Overview for great-recession

Recovery First, Fiscal Discipline Second

In my column for the National Post , I explain why long term deficit reduction needs to happen after the economy recovers, not before: That's why the bottom of a bad recession is a bad time to worry about deficits. The recession makes the deficit problem look bigger than it really is. …

Written by David Frum on Saturday October 15, 2011

Fresh Fertility Eggs for Sale

As I wait for the fertility specialist to print out the fifty pages of documents informing me about the process of selling one’s eggs—legal rights, psychological warnings, and medical disclaimers—I’m desperately left grasping for small talk. “I’m sorry that the printer is so slow, ” she …

Written by Galatea on Saturday October 15, 2011

Despite the Downturn, Canada Prospers

In 2007, the line ran down the street, as people queued to get in on the action. Some apparently waited for days hoping to purchase a condo in a building to be built. With such demand, the developers kept upping the unit prices – literally posting the ever-rising prices on a billboard. The …

Written by David Gratzer on Wednesday October 5, 2011

A Template for a GOP Economic Plan

America is now coping with the debt binge of the past decade and stagnating incomes across the board. Trying to provide some cushion for those left economically behind may be a good short-term strategy. But policy makers also need to work toward a restructuring of America's economic architecture. …

Written by Fred Bauer on Wednesday September 28, 2011

Daniels: Government Faces "Limits" When Helping the Unemployed

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels visited Georgetown University on Friday, September 23rd, for a refreshingly intimate conversation sponsored by the Georgetown College Republicans. Daniels is known for his candor and modesty, and both were on display when I asked him what could be done for the 14 …

Written by Fred Messner on Wednesday September 28, 2011

Why Canada Can't Win Forever

In my column for the National Post , I ask if Canada is about to face an economic downturn: Is Canada’s luck finally running out? Through three bad economic years, Canada has emerged as an island of relative stability amid the global storm. More Canadians are working today than were …

Written by David Frum on Saturday September 24, 2011

The Texas Non-Miracle

About all those new jobs created under Gov. Rick Perry... The Center for Immigration Studies reports some facts that should sprinkle a little cold water on over-heated claims for the low-wage/high-immigration Texas economic model. Of jobs created in Texas since 2007, 81 percent were taken …

Written by David Frum on Thursday September 22, 2011

Is Daniels' Jobs Warning A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy?

I’ve been reading through Gov. Mitch Daniels' new book to see if he has anything to say about the current jobs crisis that America is in. The early results are a little disappointing. The first third of the book is focused on long term debt, the middle is focused on his time as governor, and the …

Written by Noah Kristula-Green on Tuesday September 20, 2011

The Ugly Truth About the American Dream

The promise of upward economic mobility is central to the American Dream. Marco Rubio invoked it at CPAC in 2010 with stirring language: [America is] the only place in the world where it doesn't matter who your parents were or where you came from. You can be anything you are willing to work …

Written by Noah Kristula-Green on Friday September 16, 2011

Granny's Doing Fine

The Census reports that over 65s have actually seen their income rise during the Great Recession: Perhaps no households have weathered the downturn better than those headed by people 65 and older, whose incomes rose 5.5 percent from 2007 to 2010. By contrast, household income for every …

Written by David Frum on Thursday September 15, 2011

The New Poor

In my column for The Week , I discuss what needs to be done to reduce rising poverty levels: The collapse of the American job market has pushed the poverty rate to the highest level since 1993 — back before welfare reform was even enacted. The poverty rate touched bottom in the year 2000 at …

Written by David Frum on Wednesday September 14, 2011

What if No One Gets Credit for the Recovery?

Seth Masket writes : The upcoming presidential election is the most important election in a generation. . . . we are in the middle of (and hopefully on the tail end of) a truly catastrophic recession. The economy will recover, although that may not happen for several years. It seems fair to …

Written by Andrew Gelman on Tuesday September 13, 2011

Will Perry Win With 16% Unemployment?

Into the presidential race rides another man from Texas, Governor Rick Perry. If this election is about jobs, the Republicans would have to be crazy to nominate anyone else. While the Democrats will try to parse and spin the numbers, Texas has done better than the rest of the nation in …

Written by Hank Adler on Tuesday September 6, 2011

Let's Call it Hurricane Euro

In my Marketplace column , I ask why no one is preparing for the coming collapse of the Euro: But why is it only weather stories that command such breathless attention? Meanwhile, the world's largest currency union -- the euro -- continues to careen toward disaster. The euro's travails …

Written by David Frum on Thursday September 1, 2011

Huntsman's Great (Pre-Recession) Jobs Record

Jon Huntsman has unveiled his jobs plan and it is accompanied by an impressive web video touting Huntsman's success in job creation. The video argues that Huntsman not only has a good jobs plan, but that his record as governor is also worth running on. The video says that Utah is the "#1 State in …

Written by Noah Kristula-Green on Wednesday August 31, 2011

Debunking the Payroll Tax Cut Idea?

Over the past 2 years, I've banged the drum for a payroll tax cut as a way to put more money into workers' hands quickly and efficiently, arguing against most other forms of fiscal stimulus as too slow and unwieldy. Bruce Bartlett states the counter-case today in the New York Times : First, …

Written by David Frum on Tuesday August 30, 2011

Judge Posner: We're Doomed

When long ago I clerked for a federal judge, my co-clerk would be reading an opinion by Judge Posner and say “I love the elegant way he explains why you have no rights.” Well, he is at it again. He has just written an explanation for the current economic doldrums (he calls it a depression) …

Written by John Vecchione on Thursday August 25, 2011

Unemployed for a Year. Who Speaks for Me?

I received The Call exactly a year ago at 11:30 a.m. EDT. That was a bit early. For almost nine years I had worked from my home in Charlotte, NC for a small company in California, so calls from the office before noon my time were not frequent. When I heard that my boss, his boss and the HR director …

Written by Andrew Pavelyev on Monday August 22, 2011

More Jobs, Better Pay: What the GOP Can Do

In my column for CNN, I explain why Rick Perry's record on job is both his greatest strength and weakness: Gov. Rick Perry enters the presidential race with one big advantage and one big impediment. The advantage: his record of job creation in Texas. His impediment? His record of job creation …

Written by David Frum on Monday August 15, 2011

Res Judicata: Legal Immigration is Not the Answer

The bad economic news, especially persistently high unemployment, requires an examination of our immigration policy. The U.S. currently admits about 800,000 legal immigrants per year, all of whom are authorized for employment. This goes on year in and year out, regardless of the level of …

Written by Howard Foster on Monday August 15, 2011