23 | January | 2013

Saturday, May 25, 2013

How unemployment insurance affects the unemployment rate

James Pethokoukis | January 23, 2013, 4:16 pm

Scott Sumner offers this explanation, by way of Larry Summers, on how unemployment insurance influences the unemployment rate: In a study using state data on registrants in Aid to Families with Dependent Children and food stamp programs, my colleague Kim … read more >

Economics, International economy, Foreign and Defense Policy, International Organizations

A warning from the IMF to Europe

Desmond Lachman | January 23, 2013, 3:23 pm

To its credit, the IMF appears to be continuing its newfound role as the provider of a reality check to European policymakers. While these policymakers are complacently claiming that the worst of the Euro crisis is behind us, today the … read more >

Society and Culture, Education

Applicants flock to ‘underpaid’ teaching jobs

Andrew Biggs | January 23, 2013, 2:56 pm

Public school teachers are, according to modern lore, “desperately underpaid,” as Education Secretary Arne Duncan has stated. Research from the Economic Policy Institute, for instance, concludes that public school teachers as a group are underpaid by around 13 percent. Jason … read more >

Economics, Pethokoukis

When it comes to banks, how big is too big?

James Pethokoukis | January 23, 2013, 2:29 pm

In my recent podcast with economist and columnist Simon Johnson, we chatted about his idea to place size limits on banks. But how do you begin to calculate how big is too big? In the past, Johnson himself has recommended … read more >

Economics, Taxes and Spending

House GOP makes the debt limit magically ‘disappear’

Marc Thiessen | January 23, 2013, 2:28 pm

On Monday, I wrote that House Republicans were planning to violate the Boehner Rule and raise the debt limit without matching the increase dollar for dollar with spending cuts, as they had promised. It turns out the situation is far … read more >

Politics and Public Opinion, Polls

Roe vs. Wade at 40 years and 1 day

Andrew Rugg | January 23, 2013, 1:57 pm

The 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade on Monday provided ample opportunity for a lot to be said about very little change. Many left-leaning publications focused on in on a recent NBC/Wall Street Journal poll that showed 70% of US … read more >

Foreign and Defense Policy, Middle East and North Africa

Questions on Mali that policymakers need to be asking

Katherine Zimmerman | January 23, 2013, 1:50 pm

Terrorist attacks in Algeria and French military operations in Mali have raised questions about the impact of ongoing unrest in West Africa on the United States. Al Qaeda’s affiliate in the region, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), appears … read more >

Pethokoukis

My podcast chat with economist Simon Johnson on breaking up the big banks

James Pethokoukis | January 23, 2013, 11:50 am

Please check out my latest Ricochet podcast! My guest was MIT professor and columnist Simon Johnson, former chief economist of the International Monetary fund. We chat about financial reform, Too Big To Fail, and America’s huge national debt. Johnson is … read more >

Foreign and Defense Policy, Middle East and North Africa

Obligatory Israel moves left post

Danielle Pletka | January 23, 2013, 10:46 am

Looks like Bibi Netanyahu miscalculated when he called early elections. Surprise, surprise, the Israeli electorate stuck it to a man they find competent but just can’t, no matter how hard he tries, like. Does this mean, as the Atlantic intoned … read more >

Economics, Health Care

Confused professors shocked schools are cutting their hours to avoid Obamacare penalties

Marc Thiessen | January 23, 2013, 9:46 am

Barack Obama is a former adjunct professor of constitutional law, and no group has been more solidly supportive of his liberal agenda than the professorial class. So it is a sweet irony that the latest group getting hammered by the … read more >