Banks continue to be reluctant to lend to small businesses. As a result, NPR reports (ht Ray), some small businesses are turning to a form of microlending. A case in point is Ryan Fochler, a pet care entrepreneur: After being turned down by bank after bank, Fochler came across the Latino Economic Development Corporation, a [...]
Archive for March, 2010
Microlending Comes to Washington
Posted in Economy, Finance, tagged Banks, Finance on March 31, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Pigou and the Plastic Bag
Posted in Budget, Environment, tagged Environment, Taxes on March 30, 2010 | 10 Comments »
The big news in Washington today are the early returns for the new DC bag tax. As of January 1, DC shoppers have to pay a 5 cent tax for each disposable plastic or paper bag that they get at grocery, drug, convenience, and liquor stores. The Washington Post reports that the DC government has [...]
Tax Loopholes, Wealth Destruction, and Health Reform
Posted in Budget, Finance, Health, tagged Accounting, Health, Taxes on March 28, 2010 | 18 Comments »
AT&T, Caterpillar, Deere, and Verizon garnered headlines last week (and an unwelcome summons to Capitol Hill) for announcing that a provision in the recent health care legislation would result in substantial accounting write downs. AT&T, for example, told the SEC that it expects to take a $1 billion charge in the first quarter because the [...]
Inventories Still the Growth Story in Q4
Posted in Data, Economy, Macroeconomics, tagged Data, GDP, Macroeconomics on March 26, 2010 | 4 Comments »
The Bureau of Economic Analysis has released its third look at the economy in the fourth quarter of 2009. The economy grew rapidly in the quarter, but slightly less than previously reported: the new estimate is a 5.6% pace of real GDP growth vs. 5.9% in the prior estimate. As usual, I think the best [...]
About that Government Takeover of the Student Loan Business …
Posted in Budget, Finance, Politics, tagged Budget, Health, Student Loans on March 22, 2010 | 7 Comments »
Health care understandably dominated the headlines leading up to — and beyond — yesterday’s historic House vote. It’s important to remember, however, that the reconciliation legislation also includes major reforms in the way that the government supports student loans. Under current law, federally supported loans are made both direct from the government and through private [...]
One Last (?) Health Cost Estimate
Posted in Budget, Health, tagged Budget, CBO, Health on March 21, 2010 | 3 Comments »
On Saturday, the Congressional Budget Office released its complete cost estimate for the health/revenue/education legislative package that the House is expected to vote on later today. The good news: The combined package would reduce the deficit by slightly more over the next ten years ($143 billion) than previously estimated ($138 billion). And nothing has changed [...]
Should Campaign Contributions Be Anonymous?
Posted in Politics, tagged Politics on March 20, 2010 | 18 Comments »
Although it addressed only direct spending by corporations and unions, the Supreme Court’s recent Citizens United ruling has rekindled broader concerns about the power of money in politics. Over at the Washington Post, Marc Geffroy and R.R. Reno argue that our traditional approach to these concerns –in particular the requirement that campaigns disclose their contributors [...]
How Much Does Health Reform Cost?
Posted in Budget, tagged Budget, CBO, Health on March 19, 2010 | 19 Comments »
It figures that CBO would release its much-awaited score just as I was boarding a plane to go to a conference. So apologies for being slow to the party. The headlines are reporting that CBO scored the health reform effort as costing $940 billion over the next ten years. Readers of this blog know that [...]
Economic Bloggers Forum on Friday
Posted in Blog Admin, tagged Blogging on March 18, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
On Friday I will be speaking at the Kauffman Foundation’s second annual Economic Bloggers Forum. Naturally, the event will be webcast and you can submit questions online on the page with the speaker line-up. Panels will discuss the aftermath of the Great Recession, the prospects for growth in Haiti, Afghanistan, and Africa, and the daunting [...]
America in the Red
Posted in Budget, tagged Budget, Debt, Deficit on March 18, 2010 | 1 Comment »
The new issue of National Affairs includes an essay in which I summarize my thinking about our nation’s fiscal challenges. In “America in the Red” (pdf version), I describe our fiscal challenge, explain how deficits and debts may undermine our prosperity, and emphasize the importance of setting clear budget goals. I also argue that everything should [...]
Most Requested
Twitter
Get Updates by Email
Get Updates by RSS
Share or Bookmark
-
Recent Posts
- How Much Does the United States Really Owe?
- Can One Professor Teach 500,000 Students At Once?
- Capital Gains Taxes Are Going Up
- The Natural Gas Glut is Reshaping Electricity Markets
- Oil and Natural Gas Prices Move Even Further Apart
- Getting Better But a Long Way to Go
- How Do Consumers Spend Engine Efficiency Advances? On Bigger, Faster Cars
- Lose an Election, Gain a Think Tank
- You Can’t Manage What You Don’t Measure Correctly, NYC Crime Edition
- Top Posts of 2011
- The Best Photograph of the Year
- Santa, Could You Please Give Me the Impossible?
- The Twelve Days of Christmas for Our Weak Economy
- The Most Important Economic Chart of the Year
- North Korea’s Economic Failure in a Second Picture
30-Second Economics
Tags
Categories
Archives
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
Translate this blog into
