Fiscal policy

December 13, 2016

What you should know about subsidies

Note: This is post #13 in a weekly video series on basic microeconomics. What is a subsidy? A subsidy is really just a negative or reverse tax, explains Alex Tabarrok. Instead of collecting money in the form of a tax, the government gives money to consumer or producers. Continue Reading...

December 09, 2016

What standard should we use to judge school choice?

The United States spends a lot of money each year on public schooling. As a percentage of GDP, government expenditures on public education (five percent) exceed the amount we spend on defense (four percent) or welfare (two percent). 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...

December 06, 2013

Moving Money From One Place To Another Is Not Economic Stimulus

The Obama Administration seems to think that moving money from one place to another constitutes economic stimulus. A Washington Times editorial points this out. First, the administration is pushing food stamps, or SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), as a way to get the economy moving. Continue Reading...

September 12, 2013

Was the Sequester ‘Expansionary Austerity’?

Over at Neighborhood Effects, James Broughel asks the question, “Has the Sequester Hurt the Economy?” So have the sequester cuts hurt the economy? One possible answer comes from a new paper by Scott Sumner of Bentley University. Continue Reading...

April 15, 2013

What Christians Should Know About Bitcoin (Part 2 of 3)

[Note: This is the second in a three part series. You can read the introductory post here and part three here.] How Bitcoin Works (The Simplified Version) In order to use the Bitcoin system, a user installs a “wallet” on their computer or mobile phone. Continue Reading...

January 30, 2013

Business Entrepreneur Focuses on Catholic Education

Frank Hanna III, CEO of Hanna Capital, LLC, has made Catholic education a special focus. In an interview with the National Catholic Register, Hanna spoke of the challenges, changes and reasons to champion religious education: The more I looked into the issues of society, the more I became convinced that a lot of our societal failings happen much sooner; so much of the foundation of our failure was happening in our educational system. Continue Reading...

November 30, 2012

Spartan Austerity and the Fiscal Cliff

The latest step in the budget dance between House Republicans and the White House has to do with where tax increases (or revenue increases in general, depending on what is called what) fit with a deal to avoid the so-called “fiscal cliff.” Continue Reading...

November 11, 2011

Chicago Open Mic Night

Last week the Acton Institute hosted its third annual Chicago Open Mic Night downtown at the University Club. Three panelists answered questions about — you guessed it — economics and a virtuous society from the audience. Continue Reading...

September 01, 2011

How to Deliver a Recession: Cut Brake Lines, Accelerate Toward Cliff

Economic historian Brian Domitrovic has an interesting post up at his Forbes blog, Past & Present, on the proximate causes of the 2008 meltdown. According to Domitrovic, uncoordinated, even “weird” fiscal and budgetary policy in the early 2000s kept investors on the sidelines, and then flooded the system with easy money. Continue Reading...

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