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
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
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
Last week, Congress overwhelmingly voted to increase sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran. Although nuclear nonproliferation has become my life work’s purpose, I can’t, in my right mind, agree with our government’s decision to add increased sanctions. On the other Before you stop reading, hear me out. First, let’s examine the general reasons for … Continue reading
Sports make a great microcosm to understand life. That is why so many young children are encouraged to play because of the transferable skills that they learn by playing their respective games. Therefore, as our political elites attempt to “resolve” the fiscal cliff there is one important lesson they should learn from sports. After all … Continue reading
Last Thursday, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner presented Congress with the Obama administration’s plan intended to avert the impending fiscal cliff. The plan was, quite literally, laughable. It called for $50 Billion in new stimulus spending, the end of Congressional authority to raise the debt limit, $1.6 Trillion in new revenues from higher taxes on the … Continue reading
What does 6 billion dollars buy you? Apparently in politics, it buys you an almost unchanged House, Senate, and President. In fairness, out of the 6 billion dollars spent, only – and I say only because in perspective it can be qualified as such – around 680 million was spent by super PACs on independent … Continue reading
The attention surrounding the Fiscal Cliff has escalated it from an issue of domestic panic to international concern. While the direct impact of the event involves strictly domestic policies, the resulting uncertain economic forecast stateside has created detrimental consequences for European markets that are reliant on the United States for trade. The suggested calamity results … Continue reading
The impending American debt crisis has almost nothing to do with taxes. If the Democrats get their way on the expiration of the high-end Bush tax cuts, roughly $65 Billion in revenue would be raised (assuming that this tax increase would have zero negative effect on economic growth – a disputable point, to be sure). … Continue reading
In the first part of this series on the history of the national debt, we looked at what factors caused the national debt to grow or shrink in the short-term. This week, we will take a step back and focus on how successive presidential administrations have affected the national debt over time. As we discovered … Continue reading
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