Monthly Archives: May 2009

Tax Increases Could Kill the Recovery

Posted on Thu, 14 May, 2009 by pmjones

The barrage of tax increases proposed in President Barack Obama's budget could, if enacted by Congress, kill any chance of an early and sustained recovery. Historians and economists who've studied the 1930s conclude that the tax increases passed during that … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Government, Taxes | Leave a comment

U.S. Eyes Bank Pay Overhaul

Posted on Thu, 14 May, 2009 by pmjones

The Obama administration has begun serious talks about how it can change compensation practices across the financial-services industry, including at companies that did not receive federal bailout money, according to people familiar with the matter. The initiative, which is in … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Government | Leave a comment

Deficits Are Of *This* Administration, Not Previous One

Posted on Thu, 14 May, 2009 by pmjones

You can't blame Obama for the recession or the bank bailouts and maybe even the auto bailout. Those started on Bush's watch. But the record-setting deficits? Those are Obama's idea. He's not grappling with that problem. He created that problem, … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Government, Taxes | Leave a comment

-1 For Lamar Alexander, +1 for Louisiana

Posted on Thu, 14 May, 2009 by pmjones

Civil rights “boo!” to this LA: Sen. Alexander votes against guns in national parks More here. Here's the vote. AP story. Another story. It appears he was the lone Republican voting against it. Here's his no vote. UPDATE: Just confirmed … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Rights, Government | Leave a comment

Chrysler and the Rule of Law

Posted on Thu, 14 May, 2009 by pmjones

The rule of law, not of men — an ideal tracing back to the ancient Greeks and well-known to our Founding Fathers — is the animating principle of the American experiment. While the rest of the world in 1787 was … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Government | Leave a comment

Green Shoots? Maybe not.

Posted on Thu, 14 May, 2009 by pmjones

The “green shoots” theory of economic recovery is starting to look a bit like the herbs in my back yard–the ones I forgot to tell Peter to water while I was in Omaha. Retail sales fell again, despite confident proclamations … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics | Leave a comment

Health Care Corporatism Arrives

Posted on Wed, 13 May, 2009 by pmjones

In the past few months, Americans have seen their government essentially seize control of one sector of the economy after another. Federal authorities now tell the automobile, banking, credit card, and insurance industries what products and services to offer, all … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Government | Leave a comment

More Health Care Cost Fallacies

Posted on Wed, 13 May, 2009 by pmjones

Regarding increasing health care costs: if Medicare were less generous, much less would be spent on health care. Now you might think that would be a bad result and that of course a debate worth having. But the mere fact … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Government | Leave a comment

Speaking at php|tek next week

Posted on Wed, 13 May, 2009 by pmjones

This is late notice, as usual, but I’ll be speaking at php|tek next week in Chicago. You can see the schedule here. In addition to my Organizing Your PHP Project talk (updated from the one I have given in the … Continue reading →

Posted in PHP | Leave a comment

PHP-Only Feed

Posted on Wed, 13 May, 2009 by pmjones

I’m sure that most people reading this blog via RSS are here mostly for the PHP content. The recent spate of economics and government-related blogging is probably feeling like a bait-and-switch to many of you. For those of you interested … Continue reading →

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