President’s class warfare with focus on growth. The Spectatorfeatures a symposium with Stephen Moore and US Rep. Paul Ryan (WI) on the budget and taxes:
In The WSJ, Dan Henninger parallels the President’s rhetoric with FDR’s in 1936. Reasonhighlights the President’s scapegoating of oil speculators. At TGSN, Ralph Benko recounts the history of the post-Civil War Legal Tender Cases. From National Review in 1978, Alan Reynolds and William Peterson promote the gold standard. Also from the NR archive, Bruce Bartlett argues for supply-side tax cuts.
From The WSJ, Grover Norquist argues tax increases on the rich trickle down to the middle class.
In The NY Sun, Ira Stoll suggests President Obama’s tax increase policy leaves him politically vulnerable.
At The WSJ, Stephen Moore reports the Buffett Rule’s defeat in the Senate but notes Democratic pledges to keep pushing it.
In The American, Steve Conover explains the Buffett Tax would hit older people disproportionately.
On The Kudlow Report, Mitt Romney discusses tax policy, the Fed, and oil:
At RCM, John Tamny criticizes Romney’s tax and monetary positions. In IBD, Art Laffer highlights the failure of California’s soak-the-rich approach. At The Washington Times, Richard Rahn explains the wealthy have great capacity to determine how much tax to pay. From Alhambra Partners, Joe Calhoun sees the market moderating in response to modest economic growth. The San Francisco Chroniclefeatures an Investopedia article that notes that as tax rates rise the rich may not work less but do find ways to offset their taxable income. From The Victory Corp, John Tamny discusses Herman Cain’s tax plan and Rick Santorum. At Reason, Shikha Dalmia suggests John Maynard Keynes may have been a closet supply-sider. In The NYT, Bruce Bartlett notes that businesses startups do create most new jobs but suggests tax cuts won’t do much to help.
The WSJhighlights the positive revenue effects of cutting the capital gains tax.
In The WSJ, Amity Shlaes cites FDR and Coolidge to argue tax policy should focus on competition not fairness.
On The Kudlow Report, Larry opposes raising tax rates:
On RCM, financier Eric Fine argues Ben Bernanke reduces confidence in the dollar by dismissing the gold standard. From Alhambra Partners, Joseph Calhoun fears economic weakness will spur QE3. In The Washington Times, Richard Rahn complains about the byzantine tax code. From ISI, George Gilder debates technology and the prospects for growth:
In The NYT, Bruce Bartlett suggests eliminating income taxes for the lower 75% of earners and replacing the revenue with a 12.5% VAT.
From Forbes, Nathan Lewis suggests huge, permanent current account deficits are no problem.
IBDlinks the dollar’s foreign exchange value and the oil price.
At Forbes, Ike Brannon argues low taxes on capital gains and dividends are essential to productivity and wage growth.
On CNBC, former US Sen. Jim Talent (MO) discusses Mitt Romney’s ties to US Rep. Paul Ryan’s (WI) budget plan:
In The WSJ, Phil Gramm and Steve McMillin note the US has the most progressive tax system in the world.
At TGSN, Ralph Benko reports new data that suggests Milton Friedman drastically overestimated the gold standard’s cost.
From The Gatestone Institute, David Goldman links oil prices to the S&P.
At The American, James Pethokoukis highlights the weaken-than-expected March employment figures.
In Forbes, Peter Ferrara predicts the Supreme Court will strike down Obamacare.
The WSJquotes the great Henry Hazlitt on the dangers of even a mild inflation. In The WSJ, Ronald Coase and Nina Wang explain China’s success is due to liberalization not state control. On Forbes, Tim Worstall notes rumors of a currency union between Australia and New Zealand. In The WSJ, Antonis Samaras reports the dire effect on Greece of contraction plus austerity. In Forbes, Steve Forbes highlights the Chinese highway partnership between public and private sectors.
At Bloomberg, Forbes critiques the US Federal Reserve:
For at least three years, right-wing economists, pundits and politicians have been warning that runaway inflation is just around the corner, and they keep being wrong. Do you remember the tirades about “debasing the dollar” around this time last year? Do you remember the scorn heaped on Mr. Bernanke last spring when he argued that the bulge in inflation taking place at the time was just a temporary blip caused by gasoline prices and would soon recede? Well, he was right. At this point, inflation is once again running a bit below the Fed’s self-declared target of 2 percent.
At Fiscal Times, Bruce Bartlett suggests earmarks are less important than some conservatives suggest.
