Tuesday items: Palast bashes Mundell; The Economist on US immigration policy; Kadlec on jobs lost to government policy.

From The Guardian (UK), Greg Palast lambasts "evil genius" Robert Mundell for his euro scheme to force government downsizing.

The Economist reports that America’s competitors do more to welcome entrepreneurial immigrants.

At Forbes, Charles Kadlec analyzes the number of jobs lost due to government policy.

On The Kudlow Report, Gordon Chang of Forbes sees trouble for China’s economy:

At NRO, Larry Kudlow highlights Marco Rubio’s defense of low taxes.

From Alhambra Partners, Joe Calhoun wonders if economic doomsaying has gone too far.

At RCM, John Tamny argues government spending hurts economic growth.

From First Trust, Brian Wesbury hopes the Supreme Court will roll back Obamacare.

On Reason, Steve Chapman argues the Fed is choking the economy with tight money.

From the Heartland Institute, Bret Swanson discusses the federal government’s mishandling of the wireless spectrum.

On Salon, Andrew Leonard uses Bloomberg's report on state income taxes to bash Art Laffer.

In The NYT, Bruce Bartlett tries to talk Republicans into supporting spending stimulus.

Tuesday items: Kadlec on Europe's tax hike failures; Benko on Rueff; Forbes on Ron Paul.

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.

Monday round up: Ryan underscores growth; Forbes on the weak dollar; Ranson on zero interest rates.

From Forbes, Charles Kadlec applauds Mitt Romney’s focus on economic freedom.

In The WSJ, Jason Riley reports conservative Sen. Jim DeMint’s (SC) support for Romney.

At his website, US Rep. Paul Ryan (WI) returns to his supply-side roots with a study, "The Fiscal Effects of FasterGrowth."

On CNBC, Steve Forbes discusses the slow growth economy, the dollar, trade and taxes:



At Forbes, David Ranson explains the negative impact of the zero interest rate policy.

From The American, Bret Swanson highlights technology's impact on economic growth.

At Forbes, John Tamny derides the US attack on China’s rare earths export policy.

On The Kudlow Report, a panel discusses the Fed, the market, and the falling dollar:



The WSJ reports the dollarization of Zimbabwe’s inflation-ravaged economy.

The WSJ notes former flat taxer Gov. Jerry Brown’s (CA) proposal to raise his state’s top tax rate to 13%.

Holiday week round up: Gingrich adopts a strong supply-side agenda and Laffer endorses; Ferrara on the President's Osawatomie, KS speech; Domitrovic on the Fed's third mandate.

From The WSJ, Newt Gingrich outlines his supply-side agenda including monetary reform:

Second, the dollar needs to be stabilized by establishing a price rule for the Federal Reserve to follow in its conduct of monetary policy. This will help stabilize international exchange rates, resolve the ongoing cycles of global financial crises and investment bubbles, short-circuit the run-up in gas and food prices, and unlock the frozen credit system.

On The Kudlow Report, Gingrich discusses his plan:



Human Events reports Art Laffer and Michael Reagan endorsing Newt Gingrich’s supply-side plan.

At Forbes, Steve Forbes argues President Obama will be a one-term president.

From Forbes, Peter Ferrara critiques the President’s attack on supply-side economics.

On Fox News, Laffer discusses his support for Gingrich:

 

From Forbes, Brian Domitrovic suggests the Federal Reserve has a third, secret mandate to fund the government’s debt.

On CNBC, John Carney cites Jude Wanniski’s Two-Santa Theory to criticize Republican handling of the payroll tax holiday.

At IBD, Walter Williams rebuts China bashers.

From Human Events, Larry Kudlow profiles US Rep. Paul Ryan (WI) as man of the year.

At Forbes, Bret Swanson critiques the Obama Administration’s focus on increasing consumption.

On Kudlow, Steve Forbes discusses the GOP race:



From TGSN, Larry White explains how to transition to a gold-linked dollar.

