Newsmax.com – Only 66.8 percent of American men had jobs in 2010, the lowest percentage on record. And overall, just 45.4 percent of Americans held a job last year, posing a serious challenge for financing the nation’s social programs.
ABCNews.com –The share of the population that is working fell to its lowest level last year since women started entering the workforce in large numbers three decades ago, a USA TODAY analysis finds.
Dallas Morning News Online – Gov. Rick Perry held a press conference in Dallas this afternoon after his speech to the National Center for Policy Analysis, where he largely laid out his case why states trump Washington.
Dallas Morning News Online – Gov. Rick Perry said Tuesday that he was pleased Congress avoided a government shutdown by reaching a budget deal that cut spending.
Star-Telegram: Gov. Rick Perry wants to show California how business is done in Texas. That’s why he and other lawmakers plan to welcome a delegation of California officials on Thursday.
Investment News Online – If the financial downturn scared people into holding cash or other capital-preserving investments during the past few years, they should be aghast at seeing what
they missed out on as the equity markets rebounded.
Forbes.com – If Ben Bernanke’s policies haven’t created significant money supply growth in the U.S., how can they be sparking inflation in China?
Bankrate.com – The National Center for Policy Analysis, a nonprofit, free-market think tank, calculated that savers who stayed the course from the bottom of the stock market in March 2009 to January 2011 saw a 77 percent increase in their money.
Forbes.com – China is planning deliberately to allow its ten percent growth rate to slow a bit in order to give the Chinese people more of the fruits of their own labor. Hence, slow down and be happy.
National Review Online – John Goodman makes a profound point about the common complaint that the market can’t work in health care.
Cleveland Plain Dealer – The race to restore fiscal sanity — something the vast majority of Americans alive today have never really known — is going to be a long, tough, acrimonious one. But it has to be run.
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?
Dallas Morning News: The leaders of a White House fiscal commission said Wednesday they remain hopeful that Congress will take action to reduce the federal government's yawning deficits and rising debt.
On February 9, the National Center for Policy Analysis hosts Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles, two leading experts on American fiscal policy and our national deficit, as a part of the Hatton W. Sumners Distinguished Lecture Series.
Forbes: In an earlier post, I claimed that the 3.2 percent growth in Real GDP understated the strength in the economy because inventory depletion (probably a sign of strength) took such a big chunk out of the number. Real Final Sales (Real GDP minus the inventory change) increased a whopping 7.1 percent. This strong number got little attention in the press.
Forbes.com– Bob McTeer answers those who are blaming Ben Bernanke for the riots in Egypt
National Journal Health Expert Blog: Goodman on the job impact of health reform and Meghan McCarthy's "Wrong Incentives for Low-Income Workers?"
Wall Street Journal: For two years Washington has been moving left-bigger spending, expanding regulation and a continual increase in government debt. In fiscal 2007, when George W. Bush was president, the debt increased $161 billion; in 2008, another $458 billion; and in 2009 (which began under Mr. Bush and ended under Barack Obama), it reached $1.4 trillion. In Mr. Obama's first two full years in office, 2010 and 2011, it will increase another $1.3 trillion each year.
National Journal:NCPA's John Goodman outlines ten points to highlight for "repeal and replace" in health care reform.
Dallas Morning News: NCPA's Distinguished Fellow Bob McTeer comments on Federal monetary policy
Winston-Salem Journal: A study by NCPA's Pamela Villarreal found inequitable state tax rates on smokeless tobacco products.
Health Plan Week: NCPA’s Devon Herrick on the limitations of the health reform law’s small business tax credits
Excise taxes are fees levied on specific products like cigarettes, beer and gasoline. Unlike broad-based taxes, such as general sales or income taxes, excises are often paid by a narrow subset of the population, such as smokers, consumers of alcohol and so forth. These taxes are often hidden from consumers because they are embedded in a product's retail price. Some excise taxes are called "sin" taxes because they are levied on undesirable behaviors such as smoking and drinking.
Extension of the Bush income tax cuts. This provision extends all individual income tax cuts (10%, 25%, 28%, 33%, and 35% tax brackets) through 2012. Extension of the capital …
La Opinion: Senior Policy Analyst Pam Villarreal is quoted on the national debt and what it means for the economy.