Tag: Economics and Financial Services

The Leaky Bucket September 5, 2008Edgar K. Browning It is commonplace among economists to emphasize that helping the poor with government welfare programs involves a trade-off: we get greater equality (or […]

The Peasants’ Oil September 3, 2008Alvaro Vargas Llosa WASHINGTON—Little international attention has been paid to the recent conflict between the Peruvian government and thousands of indigenous people in the oil-rich Amazon […]

U.S. Dependence on Foreign Oil: Why We Shouldn’t Be Alarmed September 1, 2008Ivan Eland Politicians regularly turn public fear into votes. President Bush proved a master at this in his 2004 […]

Social Security Increases Poverty August 22, 2008Edgar K. Browning One of the most common arguments supporting Social Security is that it reduces poverty among the elderly. Last week, Barack Obama […]

Fannie and Freddie Fleece the Taxpayers August 18, 2008William F. Shughart II Readers of a certain age might remember the old newspaper cartoon of a man so down on his […]

Obama’s $1000 Rebate Plan Won’t Work August 11, 2008Art Carden Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama has proposed a plan to ease the pain of high gas prices by granting an “emergency” […]

Problems, and Government Interventions, Keep Growing August 6, 2008William F. Shughart IIDetroit Free Press According to a recent Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, most Americans want government to “do more to […]

Politicians, Voters Pillage Set-Aside Funds to Plug Budget Gaps August 4, 2008Michael Reksulak Mirroring a $534 million shortfall in Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s 2008-09 proposed budget for Los Angeles, planned expenditures for […]

The Net Effect of Minimum Wage July 29, 2008Art Carden Last week, the federal minimum wage increased from $5.85 per hour to $6.55 per hour. While some are celebrating the change […]

Spending Addicts July 20, 2008William F. Shughart IIThe Washington Times, Lowell Sun, Hattiesburg American Both presidential candidates claim to favor change. Yet neither has told us what he will do […]