Article Archive
10 Lessons from Cyprus
Here are the likely lessons future historians will draw from Cyprus’s sorry experience in the euro.
The Federal Financial Triangle
What would it mean for the world’s principal central bank to have negative net worth?
The True Crisis in the Asia-Pacific
The Asia-Pacific’s most dangerous crisis may be going overlooked due to North Korean threats. Despite the Obama administration’s ‘pivot’ to the region, Asian allies worry that the United States will not continue to be a steadfast partner.
Earth Day and Four Decades of Fear
A vast array of blatherings have accumulated over the years, warning the end is nigh.
Greed Is Green: How the Profit Motive Helps the Environment
The search for increased profitability has long delivered both economic and environmental improvements by promoting the evermore efficient use of material resources.
When Saving Is a Problem Not a Virtue
The Obama administration’s proposed limits on ‘reasonable’ retirement savings would penalize success and patience in favor of the nebulous concept of fairness.
Margaret Thatcher Showed the World What a Woman Can Do
Even after her death, critics revile Britain’s brilliant, trail-blazing leader and liberator as ‘unfeminine.’ Yet she reveled in her femininity throughout her career, charming men and women alike.
Why Expanding Social Security Is a Bad Idea
A New America Foundation proposal would cost 3.7 percent of GDP and crowd out the private saving that drives our economy.
A ‘Genius’ Way to Avoid Taxes
Nobel Prize laureates are avoiding heavy taxes on their prize money via a loophole that benefits charities. President Obama and former vice president Al Gore both gave away their prize money — at the expense of the IRS.
The Penalties of Our Tax Code
Our tax system’s unnecessary complexity creates unfairness and uncertainty. With a few reforms, it could be more growth-friendly, simple, and fair.
Regulating Risk
An illustration of the impact of financial regulation on capital allocation is the extent to which the world's savings have been attracted to long-term instruments with low yields.
Confusing Cause and Effect in the Fiscal Policy Debate
Our debate should not be about income redistribution or debt reduction but rather about how to achieve broadly shared growth — because when we achieve that, history shows that the deficit and the middle class will benefit.
Lessons from a Feminist Paradise on Equal Pay Day
Sweden seems to be an egalitarian, feminist utopia. So why are American women ahead of their Swedish counterparts in breaking through the glass ceiling?
North Korea's Bluffing Blowhard
Should we still be worried even if North Korea’s Kim Jong-un is only bluffing? The best policy may be to humor him.
Financial Innovation — Illusory and Real
Some ‘innovations’ are merely new names for ways of lowering credit standards, running up leverage, and increasing risk. How do we know what’s real and what’s not?
Grow the Economy through Small Businesses
The majority of private sector job growth is from small businesses, and reforming licensing requirements is a promising route to increased business formation.
Cuba Sees an Opening
The State Department is reportedly considering dropping Cuba’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism. Doing so would hand Havana a major – and unmerited – diplomatic victory.
The Next Real Estate Bubble: Farmland
Farmers have been taking on mounting debt, creating an unsustainable increase in land prices and risking a crash that would ripple through our economy.
Latins Rally to Restore Human Rights Panel
Latin American countries have finally rallied and rejected a bid by leftist regimes to silence the region’s human rights watchdog. Now regional democracies must restore the organization’s credibility after years of yielding to Chavistas.
Cyprus’s Imminent Collapse
Any calm bought by the IMF-EU bailout package for Cyprus will be short-lived. Cyprus is all but certain to experience an economic collapse over the next two years, and the country will again question whether it should remain in the euro.