Jim Powell

Now that President Obama is on the campaign trail, touting another big stimulus bill, it’s worth recalling how the last one became not just a costly failure but a comedy of errors. (more)

In 2009, when recession-weary Americans yearned for recovery, President Obama did the politically correct thing: He embraced FDR’s New Deal as a model for his policies. There was much talk about Obama’s “New New Deal,” supposedly a source of hope and change. Like FDR, Obama demonized employers, raised taxes and spent money he didn’t have. (more)

On August 5th, Social Security trustees released their report showing that permanent annual Social Security deficits will begin in 2015, when next year’s high school seniors graduate from college. (more)

Because the number of Social Security and Medicare beneficiaries is growing much faster than the number of taxpayers, those entitlements are headed toward bankruptcy.  Social Security trustees reported that permanent, escalating Social Security deficits will begin in 2015.  Medicare trustees have said Medicare’s situation is “much more severe.” (more)

Since there have been so many bailouts, Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger suggested in the pages of the Wall Street Journal that print and broadcast media should be bailed out, too.  He calls this “enhanced public funding of journalism.”  He dismisses concerns that government funding might lead to government control, citing “a strong culture of independence.”  A few days after Bollinger’s article appeared, he was named Chairman of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, so he is in a position to promote his ideas on a larger stage. (more)

Elena Kagan, President Obama’s nominee for the Supreme Court, seemed to shock many people when she dodged questions about the Declaration of Independence during her testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. (more)