Economic Commentary

Still Waiting for the Recovery

The economy has gained either 2.5 million jobs or 3.6 million jobs since the Recovery Act was signed into law in January, 2009,...

Bob Adelmann July 15, 2010

Small Banks Struggle Despite Bailout Funds

Charles Scaliger July 14, 2010

The Treasury Department’s Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) is wreaking havoc on hundreds of small banks that took bailout money, according to a...

Financial Reform Bill on Brink of Passage

Charles Scaliger July 13, 2010

The final version of the financial reform bill that has become a central component of President Obama’s New Deal-esque program to enormously enlarge...

Foreclosures Hit Rich and Poor

Bruce Walker July 11, 2010

The rich as well as the poor are losing their homes to foreclosures. That fact helps demonstrate the vast silliness of the federal...

Unskilled Workers and Public Education

Bruce Walker July 5, 2010

The New York Times reports that many factories are ready to hire workers, but that applicants for jobs lack the skills in math...

Congress Considers Extending Unemployment Benefits — Again

Michael Tennant July 2, 2010

One ironclad rule of government programs is “if you subsidize something, you will get more of it.” Thus, paying poor, unmarried women to...

Headed for Recovery … or the “Cliff-edge Around the Corner”?

William F. Jasper July 1, 2010

After a meeting with his economic team and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on June 29, President Obama announced "the economy is strengthening"...

Jobs: Too Many Riding, Too Few Pulling

William F. Jasper June 21, 2010

The one thing that economists seem to agree on is that any economic recovery will be an uphill battle for some time to...

Poll Shows Americans More Concerned About Jobs Than Oil Spill

June 17, 2010

The results of a Gallup poll taken from June 11 through 13 and released on June 17 indicated that more Americans rate the...

National Debt at Tipping Point?

Bob Adelmann June 7, 2010

The Wall Street Journal took another look at the $13 trillion national debt written about here last week and announced that, according to...

Jobs? What Jobs?

Bob Adelmann June 3, 2010

When CNBC announced that the number of workers filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week while private employers added new jobs...

Time to Audit the Fed

William F. Jasper May 27, 2010

The timing of the sellout by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) could not have been more politically auspicious — or more suspicious. For months...

Paving the Way for Future Bailouts

William P. Hoar May 25, 2010

Item: The April 22 Washington Post reported that President Obama was making an “assertive stride into the debate on financial regulatory reform.” The...