Central to the federal government’s creation of the sub-prime mortgage bubble and the subsequent economic collapse and recession, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (“government-sponsored enterprises” or GSEs) are now the target of a massive new bailout by the Obama administration of $153 billion and counting, all in the name of winding these agencies down….
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Dr. Emily Skarbek, director of the�Government Cost Calculator at the Independent Institute, was interviewed by International PressTV on Friday, January 7th. Listen to Emily�as she discusses how poor U.S. government policies create or exacerbate unemployment. The article and video can be viewed here.
According to CBS News, on the last day of 2010 the U.S. National Debt hit a record level of more than $14 trillion or $14,025,215,218,708.52, up from $9 trillion just over three years ago and a whopping 55% increase since just before 2008. As the report states: It took just 7 months for the…
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In an article in the Wall Street Journal, “The Right Way to Balance the Budget,” Andrew Biggs, Kevin Hassett and Matt Jensen report that new research of 21 countries over the past 37 years shows that to reduce government debt, a major reduction of spending must be adopted instead of higher taxes. On average,…
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In an article from Reuters, David Lawder reports that a new U.S. Treasury report of cash holdings, “The Financial Report of the United States,” shows that the U.S. government went into greater debt in fiscal year 2010 to the tune of additional $2 trillion. Unfortunately, the report does not include the massive land, minerals,…
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On Monday’s Freedom Watch on Fox Business Channel, Judge Andrew Napolitano asks Steve Forbes about regime uncertainty created by Congress and the changing tax system. Independent Institute Research Fellow Benjamin Powell advocates deep spending cuts and making the temporary tax cuts permanent. Then, in the next segment, Judge Napolitano and Dr. Powell critique the…
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In the Wall Street Journal, Jeff Bater reports in “U.S. Posts $150.4 Billion November Budget Deficit,” that federal red ink is reaching an all-time record: The U.S. government ran its 26th straight monthly budget deficit in November amid wrangling over a package that would extend big tax cuts to Americans trying to recover from…
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The Federal Times reports in “Federal pay freeze plan wouldn’t stop raises” that President Obama’s claimed, 2-year “pay freeze” does nothing of the sort, but instead will result in 1.1 million employees receiving from 2.6 to 3.3 percent increases in wages or more than $2.5 billion in pay raises. (Military and legislative branch personnel…
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In a new article in the Wall Street Journal, “Why the Spending Stimulus Failed: New economic research shows why lower tax rates do far more to spur growth,” Stanford University economist Michael Boskin examines how and why the U.S.’s $814 billion economic stimulus has failed. For many years now, Independent Institute Senior Fellow Robert…
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A funny thing happened on the way to the voting booth: Americans discovered that most federal �stimulus� funds were being used to stimulate government, not the economy. I was on the road recently, driving from my home in southeast Louisiana through a long stretch of Mississippi to Tuscaloosa, Ala., then to the outskirts of…
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