Featured Posts
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Understanding the national debt with Thomas Savidge
In this week’s episode we cover whether Americans feel better off than they were four years ago, why we have more billion-dollar…
Blog
Can moderators ask debate questions that don’t presume a progressive policy agenda?
Numerous policy issues are shaping this year’s first presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, as well as the entire campaign atmosphere. These include…
Blog
Freddie Mac second mortgage funding could foment financial crisis
The 2008 mortgage meltdown and financial crisis never fails to be invoked whenever there is any pushback to excessive financial regulation. Progressives regularly bring up…
Search Posts
Blog
Bailout Turning All Banks into Freddie/Fannie
Freddie Mac & Fannie Mae were the catalyst for our current financial crisis. By buying up risky sub-prime mortgages, Freddie & Fannie encouraged banks…
Newsletter
Obama’s Treasury Pick, Waxman’s Chairmanship and the Big Tobacco Deal
President-Elect Obama prepares to nominate New York Federal Reserve Bank President Timothy Geithner as Treasury Secretary. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) wins control of the powerful…
Citation
the libertarian movement
Blog
Geithner choice is ‘more of the same’ — was Paulson’s bailout cohort
If news accounts are true, and Presidet-Elect Barack Obama has indeed decided on Timothy F. Geithner to be his Treasury Secretary nominee, it represents a…
Citation
auto bailout
Op-Eds
Obama’s Clinton Problem
Republicans had many things going against them this election, but the financial market implosion in September proved to be the final blow that…
Blog
America’s Other Auto Industry, the Successful One
CNN has a great story about the successful auto companies in America, namely those that aren’t named “GM,” “Chrysler,” or “Ford.” Turns out, folks…
Blog
Too Bad Daschle Isn’t at SEC — Backed Sarbanes-Oxley Relief
President-Elect Barack Obama just nominated former Senate Democratic Leader Tom to be his Secretary of Health and Human Services. Much is being written about Daschle…
Blog
The Least Objectionable Legislator Award
My occasional "Least Objectionable Legislator Award" today goes to Michele Bachmann (R-MN) for a solid statement at today's hearings on the Bailout on Wheels,…
Citation
auto industry bailout
Blog
To Blame Laissez-Faire, Anti-Market Media Must Do Better
Like many of us at CEI, it looks like my former boss Phil Gramm isn't interested in helping anybody pretend that today's financial crisis was…
Newsletter
White House Summit, Auto Bailout and Oil Drilling
Leaders of twenty nations gather at the White House to discuss the global financial downturn. Lawmakers prepare to debate a financial…
Citation
the economy
Blog
Were Lada factories this bad?
As the Senate prepares to debate the proposed $25 billion bailout bill for the Big Three Detroit automakers, it’s worth pointing out — as…
Blog
How Not to Solve a Crisis
…is the title of a useful contribution to the discussion from the International Policy Network in London and the Lion Rock Institute in Hong…
Blog
Battling Bail-Outs: A Little Backbone at Last?
After having voted for or passively accepted some $2 trillion in federal bail-outs, a few congressmen seem be growing uneasy with the lengthening soup-line. The…
Blog
More on Deflation
Good stuff from Joseph Lawler at the American Spectator, defending Robert Samuelson from, err, Robert Samuelson. He concludes: No reasonable observer of government…
Blog
License to Print Money. Literally.
The threat of deflation is so big in the UK, where they have found their version of the financial crisis worsened by the weakness of…
Blog
No to Union Auto Bailouts and Voter Fraud
USA Today has an editorial opposing a massive proposed bailout for the automakers. The automakers would be leaner, more efficient, and more able to…
Newsletter
Freezing Regulations, Attorney General Prospects and Bailing Out Detroit
President Elect Obama meets with his team of economic advisors. Controversial law professor Charles Ogletree is mentioned as a possible nominee for Attorney General. Detroit’s…
Blog
Bail-Outs for Bonuses
You have to love the timing. The federal government gives Wall Street billions of dollars just in time for Wall Street to pay out billions…
Blog
The More Government Loot Available, the More Looters Who Come to Washington
There are endless attempts to "clean up" politics--limiting campaign contributions, restricting lobbyists, and the like--as if the problem is a few self-interested individuals who want…
Blog
Detroit Broke City
In his CBSNews.com column today, CNet's Declan McCullagh makes a good case against bailing out the Detroit Big Three. As he rightly points out,…
Blog
To President-Elect Obamaâ€â€Freeze Gov’t Regulations this Winter
Yesterday I called for a major “Deregulatory Stimulus.” Alongside---with financial, health care, energy efficiency, “green job” and other mandates likely in an Obama Administration---the…
Newsletter
A Second Stimulus, Federal Lands and Al Gore’s Failure
Obama’s transition team denies rumors of a political fight over a second federal stimulus plan. Lawmakers prepare to vote on a bill to bring more…
Blog
In mortgage modifications, property rights of investors must be respected
Today, in addition to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's expected announcement of a major mortgage modification plan through the $700 billion TARP, Barney Frank's House Financial…
Blog
The Economic Change We Need
I have an article on that very subject over at NRO today. Check it out!…
Blog
Reject political stimulus, embrace “Deregulatory Stimulus.” And do it FAST.
