Dr. James Hussman, of the Hussman Funds wrote recently that he sees a possibility of a second recession in the offing. (I have no connection to the fund.) He writes that “[b]ased on evidence that has always and only been observed during or immediately prior to U.S. recessions, the U.S. economy appears headed into a…
Economy
City, Economy, Government Spending
Wall Street Journal: The Keynesian Dead End
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s an editorial from last week’s Wall Street Journal entitled, The Keynesian Dead End: Spending our way to prosperity is going out of style. (In fairness, many plans implemented as “Keynesian” would probably shock Keynes, himself. To reflect this truth, the WSJ refers to recent policies Neo-Keynesian. Emphasis on the “neo,” I wouldn’t wonder.) The…
Economy, Laws/Regulations
Dairy Prices: The Federal and Wisconsin Governments are Part of the Problem
by JOHN ADAMS •
There was a forum in Madison on Friday, at which dairy farmers gathered to complain about low milk prices. Many of them called for a probe of low prices for milk. See, At Madison Forum, Farmers Call for Federal Probe of Dairy Industry. At the meeting, participants tried to determine how, in the words of…
City, Economy, Government Spending
Associated Press: Economy Faces Tough Road Ahead with Slower Growth – Yahoo! Finance
by JOHN ADAMS •
Status quo efforts to restore prosperity, especially to places like tiny Whitewater, Wisconsin, won’t work. We don’t need more public projects; we need more private opportunities. Whitewater’s municipal government can’t make our lives better, and the road ahead is too uneven to expect conventional solutions to help us. Our way out: dismantling every part of…
Economy, Government Spending
An Economy Worse Than Two Years Ago
by JOHN ADAMS •
Economy, Free Markets, Government Spending
Martin Borgs on Preventing the Next Financial Disaster
by JOHN ADAMS •
Market advocates are optimists. We warn against government intervention and spending because we know that common people — as we are — can do uncommon things when able to associate freely without interference or regulation. We reject the contrived and manipulative schemes of politicians and bureaucrats, ad welcome the dynamism and productivity of private citizens…
Economy
Journal Sentinel: Employment data raises new doubts about state’s recovery – JSOnline
by JOHN ADAMS •
A healthy economy requires thriving private-sector job creation. Wisconsin has anything but — we’re losing private jobs: Wisconsin’s economy continued to struggle in May as the state lost 7,900 private-sector jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis and only managed to offset the declines with a surge of new hires by federal, state and local government…
Economy, Free Markets, Planning
N. Korea Lifts Ban on Private Markets to Prevent Famine
by JOHN ADAMS •
From one of the most oppressive regimes on earth, having brought the people it rules to the brink of death, a belated, desperate effort to save itself through private markets: Bowing to reality, the North Korean government has lifted all restrictions on private markets — a last-resort option for a leadership desperate to prevent its…
Economy, Free Markets
Can Capitalism Save the World from Poverty? Actually, it’s already doing just that…
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s a new PBS documentary that you may have seen, called “The New Recruits,” about efforts of free-market advocates to bring capitalism to the developing world. It’s not easy, but the documentary shows how a few dedicated market proponents can make a difference even in dire conditions. No economic system has produced greater prosperity for…
City, Economy, Free Markets, Government Spending
Why is America So Successful?
by JOHN ADAMS •
John Stossel asks, “Why is America So Successful?” Stossel concludes, following Friedman, that it’s not natural resources that gave America “a standard of living that’s the envy of most of the world.” Instead, it’s limited government and free market choices that make America prosperous: More than any other American, Friedman, who won the Nobel Prize…
Economy
Robert Reich: Don’t Listen to the Cheerleaders, the Main Street Economy Isn’t Improving
by JOHN ADAMS •
Over at the Huffington Post, a left-of-center economist is tells the truth about America’s economy: it’s not getting better for most people. See, Robert Reich: Don’t Listen to the Cheerleaders, the Main Street Economy Isn’t Improving. Reich notes that Today’s most important economic news: U.S. household debt fell for the seventh straight quarter in the…
Economy, Free Markets
Tonight on Stossel: Milton Friedman and Prosperity (7 PM Central on Fox Business Channel)
by JOHN ADAMS •
Tonight is sure to be a great episode of John Stossel’s program on the Fox Business Channel. Stossel will discuss the contribution of the late Milton Friedman to prosperity. His lifelong study of markets and monetary policy helped countless people around the world to freer, more prosperous ways of living. Viewers can tune in tonight…
Economy, Government Spending
Laffer: “Tax Hikes and the 2011 Economic Collapse”
by JOHN ADAMS •
Arthur Laffer, of the Laffer Curve, writes in the Wall Street Journal of “Tax Hikes and the 2011 Economic Collapse.” It’s sobering, somber reading: Today’s corporate profits reflect an income shift into 2010. These profits will tumble next year, preceded most likely by the stock market…. People can change the volume, the location and the…
City, Economy, Free Markets, Government Spending, Planning, Uncategorized
America’s War Between Free Enterprise and Government Control
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s an essay in the Washington Post, that wonders if we face America’s new culture war: Free enterprise vs. government control. Arthur Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute, considers the topic and concludes that we do face such a cultural clash. First, Brooks considers the irreconcilable systems of free enterprise and state control: This…