Outside the Beltway

There are a lot of issues on the table, so to speak, in the WI situation. Here I try to entangle them a bit.

We can’t rely on private companies, the stock market, or the taxpayers to maintain our lifestyle in our golden years.

Neither side is covering themselves in glory in the battle over the Badger State budget.

Being unemployed, especially in the long term, makes it less likely to get hired.

President Obama’s approval numbers have dropped 9 points since the Egypt crisis broke out.

There is a problem with political rhetoric in this country, but telling people to be nicer to each other isn’t going to cool it down.

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.

The British press takes a look at America’s Midterm Elections.

If you’re looking for a reason why the GOP is likely to do very well tomorrow, voter response to the “right track/wrong track” question is a very good guide.

Greg Mankiw notes a curious revisionism in Barney Frank’s pronouncements on Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac.

If the Bush TARP initiative saved the economy at no cost to taxpayers, we have the odd situation of Republicans nonetheless angry it happened and Democrats who thought it a good idea annoyed that it worked.

Yesterday’s NATO Beyond Afghanistan conference was a depressing day for fans of the most successful military alliance in history.

Paul Krugman says there’s zero evidence for structural causes for unemployment. It’s just a demand problem. How do we spark demand, then?

For many reasons, the housing market is unlikely to fully recover for the foreseeable future.

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

Another new poll brings bad news for Democrats and the President.

Two widely-hyped reports have Wall Street firms donating less money to Democrats as payback for financial reform efforts. But a closer look reveals no such thing.