CEI Today: Senate vote on bank guarantees, copyright reform, transatlantic free trade, and more
Today in the News
SENATE VOTE ON BANK GUARANTEES – JOHN BERLAU
CEI.org: Coalition Tags TAG Bailout as Regressive and Economically Disastrous
As the Senate prepares today to vote on extending unlimited deposit insurance for non-interest bank accounts, 14 leaders and scholars of conservative and free-market groups signed a letter stating strong opposition to the Transaction Account Guarantee (TAG).
Enacted at the height of the financial crisis, TAG provides unlimited government-guaranteed deposit insurance for non-interest bank and credit union accounts, over and above the $250,000 limit for all accounts. Yet the Senate today is voting on whether to extend this “temporary program,” which benefits only the wealthiest depositors, for another two years.
TRANSATLANTIC FREE TRADE – IAIN MURRAY
Huffington Post – Transatlantic Free Trade Must Be Done Right
A Transatlantic Free Trade area would be a very good idea. And it would be a welcome admission of the fundamental economic truth that free trade benefits all involved. But achieving it is easier said than done. Therefore, policy makers should seek to make a Transatlantic Free Trade Area truly free. A highly regulated trade area would not deliver the benefits promised. Thankfully, there is a way to avoid that lackluster result.
CARBON TAX – MARLO LEWIS
“Environmentalists have long championed a carbon tax, imposed not just on gasoline, but on all fossil fuels, from coal used to generate electricity to diesel fuel used to power heavy equipment, as a way to address climate change. Now it’s winning the support of conservative think-tanks and even some oil companies, as a way to address the budget deficit. Is the tax a smart way to avert both global warming and the fiscal cliff? If so, then why isn’t the Obama White House proposing it, and why is Congress so reluctant to consider it? Has hurricane Sandy changed any minds?”