Facing an economic downturn and an election, politicians of both parties sought to stimulate consumer demand—and some business investment—through political action. They promised that if…
Newsletter
White House Transition, More Bailouts and Power Struggles in Congress
George W. Bush and Barack Obama hold transition talks at the White House. Auto manufacturers continue their push for their own federal bailout. Two senior…
Blog
Comments from the real world
Here's some insightful comments from Thomas Haynes, a friend of CEI's: There's a very interesting debate that could be conducted on who's…
Blog
The Dingell-Waxman fight and climate change
At the same time President-Elect Barack Obama is supporting a bailout of the auto industry, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John…
Blog
Bailout on Wheels Rolls Down Slippery Slope
Ah, that slippery slope. All of a sudden, Nancy Pelosi has come to the conclusion that ensuring union retirees receive large amounts of taxpayers’ money…
Blog
Bailouts Mushroom, Impoverishing Taxpayers
The federal government is expanding its bailout of AIG to $150 billion, well above its originally-predicted cost, and planning to bail out…
Citation
the auto industry bailout
Citation
AIG Uses My Money to Tell Me How Taking More of My Money Is Good for Me
Blog
An Agenda for the Monday a.m. Obama and Bush Meeting
Since the President and President-elect start spending quality Oval Office time together today, and since the incoming admistration's advisors can't settle on either pushing…
Op-Eds
Dealing with the Threat of Global Recession
Fred L. Smith Jr. and John Berlau on the upcoming Global Economic Summit: Governments should agree to a timetable to end the bailouts.
Blog
Obama Appoints Foul-Mouthed Freddie Mac Crony Chief of Staff
Obama has appointed as his chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, a former director of the failed government-backed mortgage giant Freddie Mac, which had to…
Blog
Redistributing Wealth, Simplified
It’s not fully clear what president-elect Obama plans to do on tax policy other than “redistribute” and make those families making over $250,000 pay their…
News Release
CEI Attacks Auto Industry Bailout Bonanza
Washington, D.C., November 7, 2008— Auto executives yesterday huddled with House Democrats to discuss a possible $25 billion loan to the industry, this on top of…
Blog
Support for Bailout Killed McCain’s Chances
Dick Morris, Bill Clinton’s shrewd former adviser, explains that support for the Wall Street bailout killed McCain’s chances of being elected president: “Had McCain voted…
Op-Eds
Danny Finkelstein is wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong about the US elections
Iain Murray is Director of Projects and Analysis at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a libertarian think-tank in Washington DC. The…
Newsletter
E-voting, the Fairness Doctrine and Economic Unrest in Ecuador
Problems with electronic voting machines are reported in several states. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) argues for the re-imposition of the “Fairness Doctrine” for TV and…
Blog
Bailout: Where it all went wrong for McCain
Assuming, as most nonpartisan observers do, that Sen. Obama is walking away with this election today, it might behoove Republicans and their supporters to ask…
Blog
Bear Stearns’ chief risk manager now at NY Fed
In an irony of ironies, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has hired Bear Stearns’ chief risk manager as a senior advisor…
Newsletter
Auto Industry Bailout, Voter Fraud and Nobel Laureates Go Political
Politicians pressure Treasury Secretary Paulson to provide a bailout to the auto industry. Election officials object to loosened voter registration rules for college students. …
Blog
Why the Endless Bail-Outs are Making Things Worse
No surprise, argues Russell Roberts of George Mason University, the mindless, almost random federal bail-outs are going to leave us far worse off. Writes Roberts:…
Blog
House GOP ‘Rapid Recovery’ plan spurs growth by changing long-term expectations
As soon as the elections are over, Congressional leaders are planning to have a “break the bank” party. On top of the $700 billion bailout…
Citation
Spitzer and Sarbox Were Deregulation?
