Economics

The chief purpose of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, passed 2010, was to avert the next financial crisis. So why does the new regulatory agency created by the act — the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) — enjoy sweeping authority over so many consumer credit and other financial products and services that played no significant role Read More ›

The US dollar is getting perilously close to losing its status as the world’s reserve currency. Should it cross the line, the 2008 financial crisis could look like a summer storm. Yes, worries about insolvency in Europe dominate the headlines. Last week, Standard & Poor’s cut Spain’s bond rating to BBB+ — a clear sign that Europe’s financial crisis is Read More ›

The libertarian commitment to free markets and limited government is best preserved within a broader conservative context.The libertarian commitment to free markets and limited government is best preserved within a broader conservative context.

European debt problems have kept financial markets on edge during much of the last two years, but it is the debt problem in the United States that is far more likely to precipitate a global crisis. Recently, Lawrence Goodman, a former crisis-prevention analyst at the U.S. Treasury, sounded the alarm that investors balked at low coupon rates last year, forcing Read More ›

European debt problems have received a lot of media attention, but it is the debt problem in the U.S. that is far more likely to precipitate a global crisis. Former U.S. Treasury official Lawrence Goodman sounded the alarm recently when he noted that investors are shunning low-yielding U.S. Treasuries, forcing the Fed to buy “a stunning … 61% of the Read More ›

On Tuesday, President Obama denounced Representative Paul Ryan’s budget proposal, which would modestly reduce the rate of growth in the federal budget. Ryan’s plan is a “radical vision,” says the president, which amounts to “thinly veiled Social Darwinism.” Understandably, Ryan has called the comments “surreal,” since the Wisconsin Republican seeks to reform entitlements such as Medicare in order to save Read More ›

Editor’s Note: This column was co-written by Anne Bradley, PhD, who serves as Vice President of Economic Initiatives at the Institute for Faith, Work and Economics. All-American rocker Bruce Springsteen has taken to the pages of Rolling Stone magazine to lament the existence of income inequality in our country today: “You cannot have a social contract with the enormous income disparity — you’re going Read More ›

Our national frustration with federal spending discussions stems from irreconcilable political debates involving figures so large that our eyes glaze over and our minds go numb. . Everyone senses that Washington’s dysfunction and denial about spending puts the country’s finances at grave risk, but few know how bad it really is. Even fewer seem to know what to do about Read More ›

On Wednesday, Greg Smith, an executive director at Goldman Sachs, announced his resignation in the pages of the New York Times. His reasoning: The company’s employees and culture have morphed into a gross entity that sidelines the interests of the client in favor of making a quick buck. By his account, Goldman Sachs’ culture has become “toxic and destructive.” Mr. Smith no longer wants to be Read More ›