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Obama's $50 Billion 'Infrastructure Bank' Just Another...
CATO Daily Commentary Sep 8, 2010 11:00:00 PM

Since President Obama pushed his first "stimulus" bill through Congress a year and a half ago, private sector employment went down, and government employment went up by 214,000. Now Obama wants to spend another $50 billion of...

In November, It's Democrats vs. Obamacare by Michael D. Tanner ...
CATO Daily Commentary Sep 7, 2010 11:00:00 PM

When Obamacare finally passed the House, 34 Democrats voted no. Thirty-one of those Democrats are now running for reelection, and, not surprisingly, many of them are highlighting their opposition to the bill. Some, such as Jason...

Are Rising Imports a Boon or Bane to the Economy? by Daniel Griswold ...
CATO Daily Commentary Sep 7, 2010 11:00:00 PM

It has become conventional wisdom in reporting on the economy that rising imports and a growing trade deficit are bad signs for growth. As recent headlines warn us, "Economic growth slowed by trade gap" (Washington Post) and "Wider...

The German Miracle: Another Look by Lawrence H. White
CATO Daily Commentary Sep 7, 2010 11:00:00 PM

Earlier this summer George Soros and some leading Keynesian economists criticized what they regarded as Germany's overly strict fiscal discipline. Yet Germany's real output expanded at a robust 9% annual rate in the second quarter,...

Economic Malpractice by Richard W. Rahn
CATO Daily Commentary Sep 7, 2010 11:00:00 PM

If a medical doctor prescribed a treatment for a patient that only worked in theory, and the patient did not get better, the doctor could rightly be sued for medical malpractice if tried-and-true cures were known. When members of...

Why the Bush Tax Cuts Worked by Jeffrey A. Miron
CATO Daily Commentary Sep 7, 2010 11:00:00 PM

Extending the Bush tax cuts ? permanently ? is a crucial step in restoring economic growth. The Bush cuts provided lower taxes on ordinary income, especially for taxpayers at the high end of the income distribution. These are some of...

The Biggest Bubble-Makers by Jim Powell
CATO Daily Commentary Sep 6, 2010 11:00:00 PM

Amid signs that another financial bubble might be in the making ? this time involving U.S. Treasury bonds priced at about 100 times their yield ? it would be helpful to review what one might call bubble dynamics. That's the...

'Stimulus' Snake Oil by Alan Reynolds
CATO Daily Commentary Sep 6, 2010 11:00:00 PM

A year after the US economy stopped falling, we are still mired in "the worst labor-market crisis since the Great Depression," writes Laura Tyson in The New York Times. Voicing the consensus of the left-liberal economic establishment...

Housing Crisis? Look to Canada for Answers by Jim Powell
CATO Daily Commentary Sep 2, 2010 11:00:00 PM

President Barack Obama has tried to prop up the housing market by helping people stay in their homes, even though they're still overwhelmed with mortgage debt. This is the latest in a long series of government interventions intended...

Online Privacy (Part 3) by Jim Harper
CATO Daily Commentary Sep 1, 2010 11:00:00 PM

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 This article is Jim Harper's closing remarks in a larger debate on The Economist's website. Marc Rotenberg has been wise ? in terms of debating tactics ? to speak only in generalities about the...

Bad Climate Bill Belongs in Limbo by Patrick J. Michaels
CATO Daily Commentary Sep 1, 2010 11:00:00 PM

Will a lame duck Congress pass cap-and-trade? Judging from recent news, it might try. But, more likely, all the sound and fury will end up signifying its usual nothing. And it leaves the preferred option, where Congress punts the...

Welcome to the Party by Michael D. Tanner
CATO Daily Commentary Aug 31, 2010 11:00:00 PM

At first glance, it seemed a silly headline even by the standards of MSNBC: "Can the GOP Survive a Tea Party Takeover?" Of course, the story was yet another in the narrative that has been eagerly embraced by both the mainstream...