Economic Crisis 2008–09

Op-eds by date

• Obama should give employers straighter talk, fewer taxes (January 28, 2010)
  Tribune Media Services
  by Victor Davis Hanson
  A year ago Barack Obama inherited a recession brought on by financial panic following the collapse of the housing bubble. . . .
• Obama and the 'Fat Cat Bankers' (January 13, 2010)
  Wall Street Journal
  by Jonathan Macey
  Surprise! Banks with government guarantees take the biggest risks, make the most money, and pay the highest bonuses. . . .
• The decade the world tilted east (January 5, 2010)
  Financial Times
  by Niall Ferguson
  I think maybe it was only then that I really got the point about this decade, just as it was drawing to a close: that we are living through the end of 500 years of western ascendancy. . . .
• Uncertainty and the Slow Recovery (January 4, 2010)
  Wall Street Journal
  by Gary S. Becker
  A recession is a terrible time to make major changes in the economic rules of the game. . . .
• Dead Men Walking (December 16, 2009)
  Foreign Policy
  by Niall Ferguson
  Why 2009's truly top thinkers are yesterday's news. . . .
• Economics No Match For Politics (December 8, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Richard A. Epstein
  The real reason that unemployment lines won't shrink. . . .
• How Congress Ignored Warnings And Stiff-Armed Reform Of GSEs (December 7, 2009)
  Investor's Business Daily
  by Thomas Sowell
  This is the fourth of five parts of a Monday series excerpting Thomas Sowell's latest book, "The Housing Boom and Bust." . . .
• How Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac Sank In The Subprime Quicksand (December 7, 2009)
  Investor's Business Daily
  by Thomas Sowell
  This is the third installment of a Monday series excerpting the chapter on political causes from Thomas Sowell's latest book, "The Housing Boom and Bust." . . .
• Rahe Of Sunshine (December 4, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Peter M. Robinson
  Paul Rahe, a professor at Hillsdale College, believes the country is going to hell in a hand basket. . . .
• How to take moral hazard out of banking (December 3, 2009)
  Financial Times
  by Niall Ferguson
  As Dubai World’s default shows, the financial crisis is far from over. . . .
• We Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet (November 30, 2009)
  Tribune Media Services
  by Victor Davis Hanson
  When it comes to the problems facing this country, an old slogan comes to mind: “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet.” . . .
• An Empire at Risk (November 30, 2009)
  Newsweek
  by Niall Ferguson
  Call the United States what you like—superpower, hegemon, or empire—but its ability to manage its finances is closely tied to its ability to remain the predominant global military power. . . .
• Solving Whose Problem? (November 24, 2009)
  Creators Syndicate
  by Thomas Sowell
  No one will really understand politics until they understand that politicians are not trying to solve our problems. . . .
• How Little Law From '70s Brought The Financial System To Its Knees (November 23, 2009)
  Investor's Business Daily
  by Thomas Sowell
  This is the second installment of a Monday series excerpting the chapter on political implications from Thomas Sowell's latest book, "The Housing Boom and Bust." . . .
• Housing Bust: Sowell Series Starts Today (November 23, 2009)
  Investor's Business Daily
  by Thomas Sowell
  This is part one of a five-part series, excerpting "The Politics of the Housing Boom" chapter from Thomas Sowell's book, "The Housing Boom and Bust." . . .
• An Alternative Stimulus Plan (November 18, 2009)
  Wall Street Journal
  by Michael J. Boskin
  While the economy has finally started to grow, the disturbingly high unemployment rate is increasing pressure from the left to double down on this year's poorly designed fiscal stimulus bill. . . .
• The Great Wallop (November 16, 2009)
  New York Times
  by Niall Ferguson
  A FEW years ago we came up with the term “Chimerica” to describe the combination of the Chinese and American economies, which together had become the key driver of the global economy. . . .
• How Little We Know (November 13, 2009)
  Economists' Voice (Berkeley Electronic Press)
  by Russell Roberts
  If only preventing financial crashes were as straightforward as preventing airlines crashes. . . .
• A Recipe for Ratings Reform (November 13, 2009)
  Economists' Voice (Berkeley Electronic Press)
  by Charles Calomiris
  Contrary to conventional wisdom, incentives to inflate credit ratings reflect pressures from buy-side investors who use inflated ratings to reduce the impact of regulation and ratings-based restrictions on their portfolio holdings. . . .
