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More Federal Reserve Action Won't Create Long-Term Economic Growth
Tweet Share on Facebook July 30, 2012 CommentAnthony Sanders is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.
This week, several key economic indicators will be released, but those hoping for good news on all fronts are likely to be disappointed. Tuesday's Case-Shiller index will shed some light on the housing recovery, while Friday's jobs numbers will provide a look at how recovery is shaping up across the nation. In addition to these regular reports, the Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee will meet on Tuesday and Wednesday, and after months of disappointing data on several fronts, the big question is, what—if anything—will they do?
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Why Big Banks Are Above the Law
Tweet Share on Facebook July 30, 2012 CommentJames Rickards is a hedge fund manager in New York City and the author of “Currency Wars: The Making of the Next Global Crisis” from Portfolio/Penguin. Follow him on Twitter at @JamesGRickards.
Two developments in the banking industry with roots in the 1980s have now converged to give immunity to bankers for their criminal acts including mortgage fraud, accounting fraud, and LIBOR rate-rigging.
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Can Eminent Domain Save Underwater Homeowners?
Tweet Share on Facebook July 27, 2012 CommentJohn Vogel is an adjunct professor at Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business.
In San Bernardino County, Calif., half of the houses are "underwater," meaning the houses are worth less than the amount owed on the mortgage. Greg Devereaux, the county's chief executive officer, is considering using eminent domain to help solve this problem. As Joe Nocera wrote in his July 9, 2012, New York Times column, "When you first hear this idea, it sounds a little crazy." However, Nocera goes on to say, "the more closely you look at it, the more sense it starts to make."
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Let Oil and Gas Drive the Economy
Tweet Share on Facebook July 27, 2012 CommentRobert Luddy is a member of the North Carolina Leadership Team for Job Creators Alliance and president and founder of CaptiveAire Systems, Inc.
In the midst of a struggling economic recovery, one of the nation's smallest states is leading America's expansion—so much so that jobs outnumber the workers.
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GOP Exploits Small Business for Political Gain
Tweet Share on Facebook July 27, 2012 CommentDavid Brodwin is a cofounder and board member of American Sustainable Business Council. Follow him on Twitter at @davidbrodwin.
America loves small business. We honor the toughness and dedication it takes to keep a business going. We appreciate the jobs and incomes they provide and generate. We enjoy the distinctive flavor that small, locally-owned businesses bring to a neighborhood.
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Antipoverty Programs Are Working
Tweet Share on Facebook July 26, 2012 CommentChad Stone is chief economist at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
A recent AP story highlighted experts' predictions that when the Census Bureau releases the latest poverty data in September, they very likely will show that the official U.S. poverty rate reached a 46-year high in 2011. Does that mean antipoverty programs have failed over the last half century, as many conservatives claim? Hardly.
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LIBOR Fraud May Be the Mother of All Bank Scandals
Tweet Share on Facebook July 23, 2012 CommentJames Rickards is a hedge fund manager in New York City and the author of “Currency Wars: The Making of the Next Global Crisis” from Portfolio/Penguin. Follow him on Twitter at @JamesGRickards.
Investors have by now heard of the LIBOR scandal engulfing the banking industry. LIBOR stands for the London Interbank Offered Rate. To some it may be just the latest entry on a list of bank frauds and blunders in recent years, from mortgage scams to MF Global and the London Whale.
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How Bad State Laws Are Still Good for U.S. Economic Freedom
Tweet Share on Facebook July 23, 2012 CommentAntony Davies is an affiliated senior scholar at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and an associate professor of economics at Duquesne University.
July is the month for new laws to take effect in many states. This year's crop is a mixed bag of reductions of and enhancements to economic freedom. Some examples:
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Predicting Who Will Win the Most Medals in the 2012 Olympics
Tweet Share on Facebook July 23, 2012 CommentThe Olympics are fast approaching and Olympic fever has reached boiling point in London. Not even the awful British weather can dampen spirits. The city has been preparing for no less than seven years for the 2012 Summer Olympics. In the words of London Mayor Boris Johnson, "Wiff Waff (also known as Ping Pong) is coming home!"
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Community Colleges Prepare the Next Generation of Workers
Tweet Share on Facebook July 20, 2012 CommentDavid Park is founder and CEO of Austin Capital, LLC and chairman and cofounder of Job Creators Alliance, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization based in Dallas focused on developing free market solutions to America's economic and employment challenges.
Over the last several decades, the U.S. education system has fallen from among the best in the world to one of the worst among industrialized countries. The next generation of American workers lacks the preparation to step into the jobs of today in an increasingly global marketplace.