In The WSJ, Robert Guest outlines the positive contribution high-skill immigrants make to the US economy.

On Forbes, Louis Woodhill suggests the payroll tax holiday is bad for the economy.

At TGSN, Ralph Benko quotes Isabel Patterson on Isaac Newton’s role in defining the British pound as a weight of gold.

On The Larry Parks Show, The American Principles Project’s Sean Feiler discusses the weak dollar’s role in workers’ declining wages.

From Bloomberg, Robert Mundell applauds the ECB’s recent monetary expansion:


The WSJ profiles Gov. Romney, noting possible support for a Value Added Tax.

At TGSN, Ralph Benko wishes the Federal Reserve happy birthday.

In The WSJ, Stanford’s John Taylor argues for tax rate stability.

Wednesday items: The Wash Post reports the President's assault on SSE; Ferrara responds; Pethokoukis on inequality.

The Washington Post reports the President claiming supply-side economics has never worked.

In The American Spectator, Peter Ferrara says the President is pitting the takers against the makers.

At Forbes, Bill Frezza rebuts Robert Reich.

On The Kudlow Report, a panel discusses the Gingrich vs. Romney race:



At The American, Alex Brill explains that the payroll tax holiday is bad policy.

The WSJ notes the tax increase support from Governors Cuomo and Brown.

From The American, Bret Swanson argues the FCC restrictions of the AT&T-Mobile wireless merger will damage jobs and innovation.

The WSJ notes possible changes in the Basel III rules.

On Kudlow, James Pethokoukis discusses income inequality:



At Forbes, Brian Domitrovic chides the press for its coverage of Herman Cain.

Weekend round up: Lewis on gold linked currency; Mundell says gold could play a role in monetary reform; Lowry admonishes the GOP to focus on growth.

The new book to buy – ‘It Shines for All’: The Gold Standard Editorials of The NY Sun.

On Forbes, Nathan Lewis distinguishes between currencies linked to gold vs. backed by gold.

At a leading website in primary state Iowa, Ralph Benko argues the gold standard advantages main street rather than wall street.

On Bloomberg, Robert Mundell suggests monetary reform featuring fixed exchange rates among major currencies, with gold as an intermediary:

FOX: Now, you've written about the role of gold in the world economy, Professor Mundell. Do you think that we're going to see any kind of return to the gold standard?

MUNDELL: I - nothing like the gold standard that existed before 1914. But there could be a kind of Bretton Woods type of gold standard where the price of gold was fixed for central banks and they could use gold as an asset to trade central banks. The great advantage of that was that gold is it’s nobody's liability and it can't be printed. So it has a strength and confidence that people trust. So if you had not just the United States, but the United States and the euro tied together to each other and to gold, gold might be the intermediary, and then with the other important currencies, like the yen and the Chinese yuan and the British pound, all tied together as a kind of new SDR, I think that would be one way the world could move forward toward a better monetary system.

At NRO, Larry Kudlow recounts House Republican leader Eric Cantor’s (VA) focus on jobs and growth.

From Forbes, Bret Swanson explains the budget ramifications of 2, 2.5, 3 and 4 percent annual growth:



In a bellwether column, National Review editor Rich Lowry admonishes the GOP to focus on economic growth:

The unemployment rate is still at 9 percent. According to Gallup, 35 percent of people say the economy is their top concern, and 22 percent say jobs. Just 12 percent cite the federal deficit and debt. Republicans have taken the top concern of roughly one-eighth of the public and made it their existential cause. On top of that, they have taken a subset of the debt issue, the long-term fiscal sustainability of Medicare, and made it their calling card.

On The Kudlow Report, Art Laffer outlines a tax reform agenda to supercharge economic growth:




From Bloomberg, Stephen L. Carter suggests small and medium size businesses are paralyzed by regulatory uncertainty.

