Business & Economics
Business & Economics
Cheer Up: There’s a Silver Lining for Tech
Chipmaker Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) said this week that despite its record US$10.2 billion in revenue for the third quarter, the company is worried that the global economic crisis will affect future performance. Despite such a general malaise across the industry, however, there is some very good news on the tech ...
Sonia Arrison
October 17, 2008
Business & Economics
Upper Midwest: Land of economically free
The Republicans held their convention in St. Paul this summer, but the real news from the Upper Midwest is the region’s renaissance in economic freedom, led by South Dakota. The Mount Rushmore State is number one among all 50 states in economic freedom, according to the recently released 2008 U.S. ...
Lawrence J. McQuillan
October 16, 2008
Business & Economics
If We Can’t Get Price Transparency, Let’s Try Calorie Transparency
Who knows why Governor Schwarzenegger signed SB-1420, a silly law that requires chain restaurants (a.k.a. fast-food joints) to post calorie-counts of their burgers, fries, and shakes on the menu-boards. Maybe sign-makers lobbied for it? I doubt it: Governor Schwarzenegger is a huge supporter of the nanny-state when it comes to ...
John R. Graham
October 13, 2008
Business & Economics
Blatant Contradictions From Larry Kudlow
I have always liked Larry Kudlow. When I was growing up as a budding free marketeer, there was a natural disaster (I don’t remember which one) and everyone was calling for the president (must have been Reagan) to disburse disaster assistance for rebuilding. I didn’t like that answer, but I ...
Robert P. Murphy
October 12, 2008
Business & Economics
Sacramento sellout
Only two weeks after lawmakers in Sacramento passed a budget, the state is already in the red. As Gov. Schwarzenegger and the Legislature debate more spending cuts and accounting tricks, another solution may be right in front of them: more laws. In California, government owns the laws and forces people ...
Daniel R. Ballon
October 12, 2008
Business & Economics
Northeast policies oppress enterprise
THE RESULTS ARE IN, and for residents of America’s Northeast, the news is not good. With the notable exception of New Hampshire, the nine states of the Northeast continue to be the worst places for economic freedom. According to the 2008 U.S. Economic Freedom Index from the Pacific Research Institute, ...
Pacific Research Institute
October 10, 2008
Business & Economics
Sacramento Sell-Out: Even the Laws Have a Price
Only two weeks after lawmakers in Sacramento passed a budget, the state is already in the red. As Governor Schwarzenegger and the legislature debate more spending cuts and accounting tricks, another solution may be right in front of them: more laws. In California, government owns the laws and forces people ...
Daniel R. Ballon
October 8, 2008
Business & Economics
Riding the Revenue Rollercoaster
After a record impasse, the sages of Sacramento have finally agreed on a budget for California, a $144-billion bonanza with unprecedented general fund spending but without structural reform in the state’s finances. The boom-bust revenue rollercoaster is still in place, and Californians can expect a bigger budget crisis in a ...
Robert P. Murphy
October 8, 2008
Business & Economics
Federal Reserve Employs Tools to Ease Credit Fears
JIM LEHRER: This day in the financial crisis began with the Federal Reserve. It took the unprecedented move to buy short-term debt to thaw out frozen credit markets. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke laid out just how bad those conditions are during a speech today. BEN BERNANKE, Federal Reserve Chairman: Even ...
Pacific Research Institute
October 7, 2008
Business & Economics
Whether McCain or Obama, Tech Policy Is Bound to Change
Technology policy is not center stage in this year’s presidential campaign, much as the competitive community might wish otherwise. Each candidate – Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Barack Obama, D-Ill. — is consumed with weightier subjects, namely the economy and Iraq, analysts and industry insiders say. That’s not to say ...
Kelly M. Teal
October 7, 2008
Cheer Up: There’s a Silver Lining for Tech
Chipmaker Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) said this week that despite its record US$10.2 billion in revenue for the third quarter, the company is worried that the global economic crisis will affect future performance. Despite such a general malaise across the industry, however, there is some very good news on the tech ...
Upper Midwest: Land of economically free
The Republicans held their convention in St. Paul this summer, but the real news from the Upper Midwest is the region’s renaissance in economic freedom, led by South Dakota. The Mount Rushmore State is number one among all 50 states in economic freedom, according to the recently released 2008 U.S. ...
If We Can’t Get Price Transparency, Let’s Try Calorie Transparency
Who knows why Governor Schwarzenegger signed SB-1420, a silly law that requires chain restaurants (a.k.a. fast-food joints) to post calorie-counts of their burgers, fries, and shakes on the menu-boards. Maybe sign-makers lobbied for it? I doubt it: Governor Schwarzenegger is a huge supporter of the nanny-state when it comes to ...
Blatant Contradictions From Larry Kudlow
I have always liked Larry Kudlow. When I was growing up as a budding free marketeer, there was a natural disaster (I don’t remember which one) and everyone was calling for the president (must have been Reagan) to disburse disaster assistance for rebuilding. I didn’t like that answer, but I ...
Sacramento sellout
Only two weeks after lawmakers in Sacramento passed a budget, the state is already in the red. As Gov. Schwarzenegger and the Legislature debate more spending cuts and accounting tricks, another solution may be right in front of them: more laws. In California, government owns the laws and forces people ...
Northeast policies oppress enterprise
THE RESULTS ARE IN, and for residents of America’s Northeast, the news is not good. With the notable exception of New Hampshire, the nine states of the Northeast continue to be the worst places for economic freedom. According to the 2008 U.S. Economic Freedom Index from the Pacific Research Institute, ...
Sacramento Sell-Out: Even the Laws Have a Price
Only two weeks after lawmakers in Sacramento passed a budget, the state is already in the red. As Governor Schwarzenegger and the legislature debate more spending cuts and accounting tricks, another solution may be right in front of them: more laws. In California, government owns the laws and forces people ...
Riding the Revenue Rollercoaster
After a record impasse, the sages of Sacramento have finally agreed on a budget for California, a $144-billion bonanza with unprecedented general fund spending but without structural reform in the state’s finances. The boom-bust revenue rollercoaster is still in place, and Californians can expect a bigger budget crisis in a ...
Federal Reserve Employs Tools to Ease Credit Fears
JIM LEHRER: This day in the financial crisis began with the Federal Reserve. It took the unprecedented move to buy short-term debt to thaw out frozen credit markets. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke laid out just how bad those conditions are during a speech today. BEN BERNANKE, Federal Reserve Chairman: Even ...
Whether McCain or Obama, Tech Policy Is Bound to Change
Technology policy is not center stage in this year’s presidential campaign, much as the competitive community might wish otherwise. Each candidate – Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Barack Obama, D-Ill. — is consumed with weightier subjects, namely the economy and Iraq, analysts and industry insiders say. That’s not to say ...