The Status Quo Economy
The employment report last week showed that the US economy added a mere 80,000 jobs in June with the unemployment rate stuck at 8.2%. Other economic reports last week showed similar trends toward unchanged and if you look back over the entire time since the end of the crisis portion of this great recession, the .. read more
Bailing Out Detroit
The Bush administration announced today that they will use TARP funds to provide loans to GM and Chrysler (via WSJ): The deal would extend $13.4 billion in loans to General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC in December and January, with another $4 billion likely available in February. It also would provide the government with non-voting .. read more
Market Week in Review
The markets this week were dominated by the tug of war over the auto industry bailout and the arrest Thursday of Bernie Madoff on charges of fraud. Lost in the noise of the Madoff fraud was the arrest of a prominent New York attorney, also on fraud charges. Absent Madoff’s alleged $50 billion fraud, Marc Dreier’s alleged .. read more
Bankruptcy Doesn’t Equal Death
Don Boudreaux, chairman of the GMU Department of Economics, takes on the myth that the Little Three automakers are too big to fail (via the WSJ): The spectacle of corporate magnates from Detroit pleading to be on Uncle Sam’s dole is a sordid one. So why aren’t more Americans appalled? One reason is widespread misunderstanding .. read more
Why Should We Bail Out Detroit?
The CEOs of the Big Three auto makers, which are destined to soon be the big two or the big one or the small three, have been on Capitol Hill for two days begging for money so they can save the jobs of the UAW. The UAW sent along a nearly literate representative to assist .. read more
