POLITICS: Is the GOP Well Dry for 2008?; No heir to Bush is in sight for the next go-round.
Every time oil prices rise for an extended period, the news media issue dire warnings that a crisis is upon us — it's not!
European Unemployment: Lessons for the United States
Europe is a great place to visit – but don't try to find a job there. Unemployment averaged 8.8 percent in Europe last year, compared to 6.1 percent in the United States. [See Figure I.] Americans have been disappointed with a weak labor market in the last few years, but put this into perspective: Over the last 12 years, America's worst unemployment rate was better than Europe's best unemployment rate.
A Highly Productive Report
Just to show what a nerd I am, one of the things I look forward to every year at this time is the annual report of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas . The latest is just out and once again was worth the wait.
Pump Power
Gas is good. Here's how to keep it flowing.
The drive for solutions ; Drilling would ease U.S. dependence
Congressional Democrats are blaming the president for higher fuel prices, while at the same time demanding that President Bush stop stocking our nation's strategic petroleum reserve and release some of its oil to lower current gas prices.
Health Savings Accounts
As of January 1, 2004, 250 million nonelderly Americans now have access in principle to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), provided they are combined with catastrophic insurance. The idea behind HSAs is quite simple. Individuals should be able to manage some of their own health care dollars through accounts they own and control. They should be able to use these funds to pay expenses not paid by third-party insurance, including the cost of out-of-network doctors and diagnostic tests. They should be able to profit from being wise consumers of medical care by having account balances grow tax free and eventually be available for nonmedical purchases.
Designing Ideal Health Insurance
The modern era has inherited two models of health insurance: the fee-for-service model and the HMO model. Neither is appropriate to the Information Age.
John C. Goodman: Judges have hurt public schools
Of all the social experiments of the 20th century, perhaps none was more disastrous than the attempt by federal judges to run inner-city public schools.
Passage of Connecticut Greenhouse Gas Regulation is Rational Ignorance
Despite the valiant efforts of Representatives Harkins, Hamzy, Piscopo, and DelGabbo to bring fiscal responsibility back into state government, the state legislature’s passage of Connecticut’s SB 595 is best described as an exercise in rational ignorance.
A Memo for Mother's Day
As the nation prepares to celebrate Mother's Day, we should stop and ponder two striking facts about American families.
Energy Bill: Who Will Keep the Lights On?
Congress responded to the August 2003 northeastern electrical blackout by revising provisions of the comprehensive energy legislation with which it and the Administration had been grappling for two years. A portion of the bill focuses on improving electric power reliability and increasing competition. The comprehensive bill has been stalled in the Senate since December 2003; thus, there has been virtually no progress on reliability since the blackout. However, the energy bill provisions regarding siting authority for transmission lines, private nonutility investment in new lines, and repeal of the Public Utility Holding Company Act (PUHCA) hold some hope of improving reliability.
Voting Your Fiscal Philosophy
When people vote for candidates, they are not just voting for an individual; they are voting for a party. I don't just mean in terms of control of the White House or Congress, but in a philosophical sense.
The Bush Tax Cut Kicks In
announcement that real gross domestic product grew at a 4.2% rate in the first quarter is good news. But one cannot help but feel that we should be doing better. The real gross domestic product normally grows much more rapidly in the early stages of economic expansions following a recession. One possible culprit for the less than hoped for growth may be the phasing-in of key elements of the 2001 tax cut.
Medicare Rx Card Savings May Not Live Up To Expectations
The Medicare prescription drug card program may not generate the cost savings seniors expect.
Testimony – Wind Power: Not Green but Red
Energy is and will remain an important factor in the U.S.'s economic growth. While for much the 20th Century, America has enjoyed excess energy capacity in the transportation and utility sectors, this is no longer the case.