Friday items.

At Globe Asia, Steve Hanke calculates President Obama’s misery rating (third after Carter and Nixon). One note is that Hanke refers to Fed rate policy as responsible for the last decade’s falling dollar; analysts including John Tamny argue Treasury jawboning was more responsible as the dollar declined in the 2000s when rates were falling and when rates were rising.

On The Kudlow Report, James Glassman debates Fed policy’s impact on markets:



In The WSJ, Stanford’s Ronald McKinnon counters the recent editorial on China’s monetary sterilization and suggests rising wages will improve trade imbalances.

At Bloomberg TV, David Malpass argues a yuan revaluation would hurt China and the U.S.

From the Heritage Foundation, Derek Scissors discounts security concerns stemming from China trade.

On Kudlow, Larry Kudlow analyzes the GOP’s Pledge to America:



At Reason, Veronique de Rugy argues spending cuts won’t hurt the economy.

From the Mercatus Center, Matthew Mitchell and Jakina Debnam suggest government deficits crowd out private sector investment.

At The Weekly Standard, Jonathan V. Last notes the low American birth rate.

Weekend items.

Steve Forbes fears mark-to-market accounting rules are coming back, and says Europe should not bail out their weakest members.

And on Fox News, Forbes calls for lower taxes, plus sound money and spending restraint.

The progressive bandwagon advocating jobs not austerity is picking up steam (Mother Jones, Ezra Klein, George Soros, Robert Reich and The Nation).

The Tax Foundation analyzes lower tax rates on dividends.

While the Republican House leader's office argues the President should "cut spending now to create jobs and help our economy."

Much as some political leaders in the past have overstated the case when claiming tax cuts pay for themselves, perhaps now they are confusing evidence, like this study from Mercatus, that spending isn't effective stimulus as meaning that spending cuts therefore are stimulative.