• No Tears for a Weak Greenback (November 13, 2009)
  New York Times
  by Melvyn B. Krauss
  Washington’s policy, devaluing the U.S. dollar to increase U.S. exports, is clearly a “beggar-my-neighbor” policy. . . .
• Education Reforms . . . or Union Jobs? (November 12, 2009)
  National Review
  by Chester E. Finn Jr.
  this item mentions Eric Hanushek
  What the stimulus really stimulates. . . .
• Stimulus and the Jobless Recovery (November 2, 2009)
  Wall Street Journal
  by Edward Paul Lazear
  With the news that GDP grew at 3.5% in the third quarter, it seems apparent that economic recovery is underway...
• Executive Compensation Follies (October 27, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Richard A. Epstein
  The topic of executive compensation has once again hit the front pages, and with more heat than light...
• Washington’s Plans May Result in Even Higher Executive Pay (October 26, 2009)
  Wall Street Journal
  by Jonathan Macey
  Executive pay has emerged, once again, as a major issue in Washington...
• As Goldman Gloats, What Does It Matter For Us? (October 16, 2009)
  NPR
  by Russell Roberts
  Should we care about Goldman's profits and compensation?...
• Fuel for the Financial Fire (October 16, 2009)
  Forbes
  by John B. Taylor
  Conventional question: did the government's quick intervention on Wall Street last year save us from another Great Depression?...
• Magic Numbers in Politics (October 13, 2009)
  Creators Syndicate
  by Thomas Sowell
  Back in the days of the Soviet Union, two Russian economists who had never lived in a country with a free market economy understood something about market economies that many others who have lived in such economies all their lives have never understood...
• Leaning on Berlin (October 8, 2009)
  New York Times
  by Melvyn B. Krauss
  The G-20 nations, led by the United States, are claiming that, because Germany has an export surplus, it is not doing enough for global recovery...
• There’s no such thing as too big to fail in a free market (October 6, 2009)
  Telegraph (UK)
  by Niall Ferguson
  For conservatives, the financial crisis that began in the summer of 2007 has posed a major problem...
• A Poisonous Cocktail (October 5, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Peter Schweizer
  As we try to shake off the financial crisis, here's a bright idea...
• Stimulus Spending Doesn't Work (October 1, 2009)
  Wall Street Journal
  by Robert J. Barro
  The global recession and financial crisis have refocused attention on government stimulus packages...
• The government debt bomb (September 29, 2009)
  Project Syndicate
  by Michael J. Boskin
  As economies around the world return to growth after the deepest recession in a generation, renewed attention is being paid to enormous fiscal deficits and vast expansions of government debt...
• Should the G-20 Reconsider the Decision to Treble IMF Resources (September 24, 2009)
  
  by John B. Taylor
  At their last meeting on April 2, 2009, in London, the leaders of the G-20 nations agreed "to treble the resources available to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to $750 billion."...
• The Stimulus Didn't Work (September 17, 2009)
  Wall Street Journal
  by John F. Cogan and John B. Taylor
  this op-ed mentions Robert J. Barro
  Is the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 working?...
• Why a rescue of Lehman would not have saved us... (September 15, 2009)
  Financial Times
  by Niall Ferguson
  If only...
• Wall Street’s New Gilded Age (September 15, 2009)
  Newsweek
  by Niall Ferguson
  Since its birth, the United States has grappled with the problem of an over-mighty financial sector...
• Listening to a Liar: Part II (September 11, 2009)
  Creators Syndicate
  by Thomas Sowell
  "Hubris-laden charlatans" was the way a recent e-mail from a reader characterized the Obama administration...
• Listening to a Liar (September 8, 2009)
  Creators Syndicate
  by Thomas Sowell
  The most important thing about what anyone says are not the words themselves but the credibility of the person who says them...
• The coming debt debacle: Top economist says President Obama must slash spending, now (August 31, 2009)
  Daily News (NY)
  by John B. Taylor
  New federal budget numbers released last week by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) ought to be a game-changer for Congress and the Obama administration...
