The European Central Bank is continuing with its negative interest rate policy, but it's not having the desired effect. Instead, the central bank is just filling the void by buying up government debt with newly created money.
The video game industry has been criticized for taking advantage of tax breaks, with critics claiming that the industry is being "subsidized" by a smaller tax bill. But, there's a very big difference between a tax break and a subsidy.
The Fed and the government have gone to great lengths to prop up home prices. But it seems a bit odd to try to increase the cost of a basic necessity like housing. Why not do the same with food and clothing?
Billions of tax dollars have been spent on scientific studies and public programs designed to tell Americans what to eat and how to be healthy. The experiment has failed, and we have nothing to show for it.
In the wake of the Amtrak railway disaster, we’re likely to hear that the solution to the problem is more tax funding and regulation. Few will suggest privatizing the railways. But the historical record suggests that privatization does indeed make for safer railroads.
Everyone knows about the Great Depression which brought massive government intervention and lasted a decade. But few know of the Depression of 1920–21 which was ignored by government and lasted eighteen months.
Many economists have many theories about why economic growth in many advanced economies is stagnating. Some seem to think it’s irreversible, but a good look at creeping government regulation might offer a few hints as to the true cause.
David Cameron’s razor-thin win in the UK elections means he’s had to promise a new referendum on EU membership. If the UK were to leave the EU, it may trigger Scottish secession and a major shift in the EU balance of power.
It is now commonplace for governments to measure economic prosperity with GDP metrics. Numerous arbitrary rules and faulty assumptions behind these measures, however, skew our view of how economies grow and living standards improve.
Some now blame employers that don’t pay a “living wage” for the fact that so many people receive welfare payments. So, the politicians want to tax employers for every minimum wage employee they hire. Needless to say, this won’t solve the problem.
