economy

December 01, 2016

What happens when the government ‘forgives’ $108 billion in student debt?

To reduce the number of people defaulting on student loans, President Obama has been promoting income-driven repayment plans. The most widely available income-driven repayment plan for federal student loans—the Income-Based Repayment (IBR) plan—provides payment caps based on a borrower’s family size and income (150 percent of the poverty level). Continue Reading...

November 30, 2016

Lessons from Poverty, Inc.

“An underlying theme in basic economics says, ‘offering a product for free can destroy the local economy’” writes Luis Miranda. Miranda recently watched Poverty, Inc and since seeing the award winning Acton Institute documentary he has shared some of its lessons in an article at The Indian Economist. Continue Reading...

November 29, 2016

Vouchers: the progressive policy loved by the right and hated by the left

Growing up, I attended a private, Christian school until 4th grade, when my mother couldn’t afford it any more and my brothers and I switched to a blue collar, suburban public school. Continue Reading...

November 29, 2016

Financial deregulation expands opportunity

The Dodd-Frank Act became law in 2010, adding more regulation to a banking industry that was already heavily regulated. The main purpose of this 2,300 page act was to give consumers protection against big profit seeking banks but the unintended consequences prove to be much greater. Continue Reading...

November 28, 2016

Samuel Gregg: Economic nationalism will not make America great

In a new article at The Stream, Acton Director of Research Samuel Gregg offers good reasons why a move toward economic nationalism is not in the best interest of America. He starts with this: Whatever the motivations for such policies, their costs vastly outweigh their benefits. Continue Reading...

November 17, 2016

Now that Republicans control the government, here’s what we can expect

Because of the recent election, Republicans now control the White House, the U.S. Senate (51 percent), the House of Representatives (54 percent), 31 of the 50 state governorships (62 percent), and a record 67 of the 98 partisan state legislative chambers in the nation (68 percent). Continue Reading...

November 14, 2016

Why not socialism?

“In spite of socialism’s sorry track record, millions of well-meaning people think it’s a virtual synonym for compassion,” says Lawrence Reed. “But socialists themselves are constantly retreating from their own handiwork. Continue Reading...

November 09, 2016

Diverse voters, deep passions: what 2016 exit polls tell us

As, no doubt, many readers are getting flooded on social media with think pieces and hot takes (not to mention apocalyptic worry or celebration), the point of this post is simply to look at what the data seems to indicate about those who voted for President-elect Donald Trump and his opponent, Sec. Continue Reading...

October 31, 2016

Do the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes?

During her presidential campaign, Sec. Hillary Clinton has repeatedly said she’d implement a tax system in which the wealthy “pay their fair share in taxes.” Expecting the rich to pay what is “fair” is not asking to much of them. Continue Reading...

October 25, 2016

Trump and Clinton are wrong: free trade helps the poor

Imagine if Donald Trump made a campaign promise that he would lower the pay of every American, but would ensure that the poorest 10 percent have their pay lowered the most. Continue Reading...

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