Members of Congress and President Obama are squaring off for a showdown. The US will hit the debt limit by the end of February, and with Obama insisting that he will not negotiate, “dooms day” scenarios are being predicted. Discussions of alternative solutions have yielded little in the way of progress. The idea to mint … Continue reading
In a recent report published by the New York Federal Reserve Bank, student debt in America now totals $956 billion in outstanding loans. Consequently, the delinquency rate on student loans in 2012 was higher than any other type of consumer loan, which includes credit cards or auto loans. In the same year, the average student … Continue reading
Last week the president of the United States once more disappointed the Cuban American community by nominating an unpopular character to a key position in his administration. Chuck Hagel’s popularity among Cuban Americans has been low ever since he decided that American foreign policy towards Cuba needed a 180 degree switch. The media in Miami … Continue reading
Late last week a seldom heard voice echoed throughout the regulatory reform debate forum when the U.S. Department of State openly stood behind the controversial Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ‘Resource Extraction Rule.’ This rule, developed as part of the continuing cavalcade of Dodd-Frank initiatives, went into effect last August with the goal of requiring … Continue reading
These days it is impossible to go anywhere without hearing about the current budget crisis and the need to cut spending. An often-overlooked solution to cut spending is to simply stop producing so much money, namely, small value coins. In February of last year it cost 2.4¢ to produce a single penny; it costs twice … Continue reading
With the dust settled and the fallout well underway from early January’s fiscal deal to postpone sequestration, the economy’s market participants must also now turn a wary eye toward the agenda of the nation’s top independent regulatory agencies (IRAs). On January 4th Sam Batkins of the American Action Forum noted that initial estimates of the … Continue reading
On Thursday, January 10, 2013, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued one of its most anticipated rules, the Ability-to Repay Rule. This rule attempts to redress, at least in part, what led to the housing bubble and the resulting financial crisis by ensuring what Richard Cordray, the director of the CFPB, describes as “responsible … Continue reading
The USAID provides financial assistance to a hundred countries worldwide. There have been recent criticisms directed at the United States Agency for International Development, better known in and outside America by the acronym USAID. Many American citizens still don’t know why the United States would allocate money to help out other countries at a time … Continue reading
Today, January 11, is Human Trafficking Awareness day. As part of January’s National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention month, many nonprofits and citizens are planning efforts to spread awareness and solidarity. One such effort is encouraging President Obama to pass the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which was signed into law in 2008. The Act authorized … Continue reading
Which are worse governments or markets? The answer to this question might help you understand what political party you agree with, and how to solve the current US debt and debt ceiling problems. 1776 was the year the Declaration of Independence was signed, and the year Adam Smith published his famed “Wealth of Nations” (the … Continue reading
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