Rand Paul Rips Federal Reserve, Says Shrinking Dollar Hurts Poor

Rand Paul criticized Bernie Sanders for his “free college” plan Wednesday, pointing out that the money had to come from somewhere and predicting it would be from either taxpayers or the Federal Reserve.  Paul then pivoted to criticize the Fed’s monetary policy, saying that the falling value of the dollar and rising prices hurt the poor more than anyone else.  His full comments are below (starts around 1:10): Somebody’s got to pay. The education will not be free. The professors will be paid; the buildings will be built; there’ll be electricity; there’ll be heat. There is an expense. Somebody will

The GOP’s Best Shot in 2016? It Could Be This…

FiveThirtyEight has put together a fantastic summary of how each issue should impact the 2016 campaign. Check it out here. On economics, Ben Casselman writes: Americans remain uneasy about the economy, even if they have become more sanguine in recent years. In a recent Wall Street Journal poll, just 47 percent of Democrats — and only 4 percent of Republicans — reported being “cautiously optimistic” about the economy. That dissatisfaction is driven by a harsh reality: Six-plus years after the recession officially ended, there has been no meaningful recovery in household income. Republicans clearly see an opening. At last month’s CNBC debate, which focused on economic issues,

Don’t Look Now, But Monetary Policy Just Became a Top Issue in the GOP Primary

It’s greatly encouraging to see the GOP candidates focus more on one of the largest economic problems facing the United States: the Federal Reserve and monetary policy. On Tuesday night, we witnessed the GOP field address monetary reform as a key to economic fairness and growth in a bigger and more substantial way than ever before. Candidates centered their comments on the problems created by the Federal Reserve’s artificially low interest rates and how it has adversely affected equitable prosperity through rising prices and stagnant wages for working families. The Federal Reserve’s zero interest rate policy repeatedly came under fire at

Incomes Decline Again, But Will GOP Candidates Speak Out?

Last week, new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau showed inflation-adjusted median income slipping to $53,657 in 2014, a drop from the previous year and a 6.5 percent drop from 2007, the year before the Great Recession, when it was $57,300. The fall in real income is affecting millions of families across the United States. So why aren’t the GOP presidential candidates talking about it? If Republicans want to appeal to voters when they discuss economics, they had better talk about what’s impacting everyone — stagnant wages and a rapidly rising cost of living. Wage stagnation has been going on for

Hillary Abandons Income Inequality

Had you tuned in to Hillary Clinton’s hour-long speech on economics yesterday in order to learn the specifics of how she intends to achieve “strong growth, fair growth and long-term growth,” you would be unsatisfied: Throughout the campaign, I’m going to be talking about how we empower entrepreneurs with less red tape, easier access to capital, tax relief and simplification. I’ll also push for broader business tax reform to spur investment in America, closing those loopholes that reward companies for sending jobs and profits overseas. See, she’s FOR small businesses and she’s going to TALK about that.  As for the actual

It’s the Prices, Stupid!

In May, U.S. producers reported their largest price increases in over two years, marking an end for the brief reprieve consumers have enjoyed since late last year.  Food and gas prices are spiking, according to CNBC: Last month, gasoline prices surged 17 percent, the largest increase since August 2009. Food prices rose 0.8 percent in May, the biggest gain in just over a year, snapping five straight months of declines. Bad news for anyone who eats or drives, but why are prices suddenly on an upward trend after an almost year-long downward slide?  The cause, apparently, is a strong dollar:

Steve Wynn: “Real inflation is much higher than they say it is”

The front page of the Drudge Report today links to an article reporting on an interview businessman Steve Wynn, founder and CEO of Wynn Resorts, gave to a local PBS station in Nevada.  In it, Wynn offers a more cogent and coherent analysis of the miserable state of the economy and its impact on working families than we have heard from any of the Republican presidential candidates to date. Here’s an excerpt: Well, the idea that America is in the midst of a great recovery is pure fiction. It’s a lie. It’s a jobless recovery,” Wynn said. “Because recoveries are

Price of Beef Doubles

The price of hamburger increased to a new record, $4.23 a pound, jumping 22 percent in the last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Official inflation remains low.  But five years ago, a pound of ground beef was just $1.96 a pound.

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