With the price of oil more than $100 per barrel, higher gasoline prices are eating into Americans’ budgets. Consumers, however, are not the only ones losing out. Due to declining production at existing wells and bureaucratic delays on new wells in the Gulf of Mexico since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig blowout in 2010, the federal government is forfeiting revenues of more than $4.7 million per day.
In the fall of 2008, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell to its lowest level in five years, prompting even steadfast savers to panic. The average 401(k) account fell 23 percent in 2008, according to the Employee Benefits Research Institute (EBRI).
New York City is one of the latest municipalities to propose a “crash tax” to fund emergency services. More aptly described as an emergency service user fee, motor vehicle collisions and vehicle fires would result in a charge ranging from $365 to $500. It is still not clear who will ultimately be liable for the fee.
When the Federal Reserve was created in 1913, Congress did not give it a monetary policy goal as we understand that term today. The Fed’s monetary policy role evolved gradually, and congressional mandates – such as achieving full employment and price stability – came later. Now the question is back at the forefront: What should the Fed be doing?
Environmentalists have long cited the environmental harms caused by fossil fuels as evidence of the need to move to green sources of energy such as wind and solar power. Recently, some conservatives have joined their cause. Citing national security, those concerned about the United States’ freedom to act in its geopolitical interest have begun to embrace renewable energy as a means of reducing America’s reliance on foreign oil.
Beginning in 2014, most U.S. residents will be required to have health insurance coverage. However, provisions of the new Affordable Care Act (ACA) will limit the choice of health plans offered. Health insurance that does not cover preventive care, plans with deductibles above the statutory limit and plans that cap benefits at predetermined levels will ultimately disappear.
The scope of emergency services local governments provide has expanded over the years from fire fighting and rescue to providing advanced medical care, transport and a point-of-access to the health system. As a result, emergency medical services (EMS) have become more costly.
Former Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Director Alice Rivlin and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) have offered a proposal to reduce projected Medicare and Medicaid spending. The provisions affecting Medicare are independent of last year's health reform bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA also cuts Medicare spending significantly in order to fund health insurance for the uninsured.
The Obama administration recently appointed a negotiator to work with the United Nations on a treaty to regulate international trade in small arms. The ostensible goal is to staunch the flow of illegal weapons to drug cartels, terrorists and guerillas.
Genetically modified grains, fruits and vegetables have become ubiquitous on U.S. farms and in supermarkets. Biotechnology investments initially focused on modifications that would be profitable relatively quickly, such as inserting genes in plant genomes to produce pest-resistant, faster growing or more productive food crops.
Here is an idea that should receive support from just about everyone: the taxpayer savings account (TSA). Instead of the current withholding system, amounts withheld from your paycheck would go into a segregated account that you own. Interest that accumulates would be yours to keep, instead of accruing to your employer or the government.
Recently, the Federal Reserve announced plans to resume monetary easing by purchasing $600 billion in U.S. Treasury bonds by June 2011. Bonds purchases give the sellers additional funds in their banks, which adds to banks' reserves and lending ability. The Fed's goal is to expand money and credit and thereby stimulate the economy.
Prices for medical services have been rising faster than prices of other goods and services for as long as anyone can remember. But not all health care prices are rising. Although health care inflation is robust for those services paid by third-party insurance, prices are rising only moderately for services patients buy directly.
Uncertainty about future public policies coming out of Washington, D.C., and the prospect of huge tax increases is stifling potential recovery and job creation. Business owners do not know what capital, labor or facilities will cost if they expand – or what their personal tax rates will be. The most important step Washington can take to spur recovery is to immediately and permanently reduce taxes on capital and labor.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is expected to add up to 16 million more Medicaid enrollees and will significantly expand eligibility for families with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level. The PPACA requires states to streamline their enrollment process – making it easier for eligible populations to enroll and retain Medicaid coverage.
Investment spending has been sluggish in spite of record low interest rates and enormous levels of excess reserves in the banking system. Banks have been criticized for not lending enough, but the real problem is that not enough businesses want to borrow.
On September 23, 2010, a wide array of provisions from the controversial new Obama health care law went into effect, creating new restrictions on existing health insurance plans and an even bigger set of restrictions on new health plans.
Soft consumer demand in a weak economy has led many businesses to cut prices. But this is not the case in the market for higher education. Entering college freshmen and returning students face ever-higher tuition and fees. In fact, tuition at American universities has been increasing faster than inflation for the past 30 years.
Traffic congestion is a growing problem in many metropolitan areas. Congestion increases travel time, air pollution, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and fuel use because cars cannot run efficiently.
Most Americans are shielded from the full cost of health care and have little or no incentive to compare prices or choose lower cost providers.
One of the primary goals of the new federal health reform law – the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) – is to ensure that all Americans have health insurance. Yet it is generally overlooked that the proportion of Americans without health coverage has been relatively stable over time.
Prior to the 1970s, there were barriers to foreign investment, such as laws limiting ownership of U.S. corporations. As trade barriers fell in the 1970s and the economies of countries in North America, Europe and Asia became more integrated, U.S. policymakers focused on incentives to attract foreign investment.
Like many U.S. presidents, George W. Bush thought exporting democracy to developing countries was more important than exporting capitalism. Both capitalism and democracy improve a society's quality of life, measured by such things as infant mortality and literacy.
American businesses pay billions of dollars in tariffs each year on exports to countries that are willing to eliminate those tariffs. Why? Because Congress has failed to ratify three key trade agreements already negotiated and signed by the United States.
Disability costs are rising in many countries, including the United States. Disability is the fastest-rising component of U.S. Social Security, growing at nearly twice the rate of retirement benefit spending. Chile, however, reversed this trend when it implemented a new retirement and disability benefits system in 1981.