“Economy of the United States” on The Daily Caller

President Obama projects that the gross federal debt will top $15 trillion this year, officially equalling the size of the entire U.S. economy, and will jump to nearly $21 trillion in five years’ time. (more)

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stocks rose Monday, helping lift the Dow to its best January in 14 years, as investors took upheaval in Egypt in stride and Exxon Mobil Corp.’s results blew past expectations. (more)

Since the government took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, taxpayers have spent more than $160 million defending the mortgage finance companies and their former top executives in civil lawsuits accusing them of fraud. The cost was a closely guarded secret until last week, when the companies and their regulator produced an accounting at the request of Congress. (more)

Wall Street indexes started the new year with sharp gains on Monday, extending the late-2010 rally on optimistic signs about a global recovery. (more)

Sears and Kmart have teamed up to offer their customers a movie download service called Alphaline Entertainment. (more)

In August of this year, Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, advised Congress that “The National debt is the biggest threat to our national security.” In November, voter sentiment against the debt and deficit led to an historic rebuke of Congressional incumbents. In December, the president’s debt commission laid out in stark terms the imminent economic impact of continued deficit spending. Apparently rejecting these clarion calls, the president and Congress acted in the lame-duck session to cut not one dime of federal spending, while increasing the national debt by nearly $1 trillion. They are ignoring a glaring problem that, if not addressed soon, will cause a panoply of other problems. (more)

In 2008, young adults in America experienced a collective political awakening when, inspired by the Gospel of Hope and Change, they turned out in record numbers to “Rock the Vote” for Barack Obama. (more)

Taxes must not be allowed to increase in 2011. However, the deal on the table today to extend the Bush tax cuts is not a good one. Americans sent a clear message on Election Day — that Republicans need to stand firm on what they really believe: the Bush tax cuts should be made permanent, and that spending must not be increased. The current deal made with President Obama and some Democrats in Congress does neither. (more)

The lame-duck Congress has been marked by many competing issues, but none as prominent as whether to renew the 2001 and 2003 taxpayer relief laws. Lawmakers, wary of another difficult election two years from now, have wisely made the tax rate extension a top priority. Runaway deficit spending clearly galvanized voters and adding a tax hike on January 1st, with unemployment still at 10 percent, would send another wave of enmity toward Washington. (more)

There’s something funny with the newest batch of American money – and it may pose problems for the Massachusetts-based company that provides the paper for all U.S. currency. (more)

President Obama created the Bowles-Simpson deficit reduction panel to devise a plan to deal with America’s disastrous fiscal situation. This is a difficult, largely thankless, and absolutely necessary task.  We face two options: Either we effect a major course correction before a fiscal crisis besets the nation or we endure such a crisis. Obviously, before is better. (more)

Car shoppers crowded showrooms in November, lured by an end-of-the-month advertising blitz and what automakers said was a pickup in consumer confidence. (more)

No one seems to know the full schedule for the Democrats’ lame-duck Congress, but we know the Democratic majority has not scheduled a vote to prevent all tax rates from rising. If there is no vote on the tax cut extensions for all Americans before the end of the year, taxpayers at every income level will see their paychecks reduced as significant tax increases go into effect. The impact won’t stop with paychecks — as the tax rates for savings and investment will rise and the death tax will return in full force. This is bad for American families, small businesses and the health of our economy as a whole. (more)

Here we go with the liberal rhetoric again. You’ve seen the Democrats whine that keeping the “Bush tax cuts” would stuff the pockets of the richest Americans, while doing nothing to help the middle class. But that simply isn’t the truth. (more)

The first great post-election policy decision facing the lame-duck, Democrat-dominated Congress is whether or not to allow taxes to skyrocket. (more)

For years, Wal-Mart has used its clout as the nation’s largest retailer to squeeze competitors with rock-bottom prices in its stores. Now it is trying to throw a holiday knockout punch online. (more)

Without additional government action to spur hiring, President Obama said Sunday that he fears the U.S. economy could enter a “new normal” in which corporate profits are high but the number of new jobs is too low to reduce the nation’s 9.6 percent unemployment rate to pre-recession levels. (more)

Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) — The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed to a two-year high while Treasury 30-year bonds slid and the dollar fell as the Federal Reserve planned to expand asset purchases by an additional $600 billion to shore up the economy. (more)

Freddie Mac reported a narrower $2.5 billion third-quarter loss, the smallest shortfall in more than a year amid signs that mortgage delinquencies are slowing. But the company warned that delays in the foreclosure process could raise costs “significantly” and that losses also could rise amid a faltering housing recovery. (more)

DETROIT — When executives from General Motors begin pitching its public stock offering to investors this week, they will extol the company’s financial turnaround, its snazzy new car lineup led by the plug-in Chevrolet Volt, and its growing operations in China and other international markets. (more)