• Will Time Prove Ben Bernanke Wrong? (August 26, 2009)
  NPR
  by Russell Roberts
  President Obama has reappointed Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, praising his creativity in preventing another Great Depression...
• Obama and ‘Redistributive (August 26, 2009)
  Tribune Media Services
  by Victor Davis Hanson
  The first seven months of the Obama administration seemingly make no sense...
• Taylor Rule Change Will Hurt Fed’s Inflation Fight: John Taylor (August 25, 2009)
  Bloomberg
  by John B. Taylor
  this op-ed mentions Robert E. Hall
  The Taylor Rule -- the guideline for central bank interest-rate decisions -- has been the subject of a heated debate among Fed watchers this summer...
• Legislative Lemon (August 24, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Henry I. Miller
  The federal Cash for Clunkers program ends Monday--and good riddance...
• The drugs do work (August 24, 2009)
  Guardian (UK)
  by Henry I. Miller
  Once upon a time there was a horse that was so productive working in the field that he put all the other horses to shame...
• The Default Power (August 21, 2009)
  New York Times
  by Josef Joffe
  Every 10 years, it is decline time in the United States...
• Divine Debt Trumps All (August 20, 2009)
  Tribune Media Services
  by Victor Davis Hanson
  In Greek mythology, even Olympian gods and heroes were subject to a higher divine power known loosely as “fate” — an allotted moira, or destiny, that could not be changed even by thunderbolt-throwing Zeus...
• Whose Medical Decisions?: Part IV (August 18, 2009)
  Creators Syndicate
  by Thomas Sowell
  The serious, and sometimes chilling, provisions of the medical care legislation that President Obama has been trying to rush through Congress are important enough for all of us to stop and think, even though his political strategy from the outset has been to prevent us from having time to stop and think about it...
• Immediate benefit hides harm of clunkers program (August 17, 2009)
  Freedom Communications
  by Tibor R. Machan
  Most have no time to consider the big picture, so when the Cash for Clunkers program comes their way, they think only of the immediate consequences...
• Random Thoughts (August 11, 2009)
  Creators Syndicate
  by Thomas Sowell
  Random thoughts on the passing scene: Different people have very different reactions to President Barack Obama...
• It's time California got over itself (August 10, 2009)
  San Francisco Chronicle
  by Bill Whalen
  Way to go, California...
• Fed does not need more powers (August 10, 2009)
  Financial Times
  by John B. Taylor
  this op-ed includes quotes from George P. Shultz
  The Obama administration’s financial reform proposals would grant the Federal Reserve significant new powers...
• SOLUTIONS: Revitalizing American entrepreneurship (August 10, 2009)
  Washington Times
  by Jeffrey M. Jones
  this op-ed mentions Hoover Institution
  Every day we're reminded of just how bad this recession is...
• Economic history shows government desire for control (August 10, 2009)
  Freedom Communications
  by Tibor R. Machan
  Usually I am surrounded by writings and broadcasts that fawn over President Obama's policies and the philosophical and economic ideas surrounding them, but recently I spend an entire week at a Cato University conference during which extremely knowledgeable people presented carefully reasoned analyses about some other periods of American history during which the American and indeed the world economy was going through various gyrations and people were, as usual, blaming it all on "greed" and freedom just as many mainstream, Obama-supporting commentators do today...
• President proves history repeats (August 7, 2009)
  Freedom Communications
  by Tibor R. Machan
  Although I am no historian, I do have an interest in what happened and why, especially involving big economic events of the past...
• Cool It, Congress (August 4, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Richard A. Epstein
  Human interactions take place either by agreement or force...
• He's No Ronald Reagan (August 4, 2009)
  Weekly Standard
  by Peter Berkowitz
  On July 29, 1981, barely six months into his presidency and in the face of an economic crisis of historic proportions, Ronald Reagan succeeded in persuading both houses of Congress to pass dramatic tax cuts that set the stage for nearly three decades of vigorous economic growth...
• California Keeps On Dreaming (July 31, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Peter M. Robinson
  this op-ed mentions Michael J. Boskin and John F. Cogan
  Reporting on the agreement last week to close the state budget gap here in California, The New York Times adopted a tone of gloom and despair...
