In “Irish Bombshell: Government Raids PRIVATE Pensions to Pay for Spending,” in the Business Insider, Joe Weisenthal and Gregory White report on what some people consider might be an ominous sign for future policies in the U.S. and other countries to address the gigantic spending and debt crisis. The Irish government plans to institute…
Read More »
The Christian Science Monitor reports that “Counting underutilized and marginally attached workers, the unemployment rate rose in April, according to the new jobs report”, to 15.9% for “total unemployment” and 9% for the standard rate of joblessness. And according to CNNMoney.com’s “Bailout Tracker”, this increase in joblessness has occurred despite the staggering commitment to…
Read More »
Corbett Daly at Reuters reports that having lost another $8.7 billion in the first quarter of 2011, Fannie Mae is now seeking another $8.5 billion in bailout funding from taxpayers, in addition to the $100 billion already received since Barack Obama became president. Mortgage finance giant Fannie Mae on Friday said it would ask…
Read More »
In The Hill, Pete Kasperowicz reports in “Obama administration floats draft plan to tax cars by the mile” that: The Obama administration has floated a transportation authorization bill that would require the study and implementation of a plan to tax automobile drivers based on how many miles they drive. The plan is a part…
Read More »
Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss at Reuters reports in “Dollar tumbles to 3-yr low; data underpins rate view” that: The dollar slumped to a three-year low against major currencies on Wednesday and its outlook darkened further as surprisingly soft economic data underpinned expectations that U.S. interest rates will remain low this year. The greenback also fell to…
Read More »
Dennis Cauchon in USA Today reports that: Americans depended more on government assistance in 2010 than at any other time in the nation’s history, a USA Today analysis of federal data finds. The trend shows few signs of easing, even though the economic recovery is nearly 2 years old. A record 18.3% of the…
Read More »
Gasoline prices have continued to rise now for 35 straight days. Gas pump prices have climbed for 35 straight days even though industry surveys show Americans have started to drive less. The national average rose by a penny to hit $3.87 per gallon on Tuesday, more than a dollar higher than it was last…
Read More »
In the following, insightful, new video, Independent Institute Research Fellow Benjamin Powell reveals “Why Washington only cut $38 billion” recently from federal spending because as public choice economics shows, special interests prevail over the average citizen by utilizing the political process to redistribute wealth and power from the many to the few (and costs…
Read More »
In “S&P Cuts U.S. Ratings Outlook to Negative,” Damian Paletta at the Wall Street Journal reports that the influential firm Standard & Poor’s has just “for the first time lowered its outlook on the U.S. government’s debt to ‘negative’ from ‘stable.’” A stark warning from a credit-rating firm about the U.S. government’s fiscal problems…
Read More »
In a new article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, “Grasping budget’s billions and trillions: Incomprehensibly huge numbers mask real burdens,” Independent Institute Research Fellow Emily Skarbek (Director of the Government Cost Calculator) discusses the meaning and absurdity of the $3.8 trillion federal budget and the meaningless reforms being proposed. Taxpayers might have strong feelings about…
Read More »
 |
 |
 |