At New World Economics, Nathan Lewis continues his explanation of gold’s great long-term stability.

From last year, Chris Mahoney of Granite Springs Asset Management speculates that China could use its dollar assets to peg the euro to the dollar, and by extension to the yuan.

IBD notes gains from international trade.

Weekend update: Lewis on the stability of gold-backed currency; Domitrovic on the fiat dollar; Tamny discusses the dollar.

From Forbes, Nathan Lewis clarifies that the gold standard’s purpose is to create a currency that is stable in value.

On IBD, Brian Domitrovic argues the fiat dollar has allowed the U.S. fiscal and current account deficits.

The WSJ notes the failure of the President’s Keynesian policies.

IBD contrasts the Reagan recovery with the current one.

On The Kudlow Report, John Tamny discusses the dollar’s fall:




At Forbes, Tamny reports on one wealthy American who is “shrugging.”

From The Washington Post, George Will confirms that tax rates impact business decisions.

In The NYT, Roger Lowenstein defends the current monetary system.

The Times of India reports nations moving into dollar alternatives.

At Forbes, Bill Flax criticizes Ben Bernanke for continuing QE2.

On This Week with Christiane Amanpour, Jack Kemp-protégé U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan (WI) predicts debt – not growth and jobs – will be the focus of the 2012 election:




NPR’s Robert Smith attempts to rebut the claim that the rich flee high tax states.

On Forbes, Bret Swanson praises Mitch Daniels’ management style.

The NYT profiles Gary North, whose Christian Economics includes support for the gold standard.

Wednesday update: Swanson profiles Cochrane; Benko recounts fiat money's political disorders; Laffer talks inflation.

From Forbes, Bret Swanson surveys the compelling opinions of University of Chicago economist John Cochrane.

AT TGSN, Ralph Benko recounts the dollar standard’s three political disorders (here, here and here).

On The Kudlow Report, Art Laffer discusses the producer price index’s surge:



At RCM, John Tamny advises Japan to avoid bad economics as it strives to recover.

In The Journal, James Grant reviews Douglas Irwin’s book on Smoot-Hawley.

From Bloomberg, Caroline Baum notes Bastiat’s counter to Keynesian ideas about government projects creating prosperity.

From Mises.org, David Stockman unleashes on the 2008 bailout and the dollar standard:

Viewed more broadly, the carnage on Wall Street in September 2008 was the inevitable crash of a 40-year financial bubble spawned by the Fed after Nixon closed the gold window in August 1971. As time passed, the Fed's market-rigging and money-printing actions had become increasingly destructive — leaving the banking system ever more unstable and populated with a growing bevy of Too Big to Fail institutions.

The 1984 rescue of Continental Illinois; the 1994 Mexican peso crisis bailouts; the Fed's 1998 life-support operation for LTCM — were all just steps along the way to the fall of 2008.

Then, faced with the collapse of their own handiwork, Washington panicked and joined the Fed in unleashing an indiscriminate bailout capitalism that has now thoroughly corrupted the halls of government, even as it has become a debilitating blight on the free market.

In The WSJ, Newt Gingrich and Peter Ferrara advocate making the Bush tax rates permanent.

At The Journal, Stephen Moore reports congressional conservatives are unsatisfied with the pace of spending cuts.

On the Peter Peterson funded Fiscal Times, James C. Cooper cites weak dollar advocate Fred Bergsten (of the Peterson Institute for International Economics) calling for dollar depreciation to boost exports. The irony is, the biggest barrier to US exports is the dollar standard Bergsten helped create in the 1970s.

At Mises.org, Frank Shostak argues economic growth doesn’t cause inflation.

Thursday round up.

On RCM, John Tamny advocates legalizing insider trading.

In The WSJ, Stephen Moore suggests government spending supplants higher yield private investment.

On The Kudlow Report, David Goldman discusses Japan’s debt crisis, slow growth and demographics:



At Forbes, Bret Swanson mentions sound money in a review of Tyler Cowen’s new book on technology.

