government

This is me thinking out loud (on paper). Comments are appreciated. During crisis we often see economics come toe-to-toe with ideology because government becomes a more openly active player in our lives. This crisis has been no different.…

The coverage of nonfarm payrolls is pretty exhaustive, so there isn’t much to add. The massive inflow/outflow of temporary census workers has not only distorted the underlying trends a bit, it’s also confused the reporting. The headline…

By John Mauldin A report just out from the Center for Policy Analysis, by Courtney Collins and Andrew J. Rettenmaier (solid academic types from Mercer University and Texas A&M respectively), that indicates that state and local pension…

I heard this about Bell, California on the car radio this morning. The sums involved are absolutely astronomical for a town of 37,000.  This may be an extreme case but it far from isolated. Hundreds of residents of one of the…

From The 8 Jul 2010 Daily Dispatch Dear Reader, In past editions of this service, I’ve advocated tuning your personal radar to pick up early indications that the government is taking an active interest in gold. Especially when that…

An interesting wrinkle in the recently passed healthcare legislation involves language inserted into the bill to track gold bullion sales. For gold dealers, the problem is the paperwork because they now have to file 1099 forms for every…

Here are the links today. I have a lot more than this but some time limitations this morning as I am preparing for a spot on BBC Five Live for 5PM UK time (12PM EDT). The Prime Minister is in town and I will provide some economic commentary…

By Michael Pettis In the past few weeks I have been getting a lot of questions about serial sovereign defaults and how to predict which countries will or won’t suspend debt payments or otherwise get into trouble.  The most common…

There is a comprehensive review today in The Washington Post of a two year investigation of a hidden world that orbits what is known as Homeland Security. Here are a few highlights: These are some of the findings of a two-year…

Must Read: Government and civil liberties The DISCLOSE Act: New Media, Old Politics, and the Fight for Public Data « The Scholarly Kitchen Also see Military: U.S. soldier to be charged in leak of strike video – This Just In -…