The New York Times announced recently that the United States might be approaching full employment. But does it feel like we are anywhere near full employment?
Economic Affairs News
Point-Counterpoint: Eliminating The Estate Tax
Editor’s Note: Welcome to Point-Counterpoint, where Liberty Nation writers face off in an intellectual debate about issues affecting everyday Americans. This week, our financial writer, Dan Ingram, faces off in a spirited and highly entertaining debate with Editorial Director Leesa K. Donner.
Was Trump’s Canadian Tariff Actually A Bad Idea?
When politicians espouse the supposed virtues of protectionism and tariffs, they often cite four economic arguments: protect a nation’s industry, end the trade deficit, make the country self-sufficient and do it because other governments are doing it. For years, these have been the common defenses for the regressive policy of tariffs.
100 Days: Trump’s Greatest Victory So Far – The Economy
The finance industry has a term called the 100-Day Moving Average which traders use to evaluate both individual stocks and the market as a whole. What is President’s Trumps 100-Day Moving Average when it comes to the economy? You can base this off emotion and headlines, or, like any trader worth their portfolio, you can base it off of data. When we look at the actual numbers, it is clear that President Trump has enjoyed a tremendously successful first hundred days in office.
How Higher Minimum Wage Affects Lower Quality Restaurants
The minimum wage – or as legendary free-market economist Murray Rothbard called it “compulsory unemployment” – will result in more restaurants shutting their doors, says a new study by Harvard University economists entitled “Survival of the Fittest: The Impact of the Minimum Wage on Firm Exit.” With labor costs surging, driven by higher minimum wages, a greater number of restaurants will face ruination.
Safeguarding Your Money with Alternative Investments – Part 3
Car insurance, health insurance, and life insurance all protect ourselves and our families from various types of misfortune. The FDIC insurance mentioned yesterday protects your first hundred thousand in the bank. Social Security is billed as social insurance to protect you in retirement. But how can you protect yourself if the government guaranteeing all of these things were to collapse? Alternative investments are how. I
Safeguarding Your Money with Alternative Investments – Part 2
The little FDIC sticker on your bank’s door means that you are protected if the bank collapses and loses your money. Should that happen, the federal government has promised to step in and reimburse what you lost. The catch is that this is limited to one hundred thousand dollars. Want to know another fact about the FDIC? They do not insure your investments – at all. So, if the guy running your 401(k) pulls a Bernie Madoff (or a Bernie Sanders) and takes all your money, you are out of luck.
Safeguarding Your Money with Alternative Investments – Part 1
Chances are, most of you reading this have a retirement account filled with some mix of stocks and bonds. Nearly all of you have a credit card or a debit card in your wallet. Many readers own their homes, have a savings account, or put some money away in a college fund for their children. These are all mainstream investments, and make no mistake, they are required to live a typical American lifestyle. Is there any need for alternative investments above and beyond these financial mainstays?
Consumer Packaging and Energy Conservation
An Executive Order could be directed to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and would regulate food packaging, requiring that all containers be no larger than the minimum essential size to keep the product safe and intact. No plastic fillers, spacers, or empty gaps would be allowed in any package. No odd sized boxes or inflated Mylar bags designed for maximum visual display on store shelves. Additionally, the cost of the packaging should not exceed the necessary cost of the product it contains. In other words, 1ȼ worth of product should not come in a 15ȼ aluminum can or pressurized bulletproof wrapper — which takes two people with a box cutter to open – and then goes in the trash.