Outside the Beltway

Unemployment was high when Barack Obama took office and it’s gotten substantially higher. Does that mean he won’t get re-elected?

Despite what appear to be the fond hope of European central bankers that it will just all go away, something needs to be done. But what?

And even more bad news.

All in all, not looking like it will be a fun summer.

In an op-ed in The Hill titled “Enviro elitists keep America unemployed,” Rick Manning of Americans for Limited Government argues that one factor behind the anemic jobs picture is the onerous regulatory environment.

Real Estate prices continue to fall, but where are the buyers? Maybe they’re acting sane this time.

It’s hard to get paid for work others will do for nothing.

Suddenly, it seems like every website known to man is foisting videos that play the instant the page loads on their readers.

A profile of George Mason economist and blogger Tyler Cowen offers this amusing description: “Cowen, 49, has round features, a hesitant posture, and an unconcerned haircut.”

Even before the individual mandate kicks in, the ACA has added hundreds of thousands of people to health insurance rolls.

“Our records indicate that your annual income for the 2011 taxable year was $2,170,000,000,000. You have requested a credit limit of $17,000,000,000,000. These figures exceed the American Public’s guidelines for credit issuance”

Business Week has a fascinating profile of Dietrich Mateschitz, whom they dub “Red Bull’s Billionaire Maniac.”

Ohio State researchers: ARRA created/saved approximately 450 thousand state and local government jobs and destroyed/forestalled roughly one million private sector jobs.

As of today, the United States is legally barred from borrowing money to finance its operations. Thanks for nothing, Congress.

Academic publishers want to end the Fair Use of scholarly journal articles in the classroom.

Is lunch necessary? It’s not really where the conversation is.

For the most part, April’s jobs report was good news.

Montana Congressman Denny Rehberg is catching some flak for complaining that he’s “struggling like everyone else” despite a net worth in the millions.

Congress is coming back to Washington and gas prices continue to rise. Expect a lot of demagoguery, but very little in the way of solutions.

Three years later, there are no signs that the real estate market is anywhere close to recovering.

Will days of strong economic growth ever return? And what happens if they don’t?

President Obama is suffering in the polls because of high gas prices, but is there really anything he can do about them?

A survey of three studies demonstrates consistently that exposure to certain pesticides used in farming diminishes mental development.

President Obama is vulnerable, but he’s facing a GOP field that is underwhelming even for Republicans.

Tax compliance employs more workers than Wal-Mart, UPS, McDonalds, IBM, and Citigroup — combined.

Australia is the only major country with lower tax rates than the USA.

Can most people learn the traits to be highly successful in business?

The systemic risks of financial institutions haven’t changed much since 2008.

The story that GE paid zero taxes last year despite mega-billion dollar profits is completely untrue.

Philip Greenspun wonders, “How did the New York Times manage to spend $40 million on its pay wall?”