Regulation

Two Sides of the Same Coin: A Comparison of Different Perspectives on Recent Bank Failures

Executive Summary  1. Silicon Valley Bank’s (SVB) failure was caused by the largest bank run in American history with a total of $42 billion in deposits withdrawn in less than 24 hours.   2. The failure of SVB and subsequentially, Signature Bank, marks one of the first true stress tests to the United States (U.S.) financial … Continue reading

Trump and Clinton: What’s Their Deal With Israel?
Foreign Policy / Israel / Politics / Presidential Race 2016

Trump and Clinton: What’s Their Deal With Israel?

On September 25, 2016, the soon-to-be leader of the free world met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Although I cannot yet tell you which it was, I do know that both U.S. presidential nominees conversed with the leader of the free Middle Eastern world about U.S.-Israeli relations. So, what would a Hillary Clinton or … Continue reading

Democrats Double Down on Failed Financial Services Policy
Politics

Democrats Double Down on Failed Financial Services Policy

The Democratic Party’s platform draft for Financial Services states that “[t]o restore economic fairness, Democrats will fight against the greed and recklessness of Wall Street.” Despite these goals, the proscribed policies in the Democrat’s platform will have unintended consequences that will harm consumers, and make the biggest banks bigger and smaller banks disappear. In short, … Continue reading

The Power of Two
America / Politics

The Power of Two

Let’s pretend you are ten again (or in my case, 21), and your parents ask you and your siblings what they should make for dinner. You say you want pizza, your sister requests spaghetti and your older brother is “dying” to have chicken. It’s not reasonable to expect your parents to cook all three for … Continue reading

The Debt Ceiling: Good Politics, Not Policy
Debt / Economy / Fiscal policy / Politics / U.S. Domestic Policy

The Debt Ceiling: Good Politics, Not Policy

As of this past week, our federal government has managed to clear the hurdle of fully funding the Department of Homeland Security. Unfortunately, this is only one of the many vitally important budget issues on the horizon, including Medicare payments to doctors, funding for the Highway Trust Fund and our crumbling infrastructure, and the prospect … Continue reading

Want to Weaken Terrorist Groups? Go After Their Bank Accounts.
National Security / Politics

Want to Weaken Terrorist Groups? Go After Their Bank Accounts.

Terrorist groups use a variety of different methods for funding. Many of them, including Al Qaeda and Al- Shebab, heavily rely on donations and money laundering in order to support their operations. The Islamic State is no exception. While it takes advantage of other funding opportunities, including black market crude oil sales and looting, both … Continue reading

Retirement Age and the Social Security Dilemma
Aging / America / Debt / Economy / Labor Force / Social Security

Retirement Age and the Social Security Dilemma

Ever since the members of the U.S Business Roundtable presented their plan to gradually raise the retirement age to seventy last year, the political and economic realm has been on fire with both support and recrimination. This fervor has only intensified after a recently released report by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) which stated that, holding … Continue reading