• The Learning Stimulus? (July 16, 2009)
  Education Week
  by John E. Chubb
  The Obama administration recently opened the sluice gates again—directing $44 billion of the economic-stimulus package to the schools.
• On Shearing Sheep (July 16, 2009)
  Tribune Media Services
  by Victor Davis Hanson
  You don’t produce wool by skinning the sheep...
• Big Government’s Return (July 16, 2009)
  Cato Institute
  by David R. Henderson
  It had to happen...
• Obama's Back To The Future Of Markets (July 15, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Terry Anderson and Richard Sousa
  this op-ed mentions Hoover Institution
  Recent polls show that President Obama continues to receive high style points, but that his policies are being less well received...
• Vanguard Or Rearguard? (July 14, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Richard A. Epstein
  Rahm Emanuel's one enduring contribution to political theory is his oft-quoted aphorism that a crisis is too important to be wasted...
• A Personal Inequity (July 14, 2009)
  Creators Syndicate
  by Thomas Sowell
  Sometimes, when I hear about "disparities" and "inequities," I think of a disparity that applied directly to me— the disparity in basketball ability between myself and Michael Jordan...
• Sacrifice is wrong way to go in hard economic times (July 13, 2009)
  Freedom Communications
  by Tibor R. Machan
  I don't know what exactly President Obama means when he says "we must all expect to sacrifice during these times" or something equivalent...
• No He Hasn't (July 10, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Peter M. Robinson
  Just under six months after becoming president, and just under two months before the deadline he set for the passage of health care legislation, Barack Obama is finished...
• Do We Need a Second Stimulus? (July 9, 2009)
  Wall Street Journal
  by Edward Paul Lazear
  In "Brewster's Millions," a comedy starring Richard Pryor, a man is told he can keep $300 million if he manages to spend $30 million in one month...
• The nonsense of a 'new world order' (July 9, 2009)
  Freedom Communications
  by Tibor R. Machan
  The July 6 edition of Business Week reports that Roger Altman, Deputy Treasury Secretary under President Bill Clinton, now CEO of an investment banking boutique (Evercore Partners), has — like President Sarkozy of France — concluded that it’s the end for capitalism...
• A New York Solution for Bailing Out California (July 8, 2009)
  Wall Street Journal
  by Henry S. Rowen
  "Ford to City: Drop Dead."...
• Let’s Treat Borrowers Like Adults (July 8, 2009)
  Wall Street Journal
  by Todd Zywicki
  Imagine a man in California who speculated in real estate at the height of the housing bubble...
• Don't Blame Hedge Funds (June 25, 2009)
  New York Times
  by Melvyn B. Krauss
  When President Obama unveiled his financial regulation plan last week, a collective sigh of relief was heard throughout the U.S. financial community...
• Republicans in the Wilderness (June 23, 2009)
  Creators Syndicate
  by Thomas Sowell
  A Gallup poll last week showed that far more Americans describe themselves as "conservatives" than as "liberals."...
• Another “Good Thing” (June 23, 2009)
  Creators Syndicate
  by Thomas Sowell
  Even if the "stimulus" package doesn't seem to be doing much to stimulate the economy, it is certainly stimulating many potential recipients of government money to start lining up at the trough...
• Steering Clear Of The Executive Compensation Bog (June 16, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Richard A. Epstein
  It's hardly news to anyone that deregulation has become a dirty word in the Obama administration...
• Why The Taylor Act Must Go (June 9, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Richard A. Epstein
  On previous occasions, I have lamented about the manifest dangers of public unions...
• The Roots Of Liberalism (June 5, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Peter M. Robinson
  A near quadrupling of the federal deficit in 2009 alone. The nationalization of the Detroit automakers...
• Letters to the Editor: Insouciance about debt is dangerously misplaced (June 5, 2009)
  Financial Times
  by Niall Ferguson
  Sir, I am glad to have furnished grist to Martin Wolf’s mill (“Rising government bond rates prove policy is working”, June 3)...
• Twenty years after a victory and a defeat, time for a progress report (June 4, 2009)
  Guardian (UK)
  by Timothy Garton Ash
  Someone should institute an annual 4 June review of the Chinese, European and American models...
