May 2009
Up one levelThe Passing of Pontiac
Pontiac, now sacrificed for General Motors to reorganize, was ironically a car that helped GM survive the Great Depression.
The Importance of Family for Entrepreneurial Success
To increase low rates of business ownership among blacks, we need more opportunities for obtaining work experience.
Welcome to Our New Feature: The Enterprise Blog
Visit American.com’s latest feature, The Enterprise Blog, bringing you practical wisdom several times a day.
The World Economy’s Europe Problem
As ‘green shoots’ of recovery sprout in the United States, potential crises in a number of European economies pose the main risk to any early global economic recovery.
Why the Chrysler Deal Would Horrify a New Dealer
The use of a sham sale of the sort the New Dealers thought they had forever eliminated will cause mischief in future bankruptcy cases.
Busting Healthcare Myths
To fix American healthcare, it's important to avoid some common misconceptions.
Is a ‘Systemic Risk Regulator’ Possible?
Political reaction to financial crises is usually accompanied by what proves to be greatly overstated expectations about its future effectiveness.
The Luxury City vs. the Middle Class
The sustainable city of the future will rest on the revival of traditional institutions that have faded in many of today’s cities.
The Straw Men of Social Security
Social Security is the largest single spending program of the federal budget. Its costs relative to its tax base will rise by 26 percent over the next two decades and it is badly in need of reform.
Decoding the Use of Gene Patents
In good news, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has resisted researchers' overreaching in their patenting of genes, and researchers’ work is seldom compromised by patents.
What is Driving Rising Healthcare Costs?
Our healthcare system is in trouble today because we have consistently ignored market-oriented solutions and instead sought out policies based on public finance and top-down regulation.
Consider the Source
A recent case reveals that it is not only generic firms from middle-income countries that have problems with good manufacturing practice.
Hate the Sin, Tax the Sinner?
An excise tax on those goods that elected officials deem morally suspect has come roaring back. But the temptation to impose sin taxes is one that should be resisted for economic and moral reasons.
Why Not Negative Interest Rates?
Could we have negative nominal interest rates to combat a potential deflation? The question is debated from time to time, especially recently. It may seem unlikely, but it is not impossible.
Obama’s Guantanamo Problem—And Ours
Gitmo requires deep thought, not glib pronouncements. It also requires a dose of reality.
Lose-Lose on Biofuels?
Forcing the market to produce large amounts of renewable fuel will harm consumers. Even though it reduces some emissions, it increases others.
What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You
There is a strong association between educational attainment and health. That’s one more reason to empower Americans, not Washington, with greater ownership of their healthcare.
Obama’s European Energy Vacation
President Obama is absolutely right that we can learn a lot from the European approach to energy. But he is dead wrong on what those lessons are.
A Stimulus You Can Believe In
Direct costs to the United States of tort litigation are $252 billion a year. Indirect costs are far higher. Reform would boost the economy at a critical time.