The Federal Reserve Beige Book, released on March 6, cited Obamacare as a factor in slowing hiring and employment growth. The Beige Book is a report published eight times a year that details the economic activity in the 12 different Federal Reserve regions. As this most recent report explains, “Employers …
There are many ways to surrender—and some congressional Republicans seem bent on exploring them all. In the debate over the fiscal cliff, the President’s position is simple: The Republicans must capitulate on income tax rate hikes, and all other serious issues are not up for discussion. Never mind that Obama …
The Federal Reserve Board today announced the introduction of yet another hyper-aggressive monetary policy, dubbed “QE4” by some for the fourth round of quantitative easing. Three times a dud, fourth time a charm? Not likely. The Fed’s concerns for the economy are well-founded. The economy continues to struggle badly under …
The stock market rose Wednesday in anticipation of Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke’s remarks Thursday. Traders sold Treasury bonds and bought stocks, hoping Bernanke would announce a new monetary stimulus. They were sorely disappointed. Speaking to the Joint Economic Committee of Congress, Bernanke emphasized that the Fed has America’s …
In this special Heritage podcast, listen to distinguished Stanford economist John Taylor discuss his new book, First Principles: Five Keys to Restoring America’s Prosperity. PODCAST: John Taylor On Returning Economy to Prosperity What should guide policy proposals going forward? Are we in full economic recovery mode? Is inflation a threat …
The newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) took a step forward today to getting its first director, as the Senate Banking Committee voted 12–10 to confirm Richard Cordray in the post. Even before the vote, however, President Obama raised the stakes. Referring to Bank of America’s decision to impose …
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 …
The world is in economic crisis. Quite understandably, much attention has been given to cutting runaway government spending, a fundamental cause of the crisis. Much less attention has been given to the fundamental defects of the monetary system. These defects are at the heart of the economic collapse. Both budgetary …
