Category Archives: Economic Policy
HealthCare.gov Goes Live
With the launch of the HealthCare.Gov website, the White House rolled out, in record time, the platform that will likely power the new health insurance exchanges promised in 2014. In the interim, HealthCare.Gov will provide Americans with important new health … Continue reading
Is the Democrats 2008 Hangover Finally Over?
The congressional elections of 2006 brought notional Democratic Party control of Congress. Election Day 2008 brought the Democrats the White House, firm control of the House of Representatives, and a strong but not filibuster proof majority in the United States … Continue reading
The Decline of Entrepreneurial Capitalism
What do the following have in common: Budweiser Beer; CITGO gasoline; Good Humor, Ben and Jerry’s, and Breyer’s ice creams; French’s mustard; Frigidaire refrigerators; Adidas and Reebok shoes; New York’s Plaza Hotel and Chrysler Building; Caribou Coffee and Church’s Chicken; … Continue reading
The Politics of the Petroleum Economy (2)
When BP CEO Tony Hayward went before Congress and refused to answer questions asked by both Democratic and Republican members, you had to wonder whether we were finally going to see some bipartisanship. When Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, blasted President … Continue reading
The Politics of the Petroleum Economy
As a matter of principle and practice, I believe in Win-Win solutions whenever possible, and that life presents us with a virtually unlimited number of opportunities to break out of “zero-sum” assumptions to create abundance. In fact, this is the … Continue reading
The Morality of the Petroleum Economy
Petroleum has been a critical component of world economic growth for generations. The strong growth of the U.S. economy since the end of World War II has been in large part made possible by the availability of cheap oil. But … Continue reading
Market Crash – Did Wall Street Blink?
When the Dow Jones Industrial Industrial Average plunged almost a thousand points within a period of 15 minutes on Thursday, May 6, 2010, the credibility of Wall Street should have come into question. Should have because to this point there … Continue reading
The Politics of Immigration
Immigration has been a source of political discord since the beginning of our republic – despite the fact that we are a nation of immigrants. As early as the late 1700s, immigration was the subject of legislative action. The very … Continue reading
Observations from Mexico
My family just returned from a relaxing week in Riviera Maya on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico just south of Cancun. Like many Mexican resorts, the one we stayed at was spectacular, the weather was beautiful, and the only problem … Continue reading
Deficits Not The Problem – They Are The Solution!
Deficits have in the modern era been the only effective tool the federal government has had in its arsenal to fight recessions, and especially serious declines such as during the Great Depression. So are federal deficits the problem today, or … Continue reading