There’s an encouraging story about Africa today, from the Associated Press, about the power of free market to overcome chronic famine. Peter Waziweyi is bouncing around the lush countryside of Mozambique in his 30-year-old truck, visiting his customers’ maize fields and relishing the sight of their rich, ripening crops. In an East African country that…
Economy
City, Development, Economy
Whitewater’s May 17th Common Council Meeting
by JOHN ADAMS •
Tuesday’s Common Council meeting, embedded below, included a discussion of Whitewater’s calculation and charges for new construction permits. That discussion takes places from 21:50 to 31:20. Of that discussion, there were two positive changes to Whitewater’s current policy: (1) that the city should calculate new-construction permit costs by square footage, and (2) that the rate…
Economy
Weekly Unemployment Claims See Fall, But Jobs Picture Remains Weak
by JOHN ADAMS •
Economy
Business Insider: Don’t Mean To Be Rude, But The Economy Sucks
by JOHN ADAMS •
Yes, it still does. It went bad under the last administration, has been slow under the current administration, and looks as though it will be anemic for yet longer. A change of administrations, and a change of majorities in the House, were not themselves – nor should we have expected them to be – guarantors…
Beautiful Whitewater, City, Economy
Whitewater’s Ongoing Success Story
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve written before about the Whitewater Aquatic Center, and its impressive financial turnaround. See, A Whitewater Success Story: The Whitewater Aquatic Center. That positive news continues, and a story at Walworth County Today notes that the WAC has successfully erased past deficits — The aquatic center opened in 2001 and was operated by Mercy Health…
Development, Economy, Free Markets, Government Spending, Innovation Center/Tech Park, Planning, Taxes/Taxation
Stossel: End Corporate Welfare
by JOHN ADAMS •
Over at Reason, John Stossel writes about the problem – a big, expensive one – of corporate welfare. Particular businesses shouldn’t receive preferential treatment, including taxpayer handouts, from government. Taxes and fees should be lower across the board, and without preference for one corporation over another. Corporate handouts only reduce competitiveness and increase dependency, and…
Economy, Government Spending, Liberty, School District
Extended Contracts for the Whitewater School District
by JOHN ADAMS •
Over a month ago, I wrote a first take on the politics of cuts to state shared revenue. See, Cuts to State Shared Revenue: Whitewater’s Politics of It All (First Take). Much has happened since then. Of the school district, I noted previously that There are so many better and higher tasks than labor disputes,…
Economy, Government Spending
How Big is the U.S. Debt?
by JOHN ADAMS •
Economy
10 Charts That Embody Everything That’s Wrong With The U.S. Economy
by JOHN ADAMS •
Economy, Laws/Regulations
Coming Soon: A 300-Percent Increase in Foreclosures
by JOHN ADAMS •
At Calculated Risk, Tom Lawler, a real estate economist and former risk policy veep at Fannie Mae, tries to figure out how many people have actually lost their homes to foreclosure, short sales or deed-in-lieu desertions. The answer: Not enough. Lawler (who is now living the life of Riley on a Virginia farm) says the…
Economy
One Million Homes Repossessed in 2010
by JOHN ADAMS •
For millions, 2010 was a difficult year. Foreclosures were at a record high in 2010, and more than 1 million people lost their homes, even as notices started leveling off during the end year. In total, there were nearly 2.9 million foreclosure notices filed during the year, according to report released Thursday by RealtyTrac. That…
Economy
Weak Hiring Casts a Cloud – WSJ.com
by JOHN ADAMS •
Economy, Free Markets, Libertarians
Dorian Electra: I’m in Love with Friedrich Hayek
by JOHN ADAMS •
Simply wonderful. DORIANELECTRA | December 19, 2010 | A love song for economist F. A. Hayek. Original song by Dorian Electra. Filmed by Clara Lee, Madeline Scholl, and Ciaran Finlayson. Lyrics: Hey there Friedrich Hayek, ya lookin really nice Your methodology is oh so precise You break down social science to the fundamentals Rules and…
Economy, Free Markets, Poverty
Libertarians and Economists Think Economic Progress Is Very Cool | The Atlantic Wire
by JOHN ADAMS •
Yes, libertarians do. Dynamic markets have improved lives for Americans of all classes. So much so, that we’re far less interested in economic classes than other peoples are. Progress so considerable that wealth from a century ago offered less, in so many ways, than an average income today. We’ll gladly leave a defense of stagnation…