It’s bad enough when politicians enact witless economic policies with huge price tags, but it’s even worse when those policies destroy American lives and livelihoods. New research shows that this will be the pandemic-era legacy of the politicians that forcibly closed businesses, made people stay home, then incentivized millions of out-of-work Americans to give up the opportunity to get their …
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White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki recently mocked the idea that soft-on-crime policies have negative consequences, saying, “What does that even mean?” In short, soft-on-crime means a return to lawlessness, à la the Wild West, and all the costs that come with it. True to form, California has been leading the charge in ignoring or excusing crime, while doling out light or unenforceable penalties, …
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President Joe Biden’s poll numbers have been plummeting, and the mishandling of the economy may be the primary reason. With inflation raging at a four-decade high, it’s understandable that only 33% of Americans are satisfied with the economy. If you’re having trouble making it from paycheck to paycheck these days, you’re not alone. Families’ budgets have been stretched to the limit because of …
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The idea of being alone evokes a special kind of dread for many people. Reams have been written on how to avoid this fate, and those who can’t tend to earn our sympathy. Unless, that is, they’re cut off from meaningful human contact because they’re one of the thousands of federal inmates held in solitary confinement. For them, sparing even …
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January’s jobs report showed better-than-expected growth, with 467,000 nonfarm jobs added last month. The unemployment rate rose 0.1 percentage points to 4.0%, and the labor force participation rate climbed to 62.2%. The number of unemployed increased 194,000 to 6.5 million. There are now 602,000 more unemployed people than in February 2020, the last month before the pandemic-related closures. Highlighted Sectors The …
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Policies that make energy scarce and expensive, promoted by wealthy elites, result in domestic unrest while diminishing a nation’s ability to vigorously pursue its national interests. Since 2011, this has been the case in Egypt, France, Kazakhstan, Germany, and others. Even California and Texas are grappling with similar problems. Texas is approaching the one-year anniversary of its epic four-day electrical …
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Government spending is at the heart of sound public policy. But out-of-control spending for decades has created substantial economic destruction and ongoing threats that must be remedied before things get worse. Fortunately, we have examples of how fiscal rules can solve this problem. We must put these rules into place before our economy gets any worse. Excessive federal government spending …
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With increasing attention being paid to the negative consequences of so-called environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing—which means selecting clients’ investments based on political rather than financial criteria—many hoped BlackRock’s annual letter to CEOs would signal a shift away from activism and back toward fiduciary responsibility. Sadly, chairman and CEO Larry Fink’s letter offered no solace for the 60 million Americans depending on …
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“May you live in interesting times,” goes an old saying—usually meant as a curse. When it comes to economics, “interesting” usually means the sky is falling. Inflation reached 7% at the end of 2021, a rate not seen in 40 years. The Federal Reserve’s balance sheet more than doubled to $8.8 trillion since early 2020. And Uncle Sam’s fiscal house is in shambles. …
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We were promised job growth—after all, that was the main selling point for the March 2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) from President Biden and the congressional Democrats. Promise made—promise broken. In February 2021, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issued its economic outlook and projected 6.252 million jobs would be added in 2021 without ARPA. The White House then projected ARPA would …
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