Month: March 2013
The Friday File: In an attempt to reduce concussions, the International Boxing Association will prohibit the wearing of headgear in competition! Absent helmets, it’s hoped boxers will refrain from using their heads as weapons, will have improved peripheral vision, and…
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Recognizing gay marriage would reduce, yes reduce, federal spending by about $500 million/year. While that’s just two-hundredths-of-one-percent of annual federal spending, it helps. Spending will fall because generally fewer married couples qualify for (means-tested) entitlements such as welfare, Medicaid, Medicare,…
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Home builder sentiment recently fell for the second straight month despite a booming housing sector. This is probably because small builders face increasing difficulty finding lots, spec loans are still largely off limits, lumber prices have doubled, and labor shortages…
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While the economic recovery will soon enter its fifth year, wage growth is invisible. In part, it’s because unemployment is high, but also because more and more jobs are in leisure/hospitality and retail. These two sectors now account for 21%…
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Between 1998 and 2002, before the housing market went haywire, total housing starts averaged 1.65 million units and the population of the US averaged 282 million persons. Over the next five years the US population will average about 320 million.…
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If Congress accepts President Obama’s proposal to expand preschool programs it would go against the vast majority of research that finds programs like Head Start deliver few if any lasting benefits. That said, if we do it, we must devote…
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To prevent defaults by sugar processors that borrowed $862 million under a government price-support system, the USDA may purchase 400,000 tons of sugar to prop up prices. Sugar has fallen 18% to 21.03 cents/lb since the loans were made last…
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The Cyprus fiasco shows us two things. First, countries that don’t issue their own currency simply cannot guarantee bank deposits as they have no control over their monetary policy. It also shows that monetary unions cannot survive bank runs. The…
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Retail sales jumped a strong 0.4%, even after subtracting high gas prices, higher building material prices, and autos and groceries. Industrial production was up and is nearing its pre-recession peak and the four-week moving average of initial weekly unemployment claims…
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