Business & Economics
Business & Economics
Going Broke One City at a Time: Municipal Bankruptcies in America
Municipalities have rarely defaulted on their debt. As a consequence, municipal debt is regarded as having an extremely low risk for investors. There are disconcerting trends developing that may change this historical view. The combination of the weak U.S. economy, high municipal debt levels, and large under-funded pension liabilities coupled ...
Business & Economics
Regulatory decisions should be inclusive and based on facts
Creating the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was never a good idea. Now that the Bureau is up and running, its actions are removing all doubt. New auto-lending rules stand out as the latest example of the CFPB’s shortcomings. Due to these new rules, buying a car may soon ...
Business & Economics
U.S. economy needs free trade
American officials are currently negotiating a free-trade deal known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership with their counterparts in Japan and 11 other Pacific Rim countries. If successful, the benefits to American consumers and producers would be significant. By some estimates, an agreement could grow the U.S. economy by $77 billion a ...
Agriculture
Today’s Energy Crisis: Too Much, Not Too Little, Fossil Fuel
Back in April 1977, President Carter warned that “the oil and natural gas we rely on for 75% of our energy are running out.” In response to the perceived energy supply shortages, he wanted to limit the annual growth in overall U.S. energy usage, force American consumers to lower their ...
Business & Economics
Uncle Sam’s Phantom Loan Revenues
You may have heard that lawmakers in Washington struck a deal last week to preserve the current low student-loan rates for at least another year. You may not have heard that for fiscal year 2013 the federal government booked $32 million in revenuesprofits, if it were a private entityfor every ...
Commentary
If no changes, no Medicare
Medicare has two more years to live than previously thought. The program’s trustees recently estimated that the “depletion date for the trust fund is 2026, two years later than was shown in last year’s report.” But that conclusion is less a vote of confidence than a two-year stay of execution. ...
Business & Economics
New Pacific Research Institute Study Finds that “Plan Bay Area” Will Drive Housing Prices Higher, Intensify Traffic, and Increase Air Pollution
The Pacific Research Institute released a new study on the proposed Plan Bay Area. The study describes the proposals regulatory overreach and its detrimental consequences for Bay Area residents and the metropolitan economy. In addition, the study shows that improved fuel efficiency by 2035 will more than meet the requirements ...
Business & Economics
Obama’s Green Team
The four leaders of Barack Obamas second-term Green Team are nearly all in place: John Kerry has been confirmed as Secretary of State, Sally Jewell has been confirmed as Secretary of the Interior, Ernest Moniz has been confirmed as Secretary of Energy, and only the confirmation of Gina McCarthy remains ...
Business & Economics
Outside Opinion: ‘Swipe fees’ aren’t so bad
Most Americans swipe their credit cards in the checkout line without thinking twice. But our ability to do so is under attack. Seven years ago, a group of stores launched a lawsuit alleging that credit card issuers unfairly dictate the so-called swipe fees. Although the parties agreed to a settlement ...
Business & Economics
Startup Business Are America’s Best Job Creators
‘Small business” is the recipient of much official love (as well as heavy regulatory intrusion), but it receives its loudest applause as the supposed source of most employment growth. Alas, that conventional wisdom is incorrect: The modern scholarly literature finds that it is new (not small) businesses startups ...
Going Broke One City at a Time: Municipal Bankruptcies in America
Municipalities have rarely defaulted on their debt. As a consequence, municipal debt is regarded as having an extremely low risk for investors. There are disconcerting trends developing that may change this historical view. The combination of the weak U.S. economy, high municipal debt levels, and large under-funded pension liabilities coupled ...
Regulatory decisions should be inclusive and based on facts
Creating the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was never a good idea. Now that the Bureau is up and running, its actions are removing all doubt. New auto-lending rules stand out as the latest example of the CFPB’s shortcomings. Due to these new rules, buying a car may soon ...
U.S. economy needs free trade
American officials are currently negotiating a free-trade deal known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership with their counterparts in Japan and 11 other Pacific Rim countries. If successful, the benefits to American consumers and producers would be significant. By some estimates, an agreement could grow the U.S. economy by $77 billion a ...
Today’s Energy Crisis: Too Much, Not Too Little, Fossil Fuel
Back in April 1977, President Carter warned that “the oil and natural gas we rely on for 75% of our energy are running out.” In response to the perceived energy supply shortages, he wanted to limit the annual growth in overall U.S. energy usage, force American consumers to lower their ...
Uncle Sam’s Phantom Loan Revenues
You may have heard that lawmakers in Washington struck a deal last week to preserve the current low student-loan rates for at least another year. You may not have heard that for fiscal year 2013 the federal government booked $32 million in revenuesprofits, if it were a private entityfor every ...
If no changes, no Medicare
Medicare has two more years to live than previously thought. The program’s trustees recently estimated that the “depletion date for the trust fund is 2026, two years later than was shown in last year’s report.” But that conclusion is less a vote of confidence than a two-year stay of execution. ...
New Pacific Research Institute Study Finds that “Plan Bay Area” Will Drive Housing Prices Higher, Intensify Traffic, and Increase Air Pollution
The Pacific Research Institute released a new study on the proposed Plan Bay Area. The study describes the proposals regulatory overreach and its detrimental consequences for Bay Area residents and the metropolitan economy. In addition, the study shows that improved fuel efficiency by 2035 will more than meet the requirements ...
Obama’s Green Team
The four leaders of Barack Obamas second-term Green Team are nearly all in place: John Kerry has been confirmed as Secretary of State, Sally Jewell has been confirmed as Secretary of the Interior, Ernest Moniz has been confirmed as Secretary of Energy, and only the confirmation of Gina McCarthy remains ...
Outside Opinion: ‘Swipe fees’ aren’t so bad
Most Americans swipe their credit cards in the checkout line without thinking twice. But our ability to do so is under attack. Seven years ago, a group of stores launched a lawsuit alleging that credit card issuers unfairly dictate the so-called swipe fees. Although the parties agreed to a settlement ...
Startup Business Are America’s Best Job Creators
‘Small business” is the recipient of much official love (as well as heavy regulatory intrusion), but it receives its loudest applause as the supposed source of most employment growth. Alas, that conventional wisdom is incorrect: The modern scholarly literature finds that it is new (not small) businesses startups ...