Newsletter
Taxing the Rich, the Costs of Ethanol and the Fed’s Loose Money Policy
Joe “The Plumber” Wurzelbacher becomes a national campaign personality. The Federal Reserve lowers a key interest rate in hopes of reviving investment. Environmentalists debate the…
Blog
From NRO: GM Wants a Piece of the Bailout
From the Editors at National Review Online: That $700 billion rescue package for the banks is in danger of turning from a safety net into…
Blog
Turning Responsible Citizenship into a Sucker’s Game
Some people are hopelessly boring. They save money, live within their means, don't buy too much house, pay their bills, and contribute to the community. …
Blog
Paying Dividends with Public Money
Normally corporate dividends--or executive salaries--should not be a matter of government concern. But how about when the feds are forking over taxpayer money to encourage…
Blog
Does a Foreclosure Moratorium Make Sense?
Despite some recent good news—like stocks recovering some value—politicians continue to believe they can solve the housing crisis through economic gimmicks. The latest: a proposal…
Blog
And the ride starts all over again…
Thee Federal Reserve lowered its key rate to 1%. Convinced that inflation is no-longer a problem, the Fed believes this is the time to…
Newsletter
Internet Censorship, Reforming Fannie and Freddie and Free Trade with Colombia
American tech companies announce new guidelines for doing business in nations threatened by censorship. Lawmakers urge embattled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to…
Citation
the origins of the mortgage crisis
Citation
online activism and BeyondBailouts.org.
Newsletter
Home Sales Rise, Voter Fraud Accusations and Another Ban on Bottled Water
Existing home sales rise 5.5% in September. Groups around the country preemptively prepare for the possibility of voter fraud. Bottled water faces a ban by…
Citation
the Wall Street bailout in historical perspective
Citation
an economic policy agenda for the next president
Citation
Free Market Groups Launch Website to Move “Beyond Bailouts” Toward Fiscal Solvency
Blog
The More the Government Does, the More Harm it Does
At least, that appears to be the lesson of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's misnamed New Deal. New research by two UCLA economists suggests that it was…
Blog
Atlas Network joins BeyondBailouts.org
CEI is happy to announce that the Atlas Network has joined our efforts to stop future reckless spending on the part of Congress,…
Blog
October surprise — existing home sales up in September
Surprise, surprise. Existing home sales were up in September 2008. According to Reuters, Sales of previously owned U.S. homes rose 5.5…
Blog
Russ Roberts on Greenspan’s recanting
Russ Roberts this morning on CafeHayek has two posts on Alan Greenspan’s abject testimony on Capital Hill yesterday. One goes through some of…
Blog
A sunny future for capitalism?
Strangely, Hudson Institute scholar Irwin Stelzer seems to forecast a sunny future for capitalism in a DC Examiner op-ed today. Stelzer writes about the…
Blog
We Should All Change Our Name to Fannie Mae
Arlo Guthrie takes on federal bail-outs in a new song. He plans on heading down to Washington, D.C. After changing his name to Fannie…
Blog
The Road to Serfdom–Illustrated!
Thanks to CEI colleague Gary Howard for sending along The Road to Serfdom in Cartoons; I’d forgotten all about this capsule version of Hayek’s…
Newsletter
Stimulus Redux, Benefits of Bottled Water and the Pro-Poverty Left
Senators consider a second round of taxpayer-financed economic stimulus. Bottled water producers attempt to work constructively with environmental groups that have called for additional taxes…
Blog
Don’t Scapegoat Free Markets
Even the liberal Washington Post (which has endorsed the more liberal candidate in every presidential election since 1952) points out that the “free market” is…
Blog
CEI Partners with NTU to Launch BeyondBailouts.org
Did the free market cause the financial crisis? Was it unbridled capitalism? The Competitive Enterprise Institute and the National Taxpayers Union don’t believe…
Newsletter
More Stimulus, AIG’s Financial Trouble and Tax Promises
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke calls for a 2nd economic stimulus package. Troubled insurance giant American International Group Inc. halts its lobbying efforts and cancels…
Blog
That $800 Billion
So what has Paulson done so far with your $800 billion? He’s rewarded his friends, of course. $70 BILLION has gone to executives and…
News Release
Free Market Groups Launch BeyondBailouts.org
As the economy continues to adjust to the credit crunch, CEI and NTU partner to fight for real financial reforms, not reckless spending.
Blog
They’re In The Money
We’re hearing from a variety of sources that Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JP Morgan Chase, has agreed in principle to be Obama’s Treasury Secretary.
