Foreign Money, Foreclosures, and French Pensions

Foreign Money

President Obama has criticized the Chamber of Commerce for relying on foreign funding.

Fellow in Regulatory Studies Ryan Young says Obama’s criticism is weak.

“President Obama seems to be saying that people are smart enough to know whether or not a candidate or a political party is bamboozling them in their campaign ads. But people suddenly lose their wits when an outside group, or — gasp! — someone from another country does the exact same thing. That kind of cognitive dissonance must be difficult to live with.”

Foreclosures

The media is having a field day over paperwork errors in mortgage foreclosures.

Senior Counsel Hans Bader argues that the media is focusing on technicalities to avoid holding borrowers accountable.

“Dismissing foreclosure actions based on technicalities that have nothing to do with whether a borrower defaulted on a loan will lead to negative ‘consequences’ for borrowers in the future, like much more costly handling of paperwork, that will likely lead to increased closing costs for people purchasing a home. ‘Total war over missing paperwork’ is a bad thing for honest borrowers and lenders alike.”

French Pensions

France is having trouble sustaining its expensive employee benefits system.

Research Associate Lee Doren explains why the situation in France is dire.

“Nicholas Sarkozy has attempted to solve [France’s financial problems] by raising the standard pension age from 60 to 62 and the age of a guaranteed ‘full’ pension from 65 to 67. This ‘extreme’ measure has led to French unions striking and shutting down the French economy. Yes, that’s correct. Asking people to work two more years in France in order to prevent the country from bankrupting itself is worthy of a strike.”