Outside the Beltway

Obama’s main politics are hardly as leftist as many make them out to be. Indeed, much of them could have fit well in the the GOP of 1990s and early 2000s.

The new CBS/NYT poll is out and the numbers are not exactly happy, no matter whom you support.

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.

Francis Fukuyama: “In the developed world, we take the existence of government so much for granted that we sometimes forget how difficult it was to create.”

President Obama’s budget speech was light on specifics, but that’s because it was really the opening salvo of the 2012 campaign.

A new study suggests that increases in the price of gasoline have very little impact on consumer behavior. If that’s true, it has serious implications for energy policy.

People and businesses are sitting on cash out of fear, creating a vicious cycle.

Speaking before Congress yesterday, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke debunked the assertion that the GOP’s relatively modest $61 billion spending cut package would significantly harm economic growth.

The Social Security “trust fund” may actually be worse than worthless.

The continuing chaos in Libya could have a serious impact on the U.S. economy, especially if it spreads to other oil producing nations.

President Obama’s new budget involves nothing less than a thumb in the eye of anyone who hoped he would seriously address federal spending in his first term.

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels made quite an impression last night at CPAC

Is the Chinese economy headed for a correction?

President Obama is telling business they have a social responsibility to invest in America. He’s wrong.

What happened to the 15 million jobs that were supposed to be created in the past 10 years but weren’t?

President Obama is supporting the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Is this the end of America?

The most walkable cities in America are also the most successful.

Krauthammer thinks Obama tricked the GOP into agreeing to Stimulus II.

Amid signs that Democrats in Congress might rebel against the tax cut deal he struck with Republicans, President Obama took to the airwaves today to defend it at the same time that his base is rebelling against it.

Democrats are losing the debate over the extension of the Bush tax cuts, but when you look at the playing field it seems pretty clear that that they never had a chance.

Today’s job numbers make it clear that Congress has only one duty, and that is to do everything it can to stimulate real economic growth.

The latest forecast from the Federal Reserve foresees stagnant growth and high unemployment for the next two years.

Here’s my plan for creating a budget surplus of $126 billion by 2015 and $592 billion by 2030.

The Federal Reserve is injecting $ 600,000,000,000 into the economy, primarily in the hope that it will boost stock prices and, in turn, the economy. It might work, but if it doesn’t the consequences could be severe.

Another round of GDP growth figures are out, and they show that the U.S. economy continues to grow far slower than necessary to sustain job growth. Is this a temporary problem, or something we can expect to live with for the foreseeable future?

While the American economy languishes, China is booming again.

Banks are faced with a huge number of foreclosures and that resources they’ve allocated towards handling them was woefully inadequate.

New Jersey’s governor has killed a vital infrastructure project because of huge cost overruns. It’s penny wise and pound foolish.

The numbers tell us we’re not in a recession, but the public thinks otherwise.

The CBO sees a clear threat of a fiscal crisis during the next two decades unless we’re saved by magic ponies.

There isn’t much doubt that China is manipulating its currency for competitive advantage. What can be done about it?

Ted Koppel thinks our actions since 9/11 have helped Osama bin Laden fulfill his goals. He couldn’t be more wrong.

According to Paul Krugman’s latest column, the massive destruction of World War Two was actually good for the U.S. economy. Sadly, there are people who consider him an expert.

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

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

The Republican Party is keeping relatively quiet on the Proposition 8 ruling. That’s a good idea.

There are further signs that the economy will remain anemic through the end of 2010, if not longer.

What exactly is it about air conditioning that has some people so upset ?