Newsletter
Banning Bottled Water, Disaster Insurance and the Mortgage Meltdown
The U.S. Conference of Mayors votes to endorse banning the sale of bottled water across the country. Florida’s Hurricane Catastrophe Fund could face a shortfall…
Blog
National Debt Clock Out of Space
In 1989 Manhattan real estate developer erected the national debt clock near Times Square. The total was “only” $2.7 trillion.
Blog
Bernanke testifies on possible fiscal stimulus package
Signals that the government’s not finished with its bailout plans — this time downstream stimulus. In testimony today before the House Budget Committee…
Blog
Understanding the GSEs’ Role in the Mixed Economy
I'm not sure why Matthew Yglesias chose to adopt the unpleasant leftist tactic of beginning an argument with insult ("conservatives don't know anything about…
Op-Eds
The End of American Capitalism? 5 Short Takes on Where the Financial Crisis Might Be Headed
Five prominent economists share their thoughts on what’s happening and how bad the situation really is. The past week has seen the US economy…
Blog
Bailouts Aggravate Economic Crisis
In the Washington Post, Peter Schiff describes how politicians spawned the current financial crisis. "Our leaders irrationally promoted home-buying, discouraged savings, and recklessly encouraged…
Blog
“One of The Great Success Stories of All Time”
While conservatives are angry about a number of things at the moment, they should be at least as angry that the Congressional Democrats who helped…
Blog
Liberals Against Libertarians
That liberals wish libertarians to go away is, perhaps, not surprising. But the issue is much more serious…
Blog
Unstoppable SuperState Stimulus, Part 2
Today’s Wall Street Journal highlighted a new $300 political stimulus campaign. Keynesian demand-management has re-conquered economics as surely as Fall 2008 has cemented…
Newsletter
Bailout Reactions, ACORN’s Shady History and Challenging Medicare Rules
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announces plans to invest in thousands of U.S. banks. Prominent politicians weigh in on the voter fraud controversy linked to activist…
Blog
The New U.S. Economy
How do you find work as a financial wizard today? My friend and former colleague Radley Balko posts a video that captures the…
Blog
It wasn’t bailout that caused Monday’s market surge — 3 other factors
Since the $700 billion bailout was first proposed, whatever the stock markets did, much of the press took that as a sign that the market…
Citation
Pressure builds on AIG as borrowing spree grows
Blog
The international mark-to-market contagion — sending global markets in a downward
Bailouts. Global interest rate cuts. More bailouts. Global government liquidity injections into banks. Direct government buying of commercial paper. And even more types of bailouts.
Blog
Obama denigrates Delaware in debate
Poor little Delaware. In every presidential election since 1992, she has been in the “blue” column voting for the Democratic candidate. She has long had…
Blog
In Goldman Sachs We Trust?
In the current issue of the Capital Research Center’s newsletter Foundation Watch, Fred Lucas looks into the historically cozy relationship that finance giant Goldman…
Blog
More Bailouts on the Way
At last night’s debate, Senator McCain floated a horrible idea: to have the government buy up bad mortgages and then write off part of…
Op-Eds
Government’s “10,000 Commandments” Cost Americans More than $1 Trillion
Federal regulations cost Americans almost as much as the income tax and more than 40 percent of all federal spending, according to “Ten Thousand…
Heartland
Government’s “10,000 Commandments” Cost Americans More than $1 Trillion
Federal regulations cost Americans almost as much as the income tax and more than 40 percent of all federal spending, according to “Ten Thousand Commandments,”…
Blog
Quotes of the Day
Arnold Kling: Instead of thinking of the pending bailouts and financial regulation as a new era of government supervisions of markets, think of it…
Blog
Deregulation Wasn’t to Blame for Financial Crisis
Even the reliably-liberal BBC says that deregulation wasn’t the cause of the financial crisis. Other liberal journalists like Washington Post columnist Sebastian Mallaby have…
Op-Eds
Accounting rules exacerbate crisis
In the year since the credit crunch began, reading the financial pages has become a bit like perusing a medical journal. Market…
Blog
The Bailout will cost 20% of the entire current budget
My Calculations: The 2007 federal outlays from fiscal year 2007 were 2.73 trillion. The 700 billion is to be allocated before Dec 31, 2009…
Blog
Lehman Bros hearing — Rep. Maloney blames deregulation, ignores her own role as Fannie’s enabler
At the hearing being held today by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, in which former Lehman Brothers CEO Dick Fuld is now…