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...]

Our Economy's Heroes: "Financial First Responders"

By Wayne Allyn Root

It is easy to understand why the U.S. economy is in crisis and decline. Forget the delusional stock market (fueled by Fed fake money printing). On Main Street our economy is sick and getting sicker. There are no jobs.

The U.S. has 90 million working age, able-bodied Americans unemployed - that’s almost one third of the country. The workforce participation rate is the lowest in decades. The rate of business startups is the lowest in decades. Food stamps, disability, welfare, and Medicaid are at record highs. We are facing economic disaster. Why?

The answer is found in how we treat the heroes of the economy. Firefighters are heroes because they run into burning buildings. Policemen and women are heroes because they run towards the sound of gunshots. That’s why they're called "first responders." Where would we be in a crisis without these heroes?

But our economy relies on heroes, too. I call these heroes "financial first responders." They are the business owners, investors, job creators and taxpayers. Financial first responders risk their money to create jobs, to provide a better life for their employees and to provide products that consumers need at a price they can afford. They risk their financial lives, just like the police and firefighters risk their bodies. [more...]

When Economic Policy Isn't Focused on Growth, the Poor Suffer Mightily

By Carl Schramm

It’s been a long time, as in years, since we’ve had a certain sense that the economy is or might be set to enjoy sustained growth.  We are so eager for good news that any upward pointing indicator gets celebrated in the media, in part because it confirms the political biases of many people in the press about the worth of President Obama’s stimulus policies. But, even the most recent jobs data indicating that unemployment fell to 7.5 percent is clouded by the realization that the number of people who left the labor market grew to a record high.  It suggests fairly clearly that the lower rate of unemployment is what economists call “artifactual” data.  The number of permanently unemployed and those working in jobs well below their skill levels persists.  Just ask this year’s college graduating class about its prospects. [more...]

Why You Should Stop Renting and Buy a Home Now

By Lex Levinrad

Are you currently renting the home that you live in? We recently analyzed data on historical pricing for existing home sales of single family homes in the U.S. We looked at historical price data for single family homes from the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) going back to 1970. We applied historical real estate data to today’s real estate market in order to compare and analyze how a typical first time home buyer today could benefit by purchasing a home similar to the one that they are currently renting. Based on historical data, along with current home prices and mortgage rates we believe that if you are currently renting and you have decent credit then you should really think about buying a home right now. [more...]

President Obama - The CEO Who Knows Nothing

By Wayne Allyn Root

Let's assume for a moment that Obama really knew nothing about the IRS scandal. That would make him the most incompetent and clueless CEO in history. The first time the president of the United States allegedly found out about the IRS scandal was on a Friday, less than two weeks ago, just like the rest of us. We are led to believe he was watching CNN and they mentioned the IRS scandal. And I guess we’re to believe that Obama turned to his Chief of Staff and said, “Wow, those IRS dudes really went rogue!” [more...]