08 | February | 2013

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Quotation of the day: Capitalism has lifted humanity out of the dirt and is greatest value creator in history of the world

Mark J. Perry | February 8, 2013, 10:42 pm

“Capitalism is the greatest creation humanity has done for social cooperation. It has lifted humanity out of the dirt. In statistics we discovered when we were researching the book, about 200 years ago when capitalism was created, 85% of the people alive … read more >

Carpe Diem

The new age of America’s energy abundance: the top two US exports last year were: a) fuel oil and b) petroleum products

Mark J. Perry | February 8, 2013, 3:13 pm

Rank Top 10 US Exports, 2012 Billions 1 Fuel oil $60.2 2 Petroleum products $57.0 3 Pharmaceutical preparations $47.9 4 Industrial machines, other $46.1 5 Civilian aircraft $45.3 6 Semiconductors $42.1 7 Telecommunications equipment $38.3 8 Electric apparatus $38.2 9 … read more >

Economics, U.S. Economy

Could 9 out of 10 economists be wrong?

Sita Slavov | February 8, 2013, 2:24 pm

According to an IGM Forum poll of 40 economic experts, more than 9 out of 10 economists (weighted by their self-reported confidence in their responses) agreed with the following statement: “Because all federal spending and taxes must be approved by … read more >

Society and Culture, Education

Expectations and surprises at the ESEA waiver hearing

Allison Kimmel | February 8, 2013, 1:45 pm

A rather typical group convened on Capitol Hill yesterday to discuss lessons learned from the first years of the Obama administration’s ESEA waiver plan. The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee was joined by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, … read more >

Politics and Public Opinion, Elections

The GOP’s electoral collapse is postponed

Charles Murray | February 8, 2013, 1:32 pm

The changing ethnic makeup of the electorate spells doom for the GOP unless it can figure out a way to appeal to minorities, right? Everybody knows that. I thought I knew it too, and so, as part of the book … read more >

Economics, Pethokoukis

Did GDP grow 2.2% last year — or was it 1.5%?

James Pethokoukis | February 8, 2013, 11:41 am

The US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis: Real GDP increased 2.2 percent in 2012 (that is, from the 2011 annual level to the 2012 annual level), compared with an increase of 1.8 percent in 2011. Now, the BEA gets that … read more >

Economics, Pethokoukis

No, America does not have a ‘genius glut’

James Pethokoukis | February 8, 2013, 11:11 am

We shouldn’t try to attract and keep more high-skill immigrants just because a group of technology companies say we should — just like we shouldn’t spend trillions on new infrastructure projects just because a group of civil engineers say we … read more >

Foreign and Defense Policy

Best of the foreign policy blogs 2/2-2/8

Marc Thiessen | February 8, 2013, 10:22 am

Here is the best of what AEI’s foreign and defense policy scholars are reading this week: Michael J. Totten at the Wall Street Journal writes, The Superpower Takes a Breather Helle Dale at the Heritage Foundation’s Foundry blog discusses Benghazi: … read more >

Photo Credit: Pete Souza, White House Flickr Feed

Foreign and Defense Policy, Middle East and North Africa

Obama and arming the Syrian rebels

Danielle Pletka | February 8, 2013, 9:51 am

Yesterday, both the chairman of the Joint Chiefs and outgoing SecDef Panetta told the Senate Armed Services Committee that they supported arming the rebels in Syria. We also know that Hillary Clinton supported doing the same. So… let’s get this … read more >

Economics, U.S. Economy

A dime is what a penny was

Alex J. Pollock | February 8, 2013, 9:30 am

The Royal Canadian Mint recently ended its distribution of pennies. (A Canadian dollar is worth about the same as a US dollar and one Canadian cent the same as a US cent.) Australia and New Zealand have also dispensed with … read more >

Hindsight Isn’t 20/20
Many lessons should be drawn from the U.S. experience in Iraq. Unfortunately, we’re not learning what we should. […]
The Uses of Scandal
One of the greatest uses of scandal is to vividly demonstrate what new laws are needed and to create the political conditions to get them enacted. […]
Lean In… to Government?
Sheryl Sandberg's runaway best-selling book Lean In has managed to offend both the Left and the Right. Sandberg touts female hard-headedness, yet also calls for an elaborate government- and employer-supplied support system for women. […]
Are American Voters Racist?
Racial prejudice plays a very small role in American politics, but a highly disciplined sense of self-interest on the part of one group may play a very large role in the way the federal government functions. […]