Author: Craig Newmark

Associate Professor of Economics, North Carolina State Univ.

Three articles on how to create more jobs and raise productivity: cut regulations

Posted on by Craig Newmark

“Ten Job-Destroying Regulations“. “Labor Rules Thwarting ‘Green Jobs’ Agenda“. (“Looking forward to the impending West Side Story brawl between the Teamsters and the Greensters.”: Heh!) “And Here’s How to Double Productivity“.

 

“The Special Operations Forensic Tool Kit”

Posted on by Craig Newmark

“The raid of Osama bin Laden’s compound yielded a treasure trove of intelligence material–computers, thumb drives and other media. Special operations forces routinely confiscate such material from raids as part of what’s known as “sensitive site exploitation.” In fact, teams are now equipped with state-of-the-art kits designed to collect any scrap of material and information […]

 

If you think a gold standard is the answer . . .

Posted on by Craig Newmark

. . . I suggest you read this. It’s not. BUT TO invoke the wisdom of Herman Cain, returning to the gold standard would be more difficult than practical. Envisioning a statute requiring the Federal Reserve to redeem its notes for fixed amounts of specie is easy, but deciding what that fixed amount should be […]

 

“Now Prove It”

Posted on by Craig Newmark

Keith Hennessey gives excellent advice to the GOP. 4. Don’t waste all your time on nickels and dimes and process reforms; instead, slow entitlement-spending growth.: Yes, it’s good to cut stimulus spending. To eliminate earmarks. To cut discretionary spending back to 2008 levels or lower, and to wage the usual left-right appropriations battles. These are important […]

 

“Can somebody please fix this? Hello?”

Posted on by Craig Newmark

“Entire U.S. Stealth Fighter Fleet Grounded“. But after building more than 170 F-22 Raptors and a handful of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, not a single one is available for service. The Air Force currently has: zero: flyable stealth fighters. None. The vaunted F-22: has been grounded: with a possible faulty oxygen system since May. Production of the last few […]

 

The potentially great Medicare reform that could have been

Posted on by Craig Newmark

From Avik Roy, “Saving Medicare from Itself“. In 1997, as a result of the Balanced Budget Act, Congress organized the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare, under the leadership of Democratic senator John Breaux and Republican representative Bill Thomas. The commission’s final recommendation, supported by members of both parties, was that Medicare should […]

 

“The Destructive Evil of Price Controls”

Posted on by Craig Newmark

As a practicing economist I’m a little sensitive to the charge that economists fostered the Great Recession. Why didn’t we know more? Why didn’t we warn people? Well, there were warnings, but for the sake of argument suppose there weren’t. And now suppose that, instead, every economist in the country spent ten years jumping up […]

 

“Perp-mobiles: GQ’s Favorite Gangster Rides”

Posted on by Craig Newmark

“Cars know no morality. Sometimes their owners don’t, either, but that doesn’t mean they don’t love their cars. A preferred status symbol for gangsters, lowlifes, and hoods, cars are also the ticket for when the crime is done and the two choices are getting away, or going away (for a long, long time).: Here are some […]