12 | February | 2013

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

If Obama is really serious about job creation, he should support Sen. Paul’s ‘National Right to Work Act’ tonight

Mark J. Perry | February 12, 2013, 4:49 pm

In tonight’s State of the Union address, President Obama is expected to “make a case for measures and proposals that he says will boost job creation and put the economy on a more upward trajectory.” If he’s really serious about job creation, the … read more >

Politics and Public Opinion

Ask the scholars: State of the Union

Sofiya Mahdi | February 12, 2013, 4:00 pm

Video interviews of AEI’s experts discussing what will–and should–come up in President Obama’s State of the Union address. read more >

Foreign and Defense Policy, Defense

The State of the Union, Obama style

Danielle Pletka | February 12, 2013, 3:19 pm

The press is reporting that tonight’s State of the Union will be light on defense and national security. Shocking. Indeed, the president is likely to spare little breath for previous commitments to extend free trade, prioritize victory in Afghanistan, roll … read more >

Carpe Diem

Cartoon of the day: Obamacare costs

Mark J. Perry | February 12, 2013, 3:16 pm

Nate Beeler, Columbus Dispatch

Pethokoukis, Economics, Taxes and Spending

State taxes and the Great Income Migration

James Pethokoukis | February 12, 2013, 2:58 pm

Correlation doesn’t prove causality, but it is certainly worth noting the correlation between state income taxes and the flow of income. And thus it is worth reading How Money Walks by Travis Brown, head of a St. Louis-based public affairs … read more >

Carpe Diem

January housing reports are coming in strong

Mark J. Perry | February 12, 2013, 2:00 pm

Reports on existing-home sales in January are being released for metro areas (and states) around the country, here’s a sample: 1. Minneapolis-St. Paul: Home sales increased 11% in January, median home price by 14.3%. 2. Milwaukee: Home sales increased by 15% in … read more >

Credit: Benjamin Dumas (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Economics, Financial Services, Pethokoukis, Regulation

GOP finally gets moving on shrinking Wall Street’s Too Big To Fail megabanks

James Pethokoukis | February 12, 2013, 1:09 pm

Here’s what the movement to break up the big banks, or BUBB, is: A pro-market, anti-crony capitalist effort to minimize the moral hazard and massive taxpayer liability potential created by Washington’s Too Big To Fail subsidy of America’s largest banks. … read more >

President Obama addresses a special joint session of Congress

Politics and Public Opinion, The Presidency

All of Obama’s first-term SOTU addresses in one word cloud

Henrik Temp | February 12, 2013, 12:05 pm

We’re big fans of Wordle’s word cloud generator here at AEIdeas. With President Obama’s State of the Union address tonight, I thought it would be fun to put the transcript of each of his first four SOTU speeches into one … read more >

Economics, Health Care, Pethokoukis

Health care inflation is slowing. Will Obama’s health care reform help or hurt?

James Pethokoukis | February 12, 2013, 11:44 am

Center-left Washington is arguing with ever-greater ferocity that center-right Washington is mistakenly obsessed with deficit reduction. Part of the argument is familiar: 1. Low Treasury interest rates show markets unconcerned about the $16 trillion national debt. 2. As the economy … read more >

Foreign and Defense Policy, Asia

The North Korean nuclear test: Why should we care?

Michael Mazza | February 12, 2013, 11:43 am

What does the latest test mean for North Korea’s nuclear program? We know North Korea has a uranium enrichment program and we know they want to miniaturize a warhead. What we don’t know is whether this was a highly-enriched uranium … read more >