The Washington Post reports sound dollar advocate U.S. Rep. Mike Pence (IN) won’t run for president.

On Kudlow, John Rutledge sounds optimistic on economic growth:



At Forbes, Jerry Bowyer sees a divide between economic elites of both parties and average workers.

The WSJ reports Mexico’s president opposes currency manipulation.

Monday update.

Two remarkable mainstream media hits:

First, in The NYT, James Grant advocates return to the gold standard.

Second, on National Public Radio, Reaganite and American Principles Project director Jeffrey Bell supports a gold-backed dollar.

And, in a notable act of public dissent, economists oppose Ben Bernanke's quantitative easing. On CNBC, David Malpass discusses the letter:




On his blog, Bret Swanson praises the rise of the sound money coalition.

In The WSJ, Mary Anastasia O’Grady explains that dollar volatility is undermining Brazil’s market reforms.

Bloomberg reports Australia’s measures to raise its currency’s exchange rate against the dollar to stem inflation.

Also in The Journal, Victor Shih of Northwestern University explains that China’s dollar link is causing painful inflation:

China is seeing the highest price increases in over two years, and this has officials worried. While the official consumer inflation rate was 4.4% for October, a 10% rise in food prices is having a huge impact on poorer households. The domestic media is filled with stories of hoarding by both producers and consumers.

The government has responded with a small interest-rate increase and some hikes of the reserve requirement, though rates on demand deposits have not budged at all. More action is needed. A resolute drive to slow growth of the money supply will stop the hemorrhaging of household savings due to inflation. As an added bonus, it may also wean China off of its heavy dependence on investment-driven growth.

The recent bout of inflation may seem mild in comparison to the double-digit price rises in the 1980s and '90s. But the social impact may be almost as severe. According to research by a Chinese government think tank, poorer households now face inflation that is twice the overall rate because their consumption basket is dominated by food items, which have seen the most rapid price increases. So even though wage gains seem robust, many households are seeing flat or negative increases in purchasing power.

In Forbes, Reuven Brenner advocates fixed exchange rates and tax reform to reenergize the economy.

At Asia Times, David Goldman foresees a serious crisis from the falling dollar.

On The Kudlow Report, Bob McTeer discusses global currency tensions:




On NRO, Larry Kudlow sees good economic news in the short run.

At The NY Sun, Seth Lipsky recounts Henry Hazlitt’s sound money advocacy.

Also on Kudlow, Dan Mitchell debates Robert Reich on Congress’s next steps:




On Forbes, John Tamny raves about Bill Flax’s book on markets, The Courage To Do Nothing.

At Hugh Hewitt, Clark Judge summarizes a recent Art Laffer speech.

From the archives, Jude Wanniski recounts dollar reform efforts in 1987:

Having demonstrated the Mundellian process by which tax cuts and a stable dollar-gold price at an optimum level was a far superior policy framework than the monetarist formula, I believed it would be only a matter of a year or two before we would re-establish a dollar link to gold. The monetarists were indeed no longer a powerful force in policy circles, but the neo-Keynesians stepped up to argue against a price rule, on the grounds that they could do even better in the management of the economy with the flexibility of a managed currency. The closest we got to a dollar-gold link was in September 1987, when then-Treasury Secretary James Baker III proposed an international monetary reform that would link the major currencies together, with central banks using “a commodity basket, including gold” as a “reference point,” a term I gave Baker and his aide, Bob Zoellick, at the time.

Wednesday articles.

Cato's Dan Mitchell notes the President's desire to increase tax revenue via economic growth.

On the Kudlow Report, Mitchell discusses House Minority Leader John Boehner's (OH) economic policy speech.

And on Power Lunch, Mitchell debates creating a higher tax rate for the super rich.

Bret Swanson comments on Raghu Rajan's analysis of the financial crisis.

