29 | June | 2012

Friday, May 24, 2013

Energy milestone: For the first time ever, natural gas and coal had the same share of electricity generation in April

Mark J. Perry | June 29, 2012, 7:57 pm

The Energy Information Administration reported this week that for the first time since it began keeping monthly records, “natural gas and coal had the same share of total net generation of electricity at 32% during April 2012 (see chart above).” … read more >

Carpe Diem

Walmart’s everyday low prices to go even lower in Canada on 10,000 items, saving shoppers millions of dollars

Mark J. Perry | June 29, 2012, 7:03 pm

Bloomberg News — “Target hasn’t opened a single store in Canada, and already Wal-Mart wants Canadians to know it’s the price leader north of the border. Wal-Mart Canada will lower prices on 10,000 products in July. The company called the … read more >

Carpe Diem

Where’s the outrage for evil Ticketmaster?

Mark J. Perry | June 29, 2012, 6:59 pm

“Ticket scalpers” have a tough time. Everybody seems to despise them: musicians, music and sports fans, promoters, sports teams, and concert venues. “Scalpers” are accused of “cheating” people (see sign above), and musicians like LCD Soundsytem call them really, really … read more >

Carpe Diem

Cartoon of the Day

Mark J. Perry | June 29, 2012, 4:47 pm

Foreign and Defense Policy

Best of the foreign policy blogs (June 23 to 29)

Marc Thiessen | June 29, 2012, 2:08 pm

Here is the best of what AEI’s foreign and defense policy scholars are reading this week. read more >

Carpe Diem

Foreign workers help fill jobs in North Dakota’s booming oil patch

Mark J. Perry | June 29, 2012, 1:56 pm

WILLISTON, N.D.–”With the nearby oil boom draining this city of many of its service workers, businesses here are relying on a cultural-exchange program for foreign college students to keep the local economy humming. More than 500 foreign students—from Thailand, Jamaica … read more >

Carpe Diem

More signs of a real estate recovery

Mark J. Perry | June 29, 2012, 1:50 pm

More reports below on strong double-digit gains in home sales for May as high as 32% for Maine, and some increases in median home prices, including a 22% gain in Miami condo prices in May compared to last year. 1. … read more >

Economics, Entitlements

Wimpy’s principle of pension finance

Alex J. Pollock | June 29, 2012, 1:46 pm

Faced with widespread underfunding of pension plans, Congress passed the Pension Protection Act of 2006, after years of negotiations. This Act set increased and stricter required employer contributions to defined benefit pension plans. Six years later, these pension plans are … read more >

President Obama signing the Affordable Care Act into law

Economics, Health Care

The Obamacare tax in one easy chart

Marc Thiessen | June 29, 2012, 1:20 pm

Now that the Supreme Court has ruled that the individual mandate is in fact a tax, the next question is: Who will it hit and by how much? read more >

Society and Culture, Education

Edu-implications of yesterday’s Supreme Court Medicaid ruling

Frederick M. Hess | June 29, 2012, 1:18 pm

The Court limited Uncle Sam’s ability to withhold aid from states which refuse to comply with new federal mandates. This has potentially big impacts on current and future education policymaking. read more >