On today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson and Ben Domenech are joined by Francis Cianfrocca to discuss the dropping price of gold, the Dish bid for Sprint, and the potential problems with the rise of housing prices.
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Although details are still somewhat sketchy at this point, based on press reports, it appears that AFL-CIO boss Richard Trumka and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce head Thomas Donahue reached a deal Friday night on immigration reform.
If, by what is being reported, the deal reached on low-wage immigrants is true, the impact on the private sector–and, thus, the economy–may be profoundly and negatively impacted for years to come as the deal reportedly establishes premium wage prices for those employers who traditionally employ low-wage immigrants.
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Nothing exemplifies the failure of Republicans to communicate more than the exit polling data regarding the public’s perception of the cost of living. A whopping 37% of voters selected ‘rising prices’ as their most important issue in the election, yet amazingly, they split their votes evenly between Romney and Obama. Hence, the arsonist behind the high prices for food, fuel, healthcare, and every other vital | Read More »
Amidst the torrent of polling data on an array of political races and policy issues, it is easy to lose focus on the central point of contention in today’s world of politics. The fundamental disagreement between the right and the left is over the proper role of government. The left feels that government should control virtually every aspect of our economy and our lives – | Read More »
While everyone is focused on how to deal with the impending government takeover of healthcare, we must continue to battle the forces of big-government in Congress. Yesterday, in another display of venerable bipartisanship, leaders from both parties agreed to roll the $120 billion Democrat highway bill, subsidies to fuel the Big Education bubble, and a 5-year extension of government-run flood insurance into one omnibus bill, | Read More »
While everyone is waiting breathlessly to see whether the Supreme Court will strike down Obama’s egregious power grab in the healthcare sector, a bipartisan group of congressmen and senators are working to grow government in several other sectors of the economy. We must not be complacent. In our battle to shrink the size of the federal government, there have been a number of issues on | Read More »
Here’s a novel idea: let’s stop subsidizing Big Sugar. Maybe if the government wouldn’t intervene in the agriculture sector, inducing sharp increases in the price of commodities, many of the 46 million people on food stamps would be able to afford food. Then again, why would liberal politicians abrogate their source of political power? They stand to benefit from subsidizing rich sugar farmers and keeping | Read More »
It’s worth noting that, although the President of the United States hasn’t the power of Generalisimo Chavez, Pres. Obama’s attacks on speculators are just as politically opportunistic and economically ignorant – and potentially as destructive – as are any such attacks issued by Latin American dictators… – Don Boudreaux, Café Hayek. If anyone out there still needed a primer on why a Government-Centered Society was | Read More »
The loss of jobs is only half of the result of the government interventionist equation. The other casualty of an economy driven by taxation, regulation, litigation, subsidization, monetary intervention, and debt is the crippling cost of living for all Americans. [Yes, I was about to say middle class, but we would be wise to eradicate that sort of socialist innuendo from our vernacular.] Earlier today, the | Read More »
If Sprint is weak, then it fears competition and favors oligopoly. Therefore, Sprint’s opposition to the AT&T/T-Mobile deal projects the deal would increase competition nationally. Regular readers of my Tech at Night series have seen me make the case for the proposed merger of AT&T and T-Mobile USA by pointing out how it would improve competition because the two companies combined could compete better with | Read More »
The Democrats have a penchant for advancing their big government dreams through the insidious use of unelected members of government. To that end, Obama has nominated radical ideologues to judgeships and executive agencies since the beginning of his presidency. Another unelected body of the federal government that is rapidly becoming a fourth branch is the Federal Reserve. Due to the vitality of their creeping economic interventions, | Read More »
Permit me to establish some general, life-experience-style benchmarks for our current domestic economy. This morning, I went out to fill up the gas tank of the car, and treat my kids to some fast-food breakfast. Nothing fancy: the car does not take premium gasoline, and we’re talking breakfast sandwiches and a hotcakes and sausage level of drive-through. Here are the receipts. SIXTY DOLLARS.
Recent economic reports of Obamanomics have shown dismal GDP growth, rising jobless claims, an anemic dollar, and soaring inflation; all indications of stagflation. There are two components to stagflation; high unemployment and high inflation. The unemployment, along with the weak economic growth, is due in large part to Obama’s Keynesian fiscal policy of overtaxing, overspending, over-subsidizing, and over-regulating. While the profligate spending and corporate welfare | Read More »
Obama is forcing our troops to fight a politically correct war in Afghanistan; however, he is prosecuting his class warfare with no holds barred. Obama and the Democrats are the Navy SEALS of class warfare. Fortunately, his target audience, the poor, are not impressed with his ferocity. Obama’s support among the poorest Americans has dropped to an all time low, according to the latest Gallup | Read More »
In the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, inflation became a crippling detriment to the American Economy. Federal Reserve Chairman, Paul Volker, showed remarkable patriotism for a Democrat. He brought down the hammer athwart this scourge. He raised interest rates through the roof and forced down the price of most consumables to acceptable levels. As a result of Paul Volker’s courage and love for America, the | Read More »
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