• Europe’s Advantage (June 3, 2009)
  New York Times
  by Melvyn B. Krauss
  California — the state in which I reside — has many advantages...
• The trillion dollar question: China or America? (June 3, 2009)
  Telegraph (UK)
  by Niall Ferguson
  Two years ago, economist Moritz Schularick and I coined the word "Chimerica" to describe what we saw as the key relationship in the then-booming global economy: China plus America...
• Science and Technology Are Essential to Economic Recovery (June 3, 2009)
  Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News (NY)
  by Henry I. Miller
  In his weekly message on March 7, President Obama tried to reassure a nation jittery about the economy: “With every test, each generation has found the capacity to not only endure, but to prosper­to discover great opportunity in the midst of great crisis.”...
• A history lesson for economists in thrall to Keynes (June 3, 2009)
  Financial Times
  by Niall Ferguson
  On Wednesday last week, yields on 10-year US Treasuries - generally seen as the benchmark for long-term interest rates - rose above 3.73 per cent...
• How economists can misunderstand the crisis (June 1, 2009)
  Financial Times
  by Niall Ferguson
  On Wednesday last week, yields on 10-year US Treasuries – generally seen as the benchmark for long-term interest rates – rose above 3.73 per cent...
• How economists can misunderstand the crisis (June 1, 2009)
  Financial Times
  by Niall Ferguson
  On Wednesday last week, yields on 10-year US Treasuries – generally seen as the benchmark for long-term interest rates – rose above 3.73 per cent...
• The Problem With California (May 29, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Peter M. Robinson
  The state of California employs some two-and-a-quarter million people, includes almost 400 state agencies, oversees 29 different legal codes, administers a tax code that runs to more than 60,000 clauses or sections and spends more than $100 billion a year...
• Burke and Obama (May 29, 2009)
  Creators Syndicate
  by Thomas Sowell
  The other day I sought a respite from current events by re-reading some of the writings of 18th century British statesman Edmund Burke...
• The US economy is becoming ever more reliant on a government fix (May 29, 2009)
  Project Syndicate
  by Michael J. Boskin
  It is still too soon to gauge the full economic impact of President Barack Obama's implemented and proposed policies, but a preliminary read indicates limited short-term benefit at large long-term cost...
• The Sotomayor Nomination (May 27, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Richard A. Epstein
  In a previous Forbes column, I decried President Barack Obama's insistence that empathy would weigh heavily in the scales when it came to his next Supreme Court nominee...
• Exploding debt threatens America (May 27, 2009)
  Financial Times
  by John B. Taylor
  Standard and Poor’s decision to downgrade its outlook for British sovereign debt from “stable” to “negative” should be a wake-up call for the US Congress and administration...
• Random Thoughts (May 26, 2009)
  Creators Syndicate
  by Thomas Sowell
  Random thoughts on the passing scene: They say that people mellow with age...
• The Protest Of A Patriot (May 22, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Peter M. Robinson
  "I run an approximately $20 billion dollar money management firm," Clifford Asness explained in a note that he circulated to friends and investors earlier this month...
• Diminished Returns (May 18, 2009)
  New York Times Magazine
  by Niall Ferguson
  If financial crises were distributed along a bell curve — like traffic accidents or people’s heights — really big ones wouldn’t happen very often...
• Our Government, For Better Or Worse (May 14, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Chester E. Finn Jr.
  Ever since I came into contact with government, both state and federal, and especially in the four decades since first going to work in it, I've been struck by the gap between what many Americans expect of government and what it's actually good at doing...
• Chrysler and the Rule of Law (May 13, 2009)
  Wall Street Journal
  by Todd Zywicki
  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...
• The Deadly Sins Of The Chrysler Bankruptcy (May 13, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Richard A. Epstein
  The proposed bankruptcy reorganization of the now defunct Chrysler Corp. is the culmination of serious policy missteps by the Bush and Obama administrations...
• The Blame Game (May 12, 2009)
  Creators Syndicate
  by Thomas Sowell
  After virtually every disaster created by Beltway politicians you can hear the sound of feet scurrying for cover in Washington, see fingers pointing in every direction away from Washington, and watch all sorts of scapegoats hauled up before Congressional committees to be denounced on television for the disasters created by members of the committee who are lecturing them...
