Keynesian economics | MyGovCost | Government Cost Calculator - Part 2
Wednesday May 25th, 2011 • Posted by David Theroux at 4:43pm PDT • 0 Comments
In “Stimulus price tag once again lurches higher,” Stephen Dinan reports in the Washington Times that according to the Congressional Budget Office, the cost of Obama’s “economic stimulus” package (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 or ARRA) has now risen by another $40 billion. Congress�s chief scorekeeper said Wednesday that the price tag…
CBO: Jobs from Federal Government “Stimulus” Cost on Average $228,055 Each
Matt Cover at CNSNews.com writes that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has just issued a new report, “Estimated Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on Employment and Economic Output from October 2010 Through December 2010,” that indicates that: The jobs created and saved by the economic stimulus law that President Barack Obama…
Robert Higgs: Government-caused Uncertainty Continues to Depress Jobs
Saturday January 29th, 2011 • Posted by David Theroux at 11:49am PST • 1 Comment
In his recent article in Investor’s Business Daily, “Uncertainty Continues To Depress Jobs,” Robert Higgs (Senior Fellow, The Independent Institute) discusses how the U.S. government’s interventionist and spending policies are prolonging high unemployment by creating a climate of massive economic uncertainty: President Obama, in his State of the Union address, promised to focus on…
Dr. Emily Skarbek: “Government’s Obesity Crisis”
Tuesday January 18th, 2011 • Posted by Allison Gibbs at 1:40pm PST • 0 Comments
In�this new article on the continual spending and stretching of the budget, Dr. Emily Skarbek explains the temptations for the new Congress to spend wastefully and heighten the debt ceiling. Equating Congress and the ever-expanding budget to over-eaters, Dr. Skarbek says that small intervals of “another ten pounds” are causing an extreme obesity crisis…
Casey Mulligan on Stimulus Spending and Investment
Wednesday January 12th, 2011 • Posted by Emily Skarbek at 1:54pm PST • 0 Comments
Over at Economix, Casey Mulligan has a nice illustration of Austan Goolsbee’s approach to economic planning. In essence, targeted means of stimulating investment (say, with New Homebuyer tax credits) don’t work to increase investment, and thereby employment, in the short-run. Rather these types of subsidies have drive up prices for current asset owners�constituting windfall…
Deficits Are Future Taxes
Monday December 13th, 2010 • Posted by Emily Skarbek at 8:42am PST • 5 Comments
According to Michael Munger, the recent proposals by the deficit commission are DAFT. DAFT is short for “deficits are future taxes” and is a useful analogy to counter the political myths about debt and taxation. “With a total debt of more than $13 trillion, our government is in the midst of forcing the largest…
U.S. Deficit Hits Record: $150.4 Billion in November�26th Straight Deficit Month
Friday December 10th, 2010 • Posted by David Theroux at 9:19pm PST • 0 Comments
In the Wall Street Journal, Jeff Bater reports in “U.S. Posts $150.4 Billion November Budget Deficit,” that federal red ink is reaching an all-time record: The U.S. government ran its 26th straight monthly budget deficit in November amid wrangling over a package that would extend big tax cuts to Americans trying to recover from…
Federal Reserve Used Trillions of Dollars for Secret Bailout of U.S. and Foreign Firms
Friday December 3rd, 2010 • Posted by David Theroux at 2:01am PST • 5 Comments
In shocking new disclosures, the Washington Post has reported in an article, “Fed aid in financial crisis went beyond U.S. banks to industry, foreign firms,” that in 2008 and 2009 the Federal Reserve created trillions of dollars in corporate welfare as secret bailouts “not just to Wall Street but also to motorcycle makers, telecom…
Wednesday November 24th, 2010 • Posted by Emily Skarbek at 10:04am PST • 2 Comments
As the government of Ireland undergoes scrutiny and criticism for its poorly mismanaged fiscal house, the media risks missing the primary lesson. Poor public sector incentives drive politicians to enact policies that defy the laws of economics. There is no such thing as a free lunch�not even a Keynesian lunch of government issued corn…