President Obama’s Federal Reserve appointments will be a key signal regarding the seriousness of his economic policy objectives.  more

Of course Ben Bernanke is Time magazine’s Man of the Year. The financial crisis threatened the Federal Reserve, the U.S. economy, and the economies of every country on the planet. And Bernanke led a Fed response of almost unimaginable scale and scope.  more

President Obama pledged that any health reform bill would not exceed $900 billion in costs (over the next ten years). Despite the claims of the Democrats, the Baucus reform plan was kept under this cost limit only by the most transparent and dishonest budget trickery.  more

The disappointing September jobs report has re-ignited talk about a second stimulus package. Amongst the proposals: renewing the $8,000 first-time homebuyers tax credit. The tax credit though is straight out of the same pool of bad ideas that gave us the misbegotten “cash for clunkers” program.   more

Congress is contemplating two bills which would allow the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to audit the Federal Reserve. The idea should not be dismissed out of hand. A finely-tuned audit could make the Fed more accountable, while also protecting its independence.  more

The massive inefficiences of mandated services and fixed prices lead to bad service: Just look at the post office. The FCC’s network neutrality proposal will force similar inefficiencies upon internet service providers.  more

Republicans should be in favor of market reforms that engender competition regardless of health status. But they should stay out of the business of coercion and excessive government guarantees.  more

It has been amazing to watch the evolution of the healthcare debate – including the willingness of Congress to push forward with a price tag over $1 trillion. Even worse, the bills are riddled with gimmicks that disguise the reality of a much higher price tag.  more

The Obama Administration wants to ram its agenda through and ignore the due diligence, deliberative traditions, and process that only the inside the beltway crowd knows. They are counting on being able to say “we passed (fill in the blank) legislation and addressed the pressing problems of America” even if the latter part does not pass any sort of substantive scrutiny.  more

The states – the stalwarts of fiscal probity who must obey balanced budgets – are in terrible shape. California, which recently was reduced to issuing IOUs instead of paying its bills, is the poster child for budget problems, but the distress is widespread in many states.  more

The Obama Administration is gearing up for another go at stimulus roulette, but more time should be allowed to see the effects of the massive spending, tax, and monetary policy moves of the past nine months before gambling more of the taxpayers dollars.  more

Reflexive opposition to global warming policies puts Republicans on the wrong side of this issue. In the end, it comes down to paying a price to raise the odds of a better future for our children, nation, and globe. Aren’t conservatives the breed most dedicated to fighting the costly fights and taking the difficult stands to achieve this goal?  more

The health care debate is heating up, and I am on record arguing that it is in the interests of everyone for a bipartisan effort to emerge. One sticking point is the desirability of creating a new “public option” – a federally-run insurance plan that competes with private health insurance. Some Democrats are adamant. Republicans are opposed. What makes   more

A short description of the budget mess in which we find the United States:

Under the President’s budget or the Congressional budget resolution, the United States is on an unsustainable trajectory of debt issuance. We are putting ourselves in the financial position of undergraduates who get a new Citibank card to make the payments on the interest   more

Let’s turn the clock back to the 2008 campaign and ask the question: If Barack Obama had run for office promising to deliver one-third of the Big Three automakers to the unions and drop another one-third on the backs of taxpayers, would people have approved? Yet, remarkably, that is what is in the offing as a   more

Marquee policy initiatives – health care reform, cap-and-trade policy – dominate the headlines. But a less-prominent battle may end up being among the fiercest and most important – the desire of Barack Obama to extract $210 billion from American business to pay for his spendthrift ways. 
Now, to date we do not know exactly what the Obama   more

It’s that time again – there is less than a week to the IRS deadline and Americans once more focus on taxes. In the spirit of the Oprah Era, let me share a little bit. This is traditionally a tough time of year for me. It’s not just that I feel like the last American paying the income   more

A recent business trip reinforced what is at stake in this week’s Federal budget debate. In Hong Kong, I was reminded of the grim consequences for that beautiful city of handing the keys to a regime that does not cherish personal and economic freedom. A bustling financial center built on the power of the private sector seems   more

The FT reports that China is calling for a new reserve currency to replace the dollar. Theatrics or something foreboding?  Both.  It is theatrics because it simply cannot happen in the foreseeable future.  It is foreboding because China is (again) sending the clear message that they are uncomfortable with our management of their dollar-denominated investments.  more

I’ve gotten a fairly big response to the following (quickly written) piece in the Washington Post on Thursday:
The AIG debacle teaches us two things. First, it does not make sense to try to save any single financial institution. Failed enterprises should fail – and go away. The government should only be in the business of preventing too much   more