President Obama recently said, “The most important lesson I’ve learned is you can’t change Washington from the inside.” That’s demoralizing to hear when a recession is bearing down on the economy—and it’s an inside job. The Congressional Budget Office has forecasted a fresh recession to hit next year if Taxmageddon, …
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 …
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) set out to make a convincing case that lower income tax rates do not strengthen the economy. It failed, but in so doing, it called into question the quality of CRS analysis and the institution’s credibility as non-partisan. The CRS is supposed to provide expert, …
On the afternoon of another discouraging assessment of the nation’s economic growth, the Obama Administration late Friday quietly released its mid-year update of the budget. The synchronicity made clear just how far from reality the President’s fiscal and economic policies have drifted—and the imperative of a prompt course correction. Friday …
On July 11, German Chancellor Angela Merkel praised Indonesia as a model of government debt management. In absolute terms, though, Indonesia’s government spending and government debt has steadily increased. Indonesia’s robust fiscal standing comes first from economic growth with some help from controlling fuel subsidies. Indonesia’s government debt declined from …
Whenever misguided economic policy advice crops up, it’s imperative to correct it. The latest comes from Princeton economist Alan Blinder. He advocates for more stimulus, especially more education spending, and pleads for higher tax rates on the “rich.” These policies are mistaken. He begins by contending that, because interest rates …
In a recent New York Times column, a professor of economics argued that the reason we’re mired in economic malaise is that we’re too productive. Ever-increasing productivity means that if our economies don’t continue to expand, we risk putting people out of work.…What, then, should happen when, for one reason …
