In this week’s Heritage in Focus, regulatory fellow Diane Katz discusses a provision in the regulatory reform bill, also known as Dodd-Frank, that is leading banks to increase debit card fees. Listen here. The provision, known as the “Durbin amendment,” limits the amount banks can charge retailers when consumers swipe …
In the currently battered U.S. economy, with high unemployment and bleak growth prospects, politics has become a contest of dueling jobs plans: politicians of every stripe have them. Their motivation may be sincere, but their concept is wrong – and they are just perpetuating the myth that government can create …
My recent post explained why President Obama’s newly proposed $447 billion spending package aimed at boosting total demand is doomed to fail. Some commenters offered a challenge to that assertion. The basis for assessing the spending package: Economic growth is determined by the supply side of the economy, beginning with …
Listen to last Sunday’s Heritage Libertad Radio Show in Spanish or English. The Spanish segment kicked off with a discussion of President Obama’s recent speech to the Congressional Black Caucus, including his insistence on raising taxes on the rich. Later on we take member questions: How much interest on the debt are we …
In case you missed it, make sure you listen to last week’s Heritage Libertad Radio Show. Listen in Spanish or English. The Spanish show kicks off with a discussion of new government data regarding the Hispanic community. That’s followed up with a segment on immigration. The show closes with member …
Which comes first: supply or demand? This question has serious policy implications, especially as President Barack Obama proposes $447 billion in additional stimulus spending in order to try to spur job growth in America. “Demand-siders,” also known as Keynesians (after influential economist John Maynard Keynes), insist that short-run economic fluctuations …
In this week’s Heritage in Focus, researcher Rachel Sheffield discusses her new report on poverty in America. PODCAST: What’s the Truth About Poverty? Is there a difference between what the U.S. government’s facts and figures really say about poverty in the United States and Americans’ conception of poverty? Has big government …
During the Republican debate Monday night in Tampa, Florida, Governor Rick Perry (R–TX) said that President Obama’s $800 billion stimulus created zero jobs. CNN “fact-checked” this statement and determined it was false. To review, in 2009 just before the stimulus was enacted, the unemployment rate stood at 7.5 percent. Today—two years …
Be sure to listen to last week’s Heritage Libertad radio show, both in English and Spanish. The show included segments on President Obama’s upcoming jobs speech, the role of religion in politics and, as always, a segment answering Heritage member questions. Questions included: Is the United States a democracy or …