You might think that a White House press briefing would be the one place where it’s safe to ask the Obama Administration a question about its economic policy. Well, think again, especially if you’re questioning the underlying premise of the Administration’s economic philosophy. Yesterday, The Wall Street Journal’s Laura Meckler asked White House press secretary Jay Carney, “I understand why extending unemployment insurance provides relief to people who need it, but how does that create jobs?” Meckler’s question was met with a condescending response, as well as a flawed …
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) today reported that U.S. trade volume for the first six months of the year was 15.7 percent higher in 2011 than 2010. Exports and imports were both up nearly 16 percent. Compared to the first six months of last year, exports of U.S. goods were up 18.3 percent, reflecting the growing importance of foreign markets for U.S. agricultural and manufactured products. Agricultural exports showed the biggest growth: Exports of foods, feeds, and beverages were up 26.6 percent versus the first six months of …
Since the S&P 500 hit its high for 2011 on April 29 to August 10, 2011, $3.3 trillion invested in the U.S. stock market has been wiped out. The value of American stocks owned fell from $16.82 trillion to $13.57 trillion—19.3 percent. See Chart. That is more than the Gross Domestic Product–the value of all of the goods and services produced in a country—in 2010 of Canada ($1.3 trillion), the U.K. ($2.2 trillion), or Germany (3.1 trillion). While we may not know precisely for some time what triggered this decline …
The Dow Jones Industrial Average saw its biggest daily gain yesterday since March 2009, but Americans’ confidence in the economy has dropped to levels not seen since that same time period, according to a new Gallup poll. Americans’ economic confidence plunged to -53 in the week ending Aug. 7, a level not seen since the recession days of March 2009. This deterioration coincided with the final wrangling over the U.S. debt ceiling and Standard and Poor’s downgrade of the United States’ debt rating. Economic confidence is now far worse than the …
Verizon employees went on strike this week in protest of the company’s proposed changes to its employee benefits. The company’s collective bargaining agreement expired at midnight on Saturday. By Sunday, Verizon was already alleging a dozen instances of sabotage, and illegal attempts by strikers to block managers from entering Verizon facilities. According to a Verizon press release, the company endured: Ten incidents of fiber-optic lines being deliberately cut in the Bronx, Pomona, Farmingdale and Guilderland in New York; two separate incidents in Tewksbury in Massachusetts; incidents in Bel Air in …
Since 1989, the United States has enacted numerous free trade agreements with countries around the world. These agreements have increased trade, improved international relations, and strengthened the U.S. economy. But don’t let the facts stop a good political fight. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), enacted in 1993, inspires the most controversy. For example, the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), in an exercise that stretches the logic of statistical analysis well past the breaking point, claims that the net loss of U.S. jobs due to NAFTA from 1993 to 2002 …
U.S. taxpayers were reminded on Friday (and again this morning) that our long national Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac nightmare is far from over. On Friday, Fannie Mae requested another $5.1 billion in aid from the U.S. Treasury to keep its capital at acceptable levels, which would bring the total Treasury bailout of Fannie Mae to $104 billion, with only $14.7 billion being returned in the form of dividends. Then, this morning Standard and Poor’s downgraded Fannie and Freddie from AAA to AA+ following its downgrade of the entire federal …
Optometrists and ophthalmologists aren’t seeing eye to eye these days on the proper role of government. So contentious is the issue that divides them, in fact, that West Virginia legislator Don Perdue says he spent 16 hours locked in his office “trying to keep (them) from clawing each others’ eyeballs out.” The focus of their ire is H.R. 451, the so-called Healthcare Truth and Transparency Act of 2011—the title of which, like a great deal of federal legislation, masks malignant intentions as benign. Introduced in January by Representative John Sullivan …
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), the Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, issued a subpoena to the National Labor Relations Board on Sunday requesting documents that he said the board had failed to provide of its own accord. The documents involve the NLRB’s controversial suit against Boeing, which seeks to block the airline giant from opening a production facility in South Carolina, a right-to-work state, instead of Washington State. The NLRB claims the move constitutes retaliation against the International Association of Machinists union. Boeing insists that it is …
According to public employees’ unions, federal employees are substantially underpaid, and this year’s pay freeze is just one more slight against workers who could easily earn much more outside the government. It is curious, then, that so many people without federal jobs are lining up for them, apparently hoping to become “underpaid” themselves. Even out in the southern Maryland region, where farm fields predominate and fresh fish is usually on the menu, interest in federal jobs is apparently high. The College of Southern Maryland offers continuing education for adults, and …