On NPR, Cato's Mike Tanner takes a swipe at Jude Wanniski's Two Santas Theory and says we can't grow our way out of deficits.

On the John Batchelor radio show, John Tamny discusses the housing market (at 27:40).

And here's Tamny on the Kudlow Report.

At Huffington Post, Robert Reich proposes increasing tax cuts for lower income workers while raising taxes on upper income earners.

Editor's note: At Alan Reynold's suggestion, I have added Edward C. Prescott's "Why Do Americans Work So Much More Than Europeans?" to the Classic Articles section.

Wednesday articles.

Bret Swanson analyzes China's internet development.

David Goldman explains why he is bearish on bank stocks.

Stephen Spruiell interviews Allan Meltzer on inflation.

Amity Schlaes suggests expansive government threatens prosperity.

In Forbes, Brian Wesbury and Robert Stein argue trade deficits aren't a threat.

At The Freeman, Mark W. Hendrickson opposes protectionism.

Washington Post blogger Ezra Klein comments on Sen. McConnell's view that the Bush tax cuts didn't diminish revenue.

At Newsweek, Daniel Gross claims growth will help solve the deficit.

Was George W. Bush a supply-sider?

At the Library of Economics and Liberty, David Henderson recently reviewed Bruce Bartlett's book, "The New American Economy."

The whole piece is worth reading, but Henderson makes one particularly important point.

Bartlett's... facts show that Bush missed the fundamental insight about supply-side economics, which is the importance of getting marginal rates down. As Bartlett notes, "Bush himself was responsible for watering down the supply-side elements."

Doubling the child credit, in particular, is the opposite of a supply-side policy. Bartlett writes, correctly, "the vast bulk of Bush's tax cuts in dollar terms involved rebates and tax credits that had no supply-side effects whatsoever."

This is a vital point, and good for Bartlett and Henderson for highlighting it.

Two of the three tax cuts signed in the G.W. Bush Era were not supply-side in that they were not long-term reductions of marginal tax rates on income or capital. The cuts of 2001 and 2008 were designed as short-term rebates to stimulate consumption, i.e. demand, by putting "more money in people's pockets."

In the supply-side view, such tax cuts are a waste of money as they cost Treasury billions and clutter the IRS code without reforming the tax system to incentivize new economic growth or investment.

Any how, only the 2003 tax cut was a true supply-side bill, thanks to the efforts of House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas, and the sluggish economy accelerated. Despite the tax bill's $650 billion price tag, the fiscal deficit fell from 2004-2007, and President Bush was re-elected.

While tax policy is vital to understanding the Bush era, both Bartlett and Henderson ignore the supply-side policy mix's other half, sound money, which was notably absent.

From 2001-08, the dollar fell against other major currencies:



And gold rose four times, from $250 to $1000:



In hindsight, it is obvious U.S. monetary authorities in the GW Bush years pursued a weak dollar policy, a Keynesian idea intended to promote exports. Such currency manipulation is fundamentally at odds with the supply-side principles of fixed exchange rates among world currencies and a stable gold price.

As Nobel Laureate Robert Mundell has explained, trade deficits in an open global economy balance when a current account deficit's flipside is a capital account surplus, as has been the case for America for most of its history. By definition, in an open-economy model, all trade balances.

Today, it is clear that the weak dollar dollar policy was the great economic mistake under President Bush, as it pushed the housing boom into a bubble, raised oil prices to record levels, and damaged trade partners. Mundell believes the dollar's instability was the primary culprit in the 2008 financial crisis and resulting recession. He argues Europe's current economic problems are a direct result of the dollar's instability too.

It should be clear then, that the G.W. Bush years were not a period of supply-side policy, especially for monetary policy. If anything, the era confirms the danger of deviating from the supply-side formula.

(Note: John Tamny has made many of these arguments previously. As have Bret Swanson and David Malpass.)