This Week in Economics: 3 Stories You Should Know About

Here is a rundown on some of the biggest economic developments this week. 1.) Former Fed Chair Paul Volcker passes away. Paul Volcker, who’s chairmanship of the Federal Reserve played a pivotal role in Reagan’s supply-side prosperity boom, passed away at 92 this week. Tributes have poured in for Volcker — a literal and figurative economic giant — who will be remembered for his role in slaying the Carter-era inflation as well as the distinguished career in public service that followed. On Fox Business, economist Arthur Laffer remembered Volcker for his role in the supply-side revolution and, intriguingly, his opposition

Federal Reserve Under Scrutiny Ahead of Key Meeting

This week, the Federal Reserve will be in the spotlight as markets digest where the central bank stands on this rate-cutting cycle. A CNBC survey of economists and money managers showed 80 percent of respondents anticipate another interest rate cut in October, and a narrow majority believes it will be the last rate cut of 2019. The Fed funds market — a key gauge of the direction of Fed policy — shows a 93 percent chance of a 25-basis-point rate cut. Adding greater uncertainty to the mix is whether the Fed will provide greater transparency on its interventions in the

Why the Fed Should Abandon Its Latest Bad, Big-Government Idea

Like many institutions in government, the Federal Reserve has dramatically increased in size and scope since its inception. The Fed was originally established to be a lender of last resort, then expanded its charter to a “dual mandate” of maintaining dollar stability and minimizing unemployment through monetary policy, and currently has oversight over banks and other financial institutions. Now, the Federal Reserve is preparing another major expansion of its operations that has not received enough attention: the central bank wishes to create a payment system to compete against the private sector. Peter Ferrara summed up the issued in the American

This Week in Economics: 3 Stories You Should Know About

This week we had some interesting economic developments in both monetary policy and regulatory policy. Here is a look at the top stories you should pay attention to: 1) House Democrats vote to raise minimum wage to $15 per hour. Yesterday House Democrats voted almost unanimously in favor of raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. Only six House Democrats voted “no” while only three House Republicans voted “yes.” You can see those who bucked the party leadership here. Putting aside the fact that the Congressional Budget Office estimates this legislation would destroy 1.3 to 3.7 million jobs,

Inflation Ahead? Gold, Bitcoin Price Spikes Signal Weakening Dollar

Today, gold surged to a six-year high following signals from the Federal Reserve that rate cuts could be coming as soon as next month. While some believe that a more dovish Fed would be bullish for economic growth, the recent spike in gold prices offers a more cautionary note. RealClearMarkets editor John Tamny explains: To paraphrase the classical economic thinkers whom supply siders have historically (and rather wisely) sided with, gold is the commodity least influenced by outside influences. Precisely because there’s so much gold stock versus new discoveries of the yellow metal, its price is impressively stable. It’s no

A New Gold Standard? Legislation Brings Monetary Debate to Congress

This week, Congressman Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.) reintroduced legislation to make a U.S. dollar convertible into a fixed weight of gold. Much in the spirit of Jack Kemp’s Gold Standard Act of 1984, the bill restores integrity to American wages by re-committing the federal government to the promise that Richard Nixon broke in announcing the closing of the “gold window” in 1971 — that a dollar today would be worth a dollar tomorrow. The introduction of Congressman Mooney’s gold standard legislation was met with immediate praise from the grassroots conservative organization FreedomWorks. It also received support in the American Thinker in

This Week in Economics: 4 Stories You Should Know About

The U.S. economy showed surprising strength in the first quarter of 2019, with initial estimates of GDP growth coming in at a solid 3.2 percent, and more significantly, year-over-year productivity growth hit 2.4 percent — the highest reading since 2010. National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow summed it up best when he said the latest economic data shows the administration is “killing it on the economy,” and President Trump’s economic approval rating has hit a new all-time high. The U.S. economy is off to a great start this year. Here are some economic stories to look out for as we

Conservatives Combat Leftist Smear Campaign Against Stephen Moore

Over the past three decades, there has arguably been no greater public champion of free market economics than Stephen Moore. Therefore, it’s no surprise that the Left lost its collective mind over Trump’s nomination of Moore to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. But rather than oppose Stephen Moore due to his views on the true cause of inflation (hint: it’s not economic growth, as widely believed at the Federal Reserve), the merits of a rules-based monetary policy, or the need for a more transparent central bank, they have resorted to re-litigating divorce filings and scrutinizing his decades-old tenure at

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