• This epochal crisis requires us to resolve the paradox of capitalism (May 7, 2009)
  Guardian (UK)
  by Timothy Garton Ash
  At work, we're told to be diligent and disciplined; elsewhere, hedonistic and self-indulgent...
• Pandemics and Depressions (May 5, 2009)
  Wall Street Journal
  by Robert J. Barro
  Here we are, struggling to find a way out of the worst financial crisis since the 1930s, when along comes the possibility of a global influenza epidemic...
• Will Bad Science Policy Sink Recovery? (May 1, 2009)
  Investor's Business Daily
  by Henry I. Miller
  President Obama tried recently to reassure a nation jittery about the economy: "(W)ith every test, each generation has found the capacity to not only endure, but to prosper — to discover great opportunity in the midst of great crisis."...
• Europe's future depends on voters. But not on the European elections (April 30, 2009)
  Guardian (UK)
  by Timothy Garton Ash
  The other day I heard a pro-European British politician say the most extraordinary thing...
• The Housing Boom and Bust (April 28, 2009)
  Creators Syndicate
  by Thomas Sowell
  In the spirit of bipartisanship, my newest book— "The Housing Boom and Bust"— shows how both Democrats and Republicans ruined both the housing markets and the financial markets...
• Democracy in free society not about majority (April 27, 2009)
  Freedom Communications
  by Tibor R. Machan
  If you object to having your liberty and property taken by the majority, be prepared for some political theorists to reject your opposition...
• Financial Reforms We Can All Agree On (April 23, 2009)
  Wall Street Journal
  by Charles Calomiris
  By now we all know how the subprime mortgage market, government policies that encouraged riskier mortgage lending, and overleveraging led to the current financial crisis...
• Idea that government can stimulate the economy is wrong (April 20, 2009)
  Freedom Communications
  by Tibor R. Machan
  It is possible, though not very likely, that some of the huge sums the government is steering toward the marketplace will actually help generate creative, productive employment and, thereby, revive some measure of economic growth...
• Did Greenspan Cause The Housing Bubble? (April 20, 2009)
  Forbes
  by David R. Henderson
  Critics across the political spectrum are having a field day blaming the current economic crisis on former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who they allege carried out an excessively expansionary monetary policy following the recession of 2001...
• Repayment of Tarp Bank Loans (April 20, 2009)
  Becker-Posner Blog
  by Gary S. Becker
  Six months ago essentially all large American banks and many smaller ones received loans from the federal government to help shore up their capital base as they tried to weather the financial storm...
• A Question for the Economists (April 20, 2009)
  Weekly Standard
  by Harvey C. Mansfield
  One group of those involved in the present financial crisis has so far escaped notice--the economists...
• A Modern-Day George III? (April 17, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Peter M. Robinson
  this op-ed includes quotes from Richard A. Epstein
  At the "tea party protests" that took place on Wednesday, hundreds of thousands of Americans took to the streets and asserted an outrageous claim...
• Magic Words in Politics (April 14, 2009)
  Creators Syndicate
  by Thomas Sowell
  China is the largest foreign holder of U.S. government bonds...
• The reality of advertising and free will (April 14, 2009)
  Freedom Communications
  by Tibor R. Machan
  John Kenneth Galbraith was a member of Harvard University’s economics department as well as ambassador to India for JFK and a outspoken socialist...
• American labor not docile - it's actually sensible (April 13, 2009)
  Freedom Communications
  by Tibor R. Machan
  Some are comparing American workers to European ones quite unfavorably because in the face of the economic downturn many workers in Europe are throwing major fits, while American workers, on the whole, remain calm and try to solve their problems like adults...
• The Housing Crisis Isn't A Crisis (April 10, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Peter M. Robinson
  this op-ed features Todd Zywicki
  this op-ed mentions John B. Taylor
  Law professor Todd Zywicki of George Mason University is composing a book, Bankruptcy Law and Policy in the Twenty-First Century, in which Zywicki picks a couple of fascinating fights...
• Both parties share blame for financial mess (April 9, 2009)
  Tribune Media Services
  by Victor Davis Hanson
  It should have been easy for Democrats to connect depleted 401(k) accounts and lost home equity with the buccaneers of Wall Street who supposedly prompted the panic...
