Economics

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Credit: Bladerunner

Is ‘Bladerunner with food stamps’ America’s future?

James Pethokoukis | May 22, 2013, 3:06 pm

Walter Russell Mead outlines two possible futures for middle-class Americans: one where most of us lose “the race against the machine,” the other where smart government policies enable an eventual successful transition to an economy where IT and robots do … read more >

Pethokoukis, Economics, U.S. Economy

Gorry and Slavov on taxing individuals rather than families

James Pethokoukis | May 22, 2013, 12:53 pm

AEI’s Aspen Gorry and Sita Nataraj Slavov: Individual taxation also improves work incentives for secondary earners. Under the current family-based tax system, a non-working spouse who enters the labor force faces a high tax rate on his or her very … read more >

Pethokoukis, Economics, U.S. Economy

Is the cost of servicing US debt really ready to explode?

James Pethokoukis | May 22, 2013, 12:37 pm

Phil Gramm and Steven McMillin are certainly correct in worrying about the potential downside of the large and growing national debt. But in their Wall Street Journal op-ed today, they make the following claim: “Once the Federal Reserve’s easy-money policy … read more >

Economics, U.S. Economy

High-skill immigration spurs US job growth

Brad Wassink | May 22, 2013, 10:45 am

Do visa programs help or hurt US workers? Variations of this simple question sparked several debates in the Senate Judiciary Committee markup up the Gang of Eight’s immigration proposal this week. The issues at play are complex and the amendments … read more >

Economics, Monetary Policy, Pethokoukis

How about a massive tax cut financed by the Fed?

James Pethokoukis | May 21, 2013, 4:29 pm

One criticism of the Fed’s quantitative easing program is that it’s supposedly only helping wealthier Americans. The central bank’s bond buying pushes up the prices of financial assets, which rich folks happen to own a lot of. Now, this criticism … read more >

Pethokoukis, Economics, U.S. Economy

What Tim Cook should say: Tax me more, Apple not at all

James Pethokoukis | May 21, 2013, 10:45 am

According to US Senate investigators, Apple paid no corporate income tax to any national government on $74 billion in overseas income from foreign units over the past four years. Two key points: First, investigators found no evidence Apple did anything illegal. … read more >

Economics, Health Care

An anecdote from the front line of Obamacare implementation

Michael R. Strain | May 21, 2013, 10:04 am

What do people mean when they say that the government is not nearly as good as the market at allocating scarce resources? A story from today’s New York Times offers an anecdote from Obamacare: The Obama administration said Monday that … read more >

Economics, Taxes and Spending

We hit the debt limit again. Shall we take the bad or good way out?

Abby McCloskey | May 21, 2013, 9:39 am

On Sunday, the US hit the debt limit, triggering the Treasury to engage in “extraordinary measures” to keep the government paying its bills. The ensuing debate could go one of two ways. We saw the bad way in August 2011. … read more >

Economics, U.S. Economy

What does job security say about public sector pay?

Andrew Biggs | May 20, 2013, 5:46 pm

Do public employees have greater job security? And if so, how much is it worth? As part of my broader work on public sector pay, I’ve looked at whether public employees have greater job security than private sector workers and … read more >

Economics, Monetary Policy

Ben Bernanke’s unenviable choice

Desmond Lachman | May 20, 2013, 3:49 pm

One has to pity Ben Bernanke during the remainder of his tenure as head of the Federal Reserve, which is due to terminate in January 2014. For his bold experimentation with unorthodox monetary policy has not worked out quite the … read more >

International conference on collateral risk: Moderating housing cycles and their systemic impact

Experts from the US, Europe, Canada, and Asia will address efforts to moderate housing cycles using countercyclical lending policies.

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Economic liberty and human flourishing: Perspectives from political philosophy

At this event, three expert panelists will examine this relationship from the perspectives of influential philosophers such as Aristotle, Alexis de Tocqueville, and representatives of the Scottish Enlightenment.

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Public employee pensions: How large are the deficits? What changes can be made?

At this event, panelists will address pension reform challenges by presenting the results of three research papers commissioned by AEI through a generous grant from the Smith Richardson Foundation.

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