Have Americans Forgotten How to Grow?

By Carl Schramm

In the face of a stagnating economic activity many economists are trying to explain why the medicine they have been administering these last six years isn't working. Not capable of accepting theoretical defeat, they offer new explanations. We are being told that technology has permitted big corporations to replace manufacturing jobs with either cheap foreign labor or the substitution of capital for labor using robotic technology. But, an even grander reason is on offer by Robert Gordon who says that innovation itself is slowing. He argues, much like many before him in similar moments when the mysteries of economic life produced a slowdown that in their minds shouldn't be that everything is different because people are living differently, or should be. [more...]

Buy a New Franchise and Throw Your Hard Earned Money down a Black Hole

By Michelle Seiler-Tucker

Many people believe that buying a franchise is a great idea, a sound bet, and that they cannot fail. How can they possibly fail as they are buying a turn-key business with a cookie cutter system, training and ongoing support?

Unfortunately, many buyers get sucked into this illusory belief system and false sense of security that franchises are a sure thing. Take my word for it, there are no sure things.

Buying new franchises can be as risky as starting a new business or throwing your money on the craps table, buying a lottery ticket, etc. Throwing your money away gambling can be a one-time loss; however, buying a new franchise can cost you money for years. If you don’t care about obtaining an ROI (return on investment) and you’re OK with throwing your money down a black hole, then go ahead and buy a new franchise.

It’s about time someone tells buyers the truth. Starting a new business or investing in a new/startup franchise is a huge gamble. At least with a franchise, you are buying systems, training and support, thus creating a slightly safer investment than starting a business from scratch. However, starting a new franchise is still very expensive and extremely risky. You'd better have a pile of working capital lying around to keep you above ground. It is proven that new franchises and businesses will operate in the red for years. Many of them will go out of business or be sold for pennies on the dollar. I have seen many new franchises file bankruptcy. People don’t fail just because they didn't write a business plan or implement a marketing plan; they fail because they run out of money. [more...]

Shuttering Fannie and Freddie Beats Making Taxpayers Shutter

By Chad Hovind

For years, banks have been spared the consequences of making bad decisions and bad loans because Fannie and Freddie have been the proverbial government pillow keeping them from feeling the pain of making risky loans.  When the loans go bad, instead of facing the music, they ask the government to take from the taxpayers and "bail them out."  Simply put, the pain of the bank's head-banging is passed on to the taxpayers.  Do banks learn the lesson?  Not if they don't feel the pain. Obama is championing a bipartisan effort to shutter Fannie and Freddie.  For years, politicians have known that they have enabled bad behavior and have been left holding the bag.  Now, at least a few politicians are trying to get us on the trajectory of moving toward privatization. [more...]

Why We Can Kiss the U.S. Economy Goodbye

By Wayne Allyn Root

In my latest book, The Ultimate Obama Survival Guide: How to Survive, Thrive, and Prosper During Obamageddon, I listed hundreds of statistics proving that the U.S. economy was headed for total collapse. But that was all written months ago. Unfortunately, the worst was yet to come.

The results are in. The picture is grim. Here are some frightening economic numbers to think about the next time the lying, manipulating, mainstream media tells you that we are in "recovery." [go here to read the facts...]

I've argued from day one that Obama's goal was to create a two class society. The two classes are the super-rich (who are beholden to Obama for corporate welfare, bailouts, and government contracts), and the poor (who are beholden to Obama for checks to survive). Look no further than the new immigration bill to see the final destruction of middle class wages.

It's About the Mid-Term Elections, Stupid

By Bill Glynn

Everything the Democrats have done before and after the election and are now doing is about the mid-term elections and the media is their weapon - the most powerful weapon of the 21st century. They never get out of campaign mode. Can you imagine if the Republicans lost the House? America would never recover from the massive social changes that would be rammed down our throats. This is not about the massive reforms and changes that must be made in order for America and the capitalism experiment to survive. It's all about politics.

I agree that roads and bridges can create jobs. So, what needs to be cut to pay for it all? The Republicans' stance (again, horribly articulated and miserably marketed) is the right plan: spend for programs that work and eliminate others that do not. Pull back on programs that incentivize people to stay at home and live off the fat of the land, and cut the heck out of the budget far more than the sequestration and drop all taxes to ZERO - 0 corporate, 0 personal and 0 capital gains. [more...]

Bill Glynn is a voice for conservative principles and publishes "On the Money" each week. He appears regularly on radio and TV talk shows across the country sharing his unique views about the economy and our nation. Check out Billy G.'s new site.

The Truth about the Minimum Wage

By Chad Hovind

Every few months you see a movie, a speech, or a picket about so-called "just wages" and a call to elevate the minimum wage.  We call out "greedy employers" for exploitation with the assumption that the minimum wage is never high enough. The assumption is that businesses are exploiting the entry level employees.  As an example, the recent picketers are calling on McDonald's to raise the minimum wage up to $15.00. How can the market determine a "fair wage" when it's not a living wage?

Entry level jobs are not intended to be payrolls for a career to provide for a family.  They are designed as entry level, "get some job experience" training for folks who are new to the workforce. Often, high school and college students take jobs at minimum wage to start their life and make some extra money.  As a parent of two high school students, I'd love them to work hourly for $3.00-$5.00 during the summer to learn the value of money, work, and be productive. After all, many of us have teens who are playing too much X-box who could be much more productive.

When the government comes in and requires businesses to set an arbitrary minimum wage, several unintended consequences occur.  When businesses are required to raise the cost of their labor, they cannot necessarily raise the cost of the product.  Can McDonald's charge $3.00 more per hamburger if they are paying $3.00 more per employee? Usually, they can't.  Why?  Businesses are required to set their price based on the "customers' point of view."   If the price and quality of your product (in this case, a hamburger) is not perfectly balanced at the customers' desire for price and quality, they will go somewhere else.  That will result in cutting jobs and requiring longer working hours. [more...]

Saving America's economy is not a conservative-versus-liberal issue; it's an issue that affects us all. National leaders have failed to pull the country out of its financial tailspin because both major parties are working from the wrong text. In my new book, Godonomics: How to Save Our Country - and Protect Your Wallet - Through Biblical Principles of Finance, I trace capitalism back to its Biblical source.

How New York State Can Grow Its Economy

By Carl Schramm

Everyone wants a New York that is economically stronger.  The state government has a major hand to play and it's in everyone's interest to help get the correct public policy interventions in place.  Deep in New York’s history, Albany largely saw itself as improving the state's economic chances with very large public works projects – building the canal, the Thruway, the Olympic venue at Lake Placid, and the state university system. 

The cardinal economic problem New York faces is demographic.  Of course it has depopulating cities, is losing industry, has seriously underperforming schools, and a decaying tax base.  But each of these problems ultimately relates to the dynamics of who is living in New York.  In the last decade nearly two million people left New York, the majority moving to states with lower taxes, less regulation and greater economic opportunity.  How do we know?  Not only do copious anecdotal accounts tell us this; IRS data say the out-migrants went to states without income taxes, or with lower taxes, or, in all cases, with growing economies. [more...]