Outside the Beltway

The housing market that existed from the late 1990s until 2007/08 was an historical anomaly, and anyone expecting a return to those days is fooling themselves.

Despite raking in billions of dollars in television, ticket, and licensing revenues, all but 14 of the 106 schools in the NCAA’s top athletic division lost money in 2009. The median loss was over $10 million.

Another set of bad economic numbers are out today, and one wonders when we’ll start getting the good news.

A combination of news and some lunchtime satire.

House Minority John Boehner is getting a lot of attention for calling for mass firings at the White House. The real news, though, is that his speech is shifting the focus of the political conversation back to the economy. Which is just what the GOP needs.

Take a good look at that dollar coin, because you’re unlikely to see it circulation any time soon.

What do the critics mean when they say that the United States should be more like Germany?

Career fields dominated by women tend to pay less than those dominated by men. But gender discrimination isn’t the main reason.

Yet another sign that the America of my youth is dead: whole wheat bread is outselling white bread.

Free parking is a very inefficient use of land resources that wouldn’t exist without government mandates and subsidies. Is it time to end the practice?

A year ago, President Obama was emphatically against raising taxes during the recession — even on the rich.

The average federal government employee earns twice as much as the average private sector worker. An outrage? Not so much.

Attractive women face discrimination when applying for “masculine” jobs. The benefit from their attractiveness in all other jobs, however.

For-profit universities are defrauding their students. Indeed, it’s their business model.

Lenders and Borrowers seem poised to make the same mistakes that brought about the last Housing Bubble all over again.

Paul Krugman’s Medicare projections don’t line up with what the actuaries are telling us.

Another bad jobs report demonstrates that the “recovery” is an illusion for many people.

Council of Economic Advisors chair Christina Romer becomes the latest senior official to leave the Obama White House.

If you needed more proof that our tax system is far too complicated, consider the case of Alex Rodriguez’ 600th home run ball.

Congress has been wrestling with the net neutrality issue for years. Two major players may force a decision soon.

If lawyers and MBAs don’t understand their mortgage documents, what chance do the rest of us have?

The Democrats are pulling a trick from the Reagan playbook for the fall campaign. They might want to rethink that.

In arguing against lifting liability caps on offshore drilling, the Wall Street Journal is arguing against both moral responsibility and the free market.

Twenty-five years after retiring as President Reagan’s Budget Director, David Stockman is back with a scathing indictment of Republican fiscal policies over the past four decades.

General Motors, and Barack Obama, are betting the future on a car that may be nothing more than an electric lemon.

The latest GDP numbers are nothing but bad news for Democrats.

The concentration of policy wonks in the Washington-New York-Boston corridor produces skewed analysis.

If you’re buying your gold from Glenn Beck, you’re a fool.

Some lawyers make a fabulous salary right out of law school. Most don’t.

Megan McArdle cites an academic article someone disagrees with, proving she’s a dishonest hack.

Congress and the White House are starting to stake out sides in the upcoming battle over extending the Bush tax cuts.

84 of 91 European banks passed their stress tests. How will investors react?

A rare case of a headline underhyping the story: “Survey: Half of Journalists Think Their Offline Publications Will Eventually Fold.”

Most research shows that unemployment benefits/insurance increases the duration of unemployment.

The inside story about a crappy wireless network’s loveless marriage with a beauty queen phone.

Steve Jobs took the heat off his crappy iPhone 4 by pointing out that other phones suck in different ways.