CEI Today: Austerity in Europe, Obama’s Cordray nomination, and the latest in Windsorgate

AUSTERITY IN EUROPE – MATTHEW MELCHIORRE

National Review: Not All Austerity Is Equal

We’re following Britain’s failed path, not Estonia’s successful one

Prominent economists, politicians, and pundits throw around the term “austerity” as if policies by that name always take the same form. They usually use the term to criticize the concept and its effects by pointing to Europe’s stagnation at the hands of “savage” cuts in government spending. But this mindset ignores the question: Austerity for whom? The answer is especially important if the United States, which has continued to follow in Western Europe’s footsteps with this month’s fiscal-cliff deal, is to learn from the Old World’s mistakes.

OBAMA APPOINTEES – JOHN BERLAU

Openmarket.org: Obama’s Financial Nominees Send Mixed Signals, CFPB’s Cordray Should Be Rejected

President Obama nominated two ex-prosecutors for key financial posts. But John Berlau, senior fellow for finance and access to capital at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, says the nomination of Mary Jo White to head the Securities and Exchange Commission and the re-nomination of Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau “are night and day in terms of serving the interests of entrepreneurs, investors, and consumers.”

WINDSORGATE – CHRISTOPHER HORNER

CEI.org: CEI’s Horner Applauds House Committee’s Demand for EPA Records

Christopher Horner, senior fellow in the Center for Energy and the Environment at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, said he applauds efforts by Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, the new chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, to force Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson to produce emails from her alias Richard Windsor account. But he is not hopeful much will come of the chairman’s request.