• Diverging Interests (April 9, 2009)
  New York Times
  by Melvyn B. Krauss
  The gap between myth and reality at last week’s G-20 Meeting in London was truly breathtaking...
• Random Thoughts (April 8, 2009)
  Creators Syndicate
  by Thomas Sowell
  I am so old that I can remember when music was musical...
• Obama's $163,000 Tax Bomb (April 3, 2009)
  Wall Street Journal
  by Michael J. Boskin
  The House and Senate are preparing to pass President Barack Obama's radical budget blueprint, with only minor modifications, by using (abusing would be more accurate) the budget "reconciliation" process...
• The Orange Grove: Learn to manage your fear (April 3, 2009)
  Orange County Register
  by Henry I. Miller
  In a just-released survey weighted to mimic the nation's adult population, 64 percent of respondents reported that the financial downturn had already caused them to make "painful" cutbacks in spending this year, while 27 percent reported being "extremely" or "very" worried about being able to pay bills...
• Is a “Win-Win” Relationship in the Cards for China and Mexico? (April 3, 2009)
  Jamestown Foundation
  by William Ratliff
  The People’s Republic of China (PRC) says it places high priority on making Mexico an important link in its widely publicized “win-win” expansion into Latin America...
• The Art of Persuasion at the G-20 Summit (April 2, 2009)
  New York Times
  by John B. Taylor and Josef Joffe
  President Barack Obama has tried to reduce the perception of a rift between the United States and member nations of the Group of 20 over how to revive the global economy...
• Barack Obama, Global Community Organizer (March 30, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Tunku Varadarajan
  Remember the phrase "community organizer," plucked from his CV by Barack Obama and invoked as a pre-election boast?...
• Did the Fed Cause the Housing Bubble? (March 27, 2009)
  Wall Street Journal
  by David R. Henderson and Todd Zywicki
  this op-ed mentions John B. Taylor
  It's become conventional wisdom that Alan Greenspan's Federal Reserve was responsible for the housing crisis...
• American Mob Rule (March 26, 2009)
  Tribune Media Services
  by Victor Davis Hanson
  In the last three months, we’ve been reduced to something like the ancient Athenian mob — with opportunistic politicians sometimes inciting, sometimes catering to an already-angry public...
• The G20 summit in London will be missing one great power. Guess who? (March 26, 2009)
  Guardian (UK)
  by Timothy Garton Ash
  When President Barack Obama comes to London next week, he will find one great power missing at the world's summit table: Europe...
• Is the Bonus Tax Unconstitutional? (March 26, 2009)
  Wall Street Journal
  by Richard A. Epstein
  Bills now winding their way through Congress would tax between 70% and 90% of bonuses paid to any executive earning in excess of $250,000, if he or she is employed by a business that received more than $5 billion from U.S. bailout funds...
• 'The Road to Serfdom' revisited (March 26, 2009)
  Washington Times
  by Scott S. Powell
  There is blame on both sides of the political aisle for our current economic mess...
• Global disaster recovery (March 25, 2009)
  Project Syndicate
  by Michael J. Boskin
  With the global economy mired in recession and financial crisis, policymakers everywhere have launched a series of monetary, financial, and fiscal responses...
• What Caused The Crisis? (February 13, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Peter M. Robinson
  this op-ed features John B. Taylor
  Before deciding what to do about the worst economic crisis in more than three decades, policymakers ought to have answered one question: What caused it?...
• The Republicans’ no-bang mortgage plan (February 10, 2009)
  Financial Times
  by Gary S. Becker and Edward Paul Lazear
  In the current economic environment, mortgage legislation should be judged by two criteria...
• Stimulus just digs debt hole deeper (February 3, 2009)
  Boston Globe
  by Russell Roberts
  THE HOUSE has passed an $819 billion spending package...
• Investors Want Clarity Before They Take Risks (January 23, 2009)
  Wall Street Journal
  by Michael J. Boskin
  With the U.S. (and global) economy contracting at the steepest pace since 1982, we need a clear and coherent policy response rooted in a sound analysis of how we got to this dreadful place...
• Death, Taxes And Politics (January 20, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Richard A. Epstein
  One of the major changes in tax policy that marks this Inauguration Day is President (!) Barack Obama's decision to keep death--or is it transfer?--taxes on the books...
