03 | November | 2011

Friday, May 24, 2013

North Dakota Oil Boom Sparks a Huge Rail Boom

Mark J. Perry | November 3, 2011, 10:48 pm

Video above is from the Wall Street Journal. Related: Today the Association of American Railroads reported a 20.5% increase in shipments of petroleum products by rail for the week ending October 29 compared to the same week last year. More … read more >

Carpe Diem

Rail Traffic in October Continues to Improve

Mark J. Perry | November 3, 2011, 8:15 pm

“The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported gains in October 2011 rail traffic compared with the same month last year, with U.S. railroads originating 1,215,627 carloads, up 1.7 percent, and 975,566 trailers and containers, up 3.6 percent. October … read more >

Economics

Do government innovation policies actually work?

James Pethokoukis | November 3, 2011, 2:51 pm

Does all the federal government funding for research and development, direct and indirect subsidies, tax credits and other tax benefits, such as deductibility of research expenses, actually boost economic growth and American prosperity? The Minneapolis Fed tried to find out—and … read more >

Politics and Public Opinion

Occupy Wall Street violence

Marc Thiessen | November 3, 2011, 1:47 pm

A new CNN poll shows that while many Americans are unsure what to think of Occupy Wall Street, support for the movement is inching up: Thirty-six percent say they agree with the overall positions of Occupy Wall Street, while 19 … read more >

Foreign and Defense Policy

The ‘Hayden 7′

Marc Thiessen | November 3, 2011, 1:30 pm

Forbes magazine just released its ranking of the Forbes 400, the country’s richest citizens. In the same issue, the magazine asked former CIA director Mike Hayden to rank the “World’s 7 Most Powerful Defenders and Offenders”—those “whose wisdom, folly, and … read more >

Foreign and Defense Policy, Europe and Russia

The terrible choice for Greece

James Pethokoukis | November 3, 2011, 11:28 am

This great piece in Foreign Policy lays out just what horrible options are in front of the Greek people: Option 1: Take the Deal: Almost half of the 100 billion euros to be written down is held by Greek banks … read more >

Economics

How America can have more Seattles and fewer Detroits

James Pethokoukis | November 3, 2011, 11:09 am

How can American cities be more like vibrant Seattle and less like moribund Detroit? Certainly not by offering them government-backed green jobs programs. Instead, says Ed Glaeser, unleash the entrepreneurs. And here is how: How can more cities become centers … read more >

Society and Culture, Education

Disagreeing with Michelle Rhee, kind of

Andrew Biggs | November 3, 2011, 10:42 am

In response to my recent paper on public school teacher pay—in which Jason Richwine and I concluded that overall teacher compensation, including salaries, benefits, and job security, was roughly 50 percent above market levels—the Washington Post cites a recent comment … read more >

Economics

Sorry OWS, Wall Street speculators are not behind oil prices

James Pethokoukis | November 3, 2011, 10:38 am

One more thing that is not the fault of the banks nor needs to be the subject of congressional hearings every time gas prices rise. From the Dallas Fed: Activity in the futures market increased appreciably in the past decade, as … read more >

Politics and Public Opinion

This chart explains why the odds of Obama’s reelection are tumbling

James Pethokoukis | November 3, 2011, 10:17 am

Back in late 2010, many pundits were pretty positive about a second term for President Obama, despite huge midterm election losses for Democrats. Not only did Congress agree on a tax-cut package, but the economy seemed to be looking up. … read more >