Six Months ago, I commented about the problems with the Economic Stimulus Package and how it would not provide any immediate benefit, be largely ineffective and create more long term costs than benefits.  The Bureau of Labor Statistics just released its latest employment situation report and showed that the economy lost nearly one-half million jobs [...]

 Addressing the Risks of Climate Change:
The Environmental Effectiveness and Economic Efficiency of Emissions Caps and Tradable Permits, Compared to Carbon Taxes
 
 
An ACI study sponsored in February 2007 and authored by esteemed national economist and former Undersecretary of Commerce Dr. Robert Shapiro found that carbon taxes are a better alternative to emissions caps and tradable permits (commonly referred [...]

Subsidy Could Harm Consumers and May Not Save Energy
 
President Obama has signed into a law a program to stimulate new car purchases and take old gas guzzlers off the road.  The program, referred to as Cash for Clunkers, would give new car buyers a rebate worth thousands per vehicle, when they trade in an old fuel [...]

Dr. Joseph P. Fuhr, “Why Biosimilars Will Have a Smaller Competitive Edge Than Generics,” presented at CBI’s Second Annual Summit on Biosimilars and Follow-on biologics, Baltimore, based on an article coauthored by Dr. Erwin A. Blackstone and published in the Journal of Health Care Finance, Winter 2008, pp. 84-95. Slides available.
Steve Pociask, “Why Solvency Matters,” Property [...]

If the stimulus plan is passed, the U.S. deficit will approach $1.7 trillion dollars.  Whatever the economic benefits of the plan, the cost of the plan will eventually need to be paid back.  Whether this payment comes in the form of increased taxes on consumers and/or business, because businesses will pass these costs along to consumers in the form of higher [...]

Who’s Watching the Watchdog?
There was a time when consumers regularly depended on private insurance coverage to protect our cars and homes against the unexpected occurrence of a major loss. But, there has been a growing threat to consumers. That consumer threat, however, is not posed by private insurance carriers, who are demonized as price-gougers, profiteers [...]

We can all understand and appreciate the importance of conserving energy, saving gasoline and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.  One suggestion has been to increase the use of hybrids.  However, in terms of cost-effectiveness, hybrids can cost a lot more than they save in gasoline.
We developed a “calculator” that looks at all major vehicles sold in the U.S. and found that [...]

A handful of leading politicians claim that financial deregulation was responsible for the U.S. financial calamity.  But, informed consumers should take pause and look at the facts.  As Dr. Darby pointed out in a recent blog, there has been a lot of meddling going on to promote special interests at the expense of consumers and at the expense [...]

Read Dr. Darby’s assessment of the recent collapse and how it is tied to legislation that ignores the risks of moral hazard and, instead respresents politically popular causes that impose hidden taxes.  It was published in the Washington Times on September 30, 2008 at  
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/sep/30/the-financial-market-collapse/?page=2
 
 FINANCIAL COLLAPSE?
 
Complex events never have single causes or simple fixes. A [...]