Too often, government policies designed to ameliorate a general problem merely benefit a special interest. A case in point, highlighted by Binyamin Applebaum on the Economix blog, is the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). HARP is part of the complex federal effort to stabilize the home mortgage market and stem …
Menzie Chinn took to the blog Econbrowser last Thursday to accuse conservative economists in general – and The Heritage Foundation in particular – of being inconsistent, since we did not share his optimism about the benefits of the 2009 stimulus, but we’ve warned of the danger of the fiscal cliff. …
Thousands of people are not starving to death in Michigan. This shocking development comes despite one of the worst harvests in memory. With little produce being gathered from local orchards and fields, some feared the worst. But despite the drought, grocery stores had full shelves and reasonable prices. The miracle …
On Friday, Representative Pete Sessions (R–TX) and House Speaker John Boehner (R–OH) ran afoul of Glenn Kessler’s “Fact Checker” blog regarding a study of President Obama’s proposed tax increase. Before deciding on a tax change, policymakers are wise to look at the economic impacts of the change. Two Studies In …
According to Friday’s Washington Post, the Administration is considering a new, short-term tax cut. Should conservatives cheer? As a matter of principle, there are at least two reasons to dislike taxes and to applaud tax cuts. First, taxes take money away from those who made the money in the first …
Francois Hollande won election to the French presidency by promising that more government spending would lead to quick economic growth. He sharply criticized the “austerity”—i.e., sudden spending cuts—proposed by his opponent. A few months later, Hollande has come full circle. In addition to a tax increase that has wealthy French …
In a new Backgrounder, “How Contagious Is Europe’s Economic Crisis?”, we discuss several channels through which a European crisis could be transmitted to the U.S. economy and note the key policy responses needed in the U.S. and in Europe. Current effects. The U.S. is already affected by lower demand for …
Wednesday’s warning by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) that the fiscal cliff is likely to push the economy back into recession should bring things sharply into focus for lawmakers. The CBO is correct that the fiscal cliff will lead to a recession, but its report contains faulty economic reasoning. The …
In the midst of one of the most severe droughts on record, Washington’s ethanol mandate is making the corn shortage even worse. Markets have responded quickly and flexibly to the drought where they can, but some corn buyers are sidelined by the rigid government ethanol mandate. Corn prices are skyrocketing, …
