We mortals pride ourselves as rational beings, but we act emotionally. We get attached to previous positions, and will discount or filter evidence rather than change our minds. We read the news for confirmation rather than information. We are so
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It is not Obama’s fault that home sales are dropping, though it is his fault that they did not drop sooner. Why is it bad that the sales of home and home prices are dropping? Yes, it eats up bank
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We are living in interesting times. While the professional economists are trying to figure out what happened we have all become economists of sorts just to try and understand the events that greet us every day. With huge deficits many
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By pushing more people into housing through incentives the Federal government may be aggravating the unemployment problem. In good markets housing is illiquid. In a real estate depression a house is like a heavy anchor. The inability to be mobile
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In a New York Times Article Paul Krugman took exception to another who laid blame for the financial crisis on Fannie Mae. In Contending with Paul Krugman, part II, Charles Lane takes exception to Krugman. An excerpt: What is the
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We tend to look at our economy as a diversion from the norm after a record financial set back. But the economy we are in may well be closer to the norm. The former economy was distorted by government policies
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George Melloan writes in The Wall Street Journal, The Lessons of Basel’s Bean Counters Summarized: In 1988 the banking regulators from 20 leading industrial nations of the International Monetary Fund met in Switzerland and created Basel I to create a
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Zachary Adam Chesser I am certainly not advocating any violent action, but I wonder if fanatics who publicly threaten the lives of America’s most popular cartoon creators would be in greater danger than Matt Stone and Trey Parker. Can you
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The debate of financial reform is looking eerily like the debate on health care reform. In both cases both parties clearly see the need for change, and in both cases they disagree sharply on the means. When the financial meltdown
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When Alexis de Tocqueville wrote of America in the early 19th century in his classicDemocracy in America, he was comparing America’s democracy to the declining norm in Europe: aristocracy. The European aristocracy, a landed aristocracy, ruled with inheritance and privilege.
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The stock market is pushing to new highs and we are seeing some real improvement in the employment picture. Does this mean that the president’s economic plan is working ? Does it mean that the card check bill, Cap and
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Fareed Zakaria’s first idea towards “Defusing the Debt Crisis” in the March 8 Newsweek was to institute a value added tax. While I supported his other two ideas (see previous two posts), I am at best uncertain on a value
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It will be a bitter pill for many, but it is inevitable.
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I am constantly amazed at how sitting political leaders and naive citizens think that the government can create jobs. If the government could create jobs why would we ever tolerate any unemployment? Either the leaders are economically ignorant or liars.
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We clearly need financial reform. Yet Obama’s reckless, populist, anti-business pronouncements only serve to harden the prevailing attitude that business growth and job generation is just too risky. Financial reform should be thoroughly vetted and discussed in the appropriate House
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Also note in the Wall Street Journal The Fed and the Crisis: a Reply to Ben Bernanke If one can not take responsibility for a mistake, one risks repeating it.
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While banks are returning TARP money, some having taken it under duress, Fannie Mae continues to lose money and receive more bailout. In return for such dismal performance executives are getting pay raises and bonuses. It is a growing contention
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During the 1970’s the sudden and enormous wealth of the Arab World as a result of the oil cartel OPEC, made everyone think they would rule the world. Raising oil prices as a result of the US aid to Israel
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Obama is now pressuring the banks to make loans to stimulate the economy. Yet again we have the government creating a crisis and then blaming the private sector. The banks are in the business if making loans. They should not
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from National Review- “the Good and Bad of It” by Larry Kudlow “According to Chris Edwards at Cato, there are now 383,000 federal workers earning six-figure salaries, and 22,000 earning salaries over $170,000; the number of civil servants making $100,000
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