Wednesday was not a good day for Mitt Romney or economics. First Governor Romney said, “I’m not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there — if it needs repair, I’ll fix it.” Later, trying to dig out, he reaffirmed his previous support for automatic raises in the minimum wage. (more)
That great phrase — “a rising tide lifts all boats” — was coined by the late Jack Kemp, who believed that growth and opportunity for all is the answer to poverty. In fact, Kemp believed it was the answer to all things economic. And he was right. The best anti-poverty program is the one that creates jobs. The answer to large budget deficits? Grow the economy, create jobs, watch incomes rise, and let the tax revenues come rolling in. (more)
In a January 14th New York Times op-ed, Nicholas Kristof ridiculed the GOP presidential candidates for accusing President Obama of trying to turn America into a European-style welfare state. He berated them not because he thinks they’re wrong about President Obama’s intentions, but rather because he thinks that a European-style welfare state would not be an altogether bad idea. (more)
On Chicago’s South Side, there is an environmental activist named Naomi Davis who preaches the gospel of “Grannynomics” to the African-American community. (more)
“Dude, where’s my job?” is one of the slogans one finds scrawled on signs held by disheveled young protesters at Occupy events. (more)
At long last, President Obama recently signed the three job-creating trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama that had been languishing for years. These agreements were negotiated several years ago, but blocked from a vote by then-Speaker Pelosi in 2008 and by President Obama for the past few years. When they finally came to the House and Senate floors, all three passed in record time with large bipartisan majorities. (more)
Recognizing the critical importance of revitalizing America’s decaying infrastructure in creating jobs and jump-starting our economy, the Obama administration recently announced the selection of 14 infrastructure projects it wants to expedite. (more)
Here I am defending presidential candidate Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 tax plan again, this time from charges that it would raise taxes on some lower- and middle-income taxpayers. (more)
President Obama is doing his best to ratchet up the pressure on Congress to pass the American Jobs Act. But if history repeats itself, the ones getting “jobbed” will be American taxpayers. (more)
The stronger-than-expected ISM manufacturing-index reading for September might normally suggest that the economy, at least for now, has dodged a recession bullet. After zero jobs and zero real consumer spending in August, which put the stalled economy on the front end of recession, the ISM number is the first major September reading. (more)
Winston Churchill famously quipped, “However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.” What could be more beautiful (or seductive) than the strategy of promoting a “green economy,” an environmentally friendly cure-all for our economic troubles? (more)
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)
Answer me this: If the president and his economic advisors are right in claiming that the problem with the economy is too little consumer demand, why was consumer spending in the second quarter of this year higher than in mid-2007, before the recession began? (more)
At the risk of sounding like I’m writing a letter to Penthouse Forum, I’d like to start this missive by stating that I never thought I’d find myself using these pages to defend a liberal member of the Obama administration, but that is what I intend to do. (more)
The private sector created 17,000 new payroll jobs in August and the government lost 17,000. The net was zero. Nada … zip … zilch … nothing. (more)
When President Obama addresses Congress Thursday night, he doesn’t need to unveil a comprehensive “go big” economic plan. That’s because he already has one, thanks to the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, also known as the Bowles-Simpson commission. The president would be wise to fully tie himself to the commission’s recommendations and prove he’s serious by putting its authors in charge of his economic team. (more)
In 2009, I directed a study entitled “Study of the Effects on Employment of Public Aid to Renewable Energy Sources.” It focused on the Spanish government’s efforts to become the world leader in renewable energy by subsidizing selected energy sources favored by interest groups (and therefore politicians) but not private investors, unless politicians guaranteed their investments. (more)
No sooner had President Obama shocked the political world with a gloomy economic forecast — projecting 9.1 percent unemployment for this year and a reelection-killing 9 percent for 2012 — than the dismal August jobs report arrived showing no gain in nonfarm payrolls. That’s right, no gain at all. Private jobs increased by a scant 17,000, while hours worked and wages actually declined. Obama’s economic policies have failed. (more)
On Tuesday evening, ABC News reported that in his upcoming “jobs speech,” President Obama will call for more “green jobs stimulus” — though this is now being called, in advance, “targeted infrastructure investment for clean energy projects.” It appears that he and his team have run out of ideas. (more)
Get ready for a bunch of demand-side economists to tell you that the post-Hurricane Irene rebuilding phase is actually a good thing for future economic growth. But don’t believe it. (more)
