Summary:   "In the last two weeks [Jan. 2010], President Obama finally proposed tough new restrictions on the big banks, and then he underlined them in his State of the Union speech. It's a start. The one thing economists agree on is that incentives matter. Unless incentives and constraints are changed through regulation, it is unlikely that behavior on Wall Street will change. And once again, our financial system, our economy and the taxpayer will be in jeopardy." (Los Angeles Times) In this editorial, the author contends that enforceable bank regulations, "combined with making the financial sector pay its own way," is necessary to "create a sounder financial system."
Subjects:  Banks and banking, Business enterprises, Taxation, Derivative securities, Financial institutions, Law and legislation, U.S., Economic policy, Obama, Barack, Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (2008)

Summary:   "President Barack Obama proposed [Jan. 21, 2010] new limits on the size and activities of the nation's largest banks, pushing a more muscular approach toward regulation that yanked down bank stocks and raised the stakes in his campaign to show he's tough on Wall Street....If accepted by Congress, the Obama proposals could force significant changes in how the nation's biggest banks do business." (Wall Street Journal)
Subjects:  Banks and banking, Financial institutions, Law and legislation, U.S., Economic policy

Summary:   "President Barack Obama unveiled his proposed $90 billion bank tax Thursday [January 14, 2010] with some of his toughest rhetoric yet toward Wall Street, saying: 'We want our money back, and we're going to get it.' ....The 10-year assessment on bank liabilities--dubbed the Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee--would fall most heavily on the nation's top six banking companies: Citigroup Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo & Co. Each would likely face an annual bill of $1 billion or more, with Citigroup and J.P. Morgan facing the largest liabilities, likely more than $2.4 billion apiece." (Wall Street Journal)
Subjects:  Banks and banking, Business enterprises, Taxation, Financial institutions, Law and legislation, Taxation, Law and legislation, U.S., Economic policy

Summary:   "In rural communities and urban areas alike, one of the least expensive and most unheralded new initiatives of the stimulus bill is quietly saving hundreds of thousands of Americans from homelessness....The Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program is expected to help 600,000 people by moving some from homeless shelters into their own apartments and by providing rent payments to prevent others from being evicted....Experts say the initiative breaks new ground in federal housing policy by focusing more resources on preventing homelessness and getting people back on their feet, rather than just feeding and warehousing the destitute." (McClatchy Newspapers)
Subjects:  Homelessness, Homelessness, Government policy, U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, U.S., Economic policy, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (2009)

Summary:   "President Barack Obama will join his economic team today [January 14, 2010] to propose a Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee to be imposed on the debt of the largest financial firms until the American people are fully compensated for the extraordinary assistance they provided to Wall Street." (President Obama Proposes Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee to Recoup Every Last Penny for American Taxpayers) This article outlines aspects of the proposed fee.
Subjects:  Banks and banking, Business enterprises, Taxation, Financial institutions, Law and legislation, Taxation, Law and legislation, U.S., Economic policy

Summary:   "A new report that reviewed 200 years of economic data from 44 nations has reached an ominous conclusion for the world's largest economy: Almost without exception, countries that are as highly indebted as the United States is today grow at sub-par rates....When a nation's debt exceeds 60 percent of its GDP, its growth rate slows precipitously, the study found. When that ratio exceeds 90 percent, nations' economies barely grow, and can even contract. The U.S. national debt is at roughly 84 percent of the country's GDP, and it's projected to cross the authors' 90 percent threshold late this year or early next year." (McClatchy Newspapers