We’re printing an ungodly amount of borrowed money to bail out a bankrupt financial system, and so far that money is going to the people who caused the problems! It’s hard to see anything good coming of it.
I don’t see a significant difference between the two major candidates for President on economic issues. [...]This has been a dreadful week for Constitutional government in the United States. First, the government funds the National Applications Office. This is another step towards combining the US military with domestic law enforcement. Next, they enact the Wall Street bailout bill, one of the biggest crimes ever committed against the US Taxpayer.
The US Senate just passed its version of the Wall Street Bailout Bill. Criminal fingerprints are all over this long, tedious document. In yet another example of bizarre political double-speak, the Senate version has been "sweetened." This means that corporate handouts, tax cuts and other expensive promises have been built into this bill. All of [...]
The President of the United States has told us what he thinks our country needs in this time of economic distress: a more powerful President! His proposal violates the separation of powers.
It looks as if the US taxpayer is on the hook for at least $800 billion. The federal government is set to place a conservator over Freddie and Fannie (the GSE’s).
The US Treasury has every incentive to make the central bank of China happy. This story is a perfect example of why it’s [...]The American Monetary Institute has undertaken to study the structural problems with the US economy, and to offer solutions. Take a look at their proposal. The US Treasury would issue the currency, instead of borrowing it from the Federal Reserve. Our economy would no longer be based entirely on debt.
Dennis Kucinich is going [...]Sarbanes-Oxley is the most important federal business regulation law to pass during the Bush administration. Earlier this year, I reported on a case that proves this law is both necessary and effective. An insurance company, AIG, had to take a writedown of almost five billion dollars as a result of auditing and reporting mandated by [...]
The Government Accountability Office just published a study that compares corporate taxes of US and foreign cororations. It finds that 28% of big US corporations don’t pay income taxes.
Raising corporate taxes might not raise government revenue. Check out this paper. It includes IRS data that shows how much corporate tax revenue declined as [...]Auction Rate Bonds have been marketed by Wall Street as a safe and liquid alternative to cash. They were not. Last February these auctions started to fail. Investors couldn’t get their money when they needed it. In the last few days, UBS Citigroup and Merrill Lynch agreed to buy back about thirty seven billion dollars. [...]
Glass-Steagall is a banking law that was passed as part of the New Deal 75 years ago. This law required banks to choose between being commercial or investment banks. It was repealed in 1999 at the end of the Clinton era. Why should we think about old banking regulations? Because the financial system is in [...]
