The Federal Reserve: A Positive Force in the US Economy
With recent economic stagflation, speculative but inconclusive jobs statistics, and uncertainty becoming the new normal in commodity markets the Federal Reserve seems to be the only potentially stabilizing force in the US economy to date. Congress, meaning both Democrats and Republicans alike, seems to be unable to multitask social and fiscal issues at the same time. While the current political climate is shifting toward limiting the Second Amendment, it appears as though politicians seem to forget quite often about the previously contested fiscal cliff debate. The debt ceiling is the new political hot potato that will be thrown around Washington for…
Presidential Debate Preview: Obama, Romney defend their campaign visions on ’60 Minutes’
President Obama and Governor Mitt Romney both sparred with the hosts of ’60 Minutes’ on Sunday evening — facing a series of tough questions that focused on the economy and each candidate’s vision for the next four years. President Obama has repeatedly said that, “this election presents the clearest choice American’s have seen in more than a generation,” and Sunday’s interview solidified his claim. Mitt Romney laid out a plan that will shrink government, begin work on crucial entitlement reforms and put Americans back to work. More specifically, he discussed adding means testing to Social Security and Medicare, as well…
August Jobs Report and Reading Between the Lines
The August jobs report offered no change to the bleak narrative of bleak employment and stagnant business confidence. A key statistic is the net 96,000 jobs added to the economy. The termonology of “job creation” seems a bit misleading in other publications and political posturing. To clarify, job creation seems to imply a sense of new materialization that was not previously experienced or simply a more positive connotation. Henry Ford was a “job creator” in the sense he added jobs to the economy that were not previously in existence up until the invention and implementation of the assembly line and…
Obama bashes corporate welfare — ignores the one-year anniversary of Solyndra’s bankruptcy
Obama drew scorn from Republicans on Thursday when he targeted “corporate welfare” and oil companies during his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, which also happened to be the one-year anniversary of Solyndra’s bankruptcy. “Unlike my opponent, I will not let oil companies write this country’s energy plan, or endanger our coastlines, or collect another $4 billion in corporate welfare from our taxpayers,’’ said President Obama. Republicans quickly responded to the President’s hypocritical statements by releasing a scathing video detailing the Obama administration’s conflict-ridden “investment” (aka corporate welfare) in Solyndra. Once heralded by President Obama as a shining example…
The China Trade Debate: A Criticism of Election Politics
Publicly bashing China is always, and probably will continue to be, a very politically beneficial tactic used on either side of the election spectrum as November gets closer. Shifting the blame to a foreign power always rings true with both protectionist and nationalist factions of either major political party while simultaneously absolving all politicians on either side. It would be a curious endeavor to see if Chinese politicians bash America and whether or not they simply rinse and repeat the cycle every election season. Regardless, both parties policies toward China and international trade as a whole appear to be quite contradictory to…
Government Subsidies: A Not so Recent Phenomenon
In the age we live in today government subsidies seem to be the norm. There are subsidies for agriculture, alternative energy, financial institutions, and the list goes on and on. To many these subsidies may seem like a new endeavor that the government is using to try to boost the economy. But the truth is that government subsidies have existed in this country for over 150 years, and if our legislators would take the time to analyze the history of these subsidies they will come to the clear conclusion that no subsidy has ever had the long-lasting effects that our…
July Jobs Report and Framing the Economy Debate
The current jobs numbers are becoming more and more bleak as “stagflation” becomes a buzz word in the critique of Nobel Prize Winning Economist Joseph Stiglitz while referencing the last decade of economic uncertainty and turbulence. Stagflation is the economic condition of high inflation and unemployment, respectively. With costs rising in grocery stores, commodity prices soaring, and unemployment showing no signs of a dramatic pivoting point, July’s jobs report did not show any signs of changing this obvious negative trend. While there has been positive job growth for the last 29 months, the growth we have been experiencing does not exceed…
Render Unto Obama What is Yours
Thank you, Lord Barry, for bestowing this gem of wisdom upon the prole
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love China
Mitt Romney has hit the web with an advertisement outlining what he
Andrew Linn 
Payden Hall 
Wes King 
Mike Garcar 
Braden Picardi