• The Economic "Stimulus" (January 6, 2009)
  Creators Syndicate
  by Thomas Sowell
  Two centuries ago, when there were plans to create a huge fund of money to pay off Britain's national debt...
• Misguided Macroeconomics (January 5, 2009)
  Forbes
  by Richard A. Epstein
  The arrival of the new year always is an occasion to reflect on past failures and to make resolutions for the future...
• Bursting the Bubble (December 1, 2008)
  New York Times
  by Michael J. Boskin
  I remember taking a group of business leaders to see President George H. W. Bush in early 1991 to impress upon him the severity of the economic downturn...
• A Toxic Mix Of Regulation And Subsidy (November 25, 2008)
  Forbes
  by Richard A. Epstein
  Brace yourselves for the Obama economy...
• How To Move The Economy Forward? (November 20, 2008)
  Forbes
  by Russell Roberts
  President-elect Obama announced the other day that the government would do "whatever it takes" to revive the economy...
• Credit Markets Stalled While Waiting Game Played (November 17, 2008)
  NPR
  by Russell Roberts
  Secretary Paulson might be the only person in America who worries that consumers haven't borrowed enough money...
• What Can We Do To Halt The Crisis? (November 14, 2008)
  Forbes
  by Michael Spence
  Questions for the G-20 summit...
• Don't Just Do Something. Stand There. (October 31, 2008)
  Wall Street Journal
  by Russell Roberts
  People ask me if the current mess feels like 1929...
• Strident And Wrong (October 28, 2008)
  Forbes
  by Richard A. Epstein
  The endless debates on whether the government or the market is "the cause" of our current financial malaise has yet to reach its final resting point...
• What Would Milton Friedman Say? (October 17, 2008)
  Forbes
  by Peter M. Robinson
  this op-ed features Milton Friedman
  this op-ed includes quotes from Thomas E. MaCurdy
  The day after Milton Friedman died in November 2006, The Wall Street Journal published an article about monetary policy that Friedman had written...
• The Risk-Free World Of John Rawls (October 14, 2008)
  Forbes
  by Richard A. Epstein
  My last column pointed out the dangers of ignoring Robert Nozick's devastating critique of patterned principles...
• Resistance Is Futile (October 6, 2008)
  Forbes
  by Charles Calomiris
  Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have taken the plunge...
• Will The Bailout Work? (October 6, 2008)
  Forbes
  by Michael Spence
  The U.S. economy, and much of the rest of the developed world, is in the midst of the collapse of an asset bubble fueled, in the main, by excess leverage...
• Lessons From A Crisis (October 3, 2008)
  Forbes
  by Peter M. Robinson
  One of the curious features of the financial crisis of the past few weeks is that almost every lesson we think it has produced, it hasn't...
• Bailout Politics (September 30, 2008)
  Creators Syndicate
  by Thomas Sowell
  Nothing could more painfully demonstrate what is wrong with Congress than the current financial crisis...
• Penny-Wise Politics (September 30, 2008)
  Creators Syndicate
  by Thomas Sowell
  Congress is never more ridiculous than when it tries to look like it is serious...
• The Christmas Tree Effect (September 30, 2008)
  Forbes
  by Richard A. Epstein
  Well, the gong has struck, now that a closely divided House of Representatives has failed to approve round one of the bailout program...
• A Political "Solution" (September 23, 2008)
  Creators Syndicate
  by Thomas Sowell
  this op-ed mentions Milton Friedman
  Who was it who said, "crack-brained meddling by the authorities" can "aggravate an existing crisis"?...
• A Political "Solution": Part II (September 23, 2008)
  Creators Syndicate
  by Thomas Sowell
  Estimates of how much money a government program will cost are notoriously unreliable...
• Greed, Or Incentives? (September 23, 2008)
  Forbes
  by Richard A. Epstein
  It had been my devout wish to write a set of disinterested columns about labor markets to illustrate the power of the presumption against state regulation of voluntary agreements...
• Rough Week, But America's Era Goes On (September 22, 2008)
  Washington Post
  by Niall Ferguson
  Does Wall Street's meltdown presage the end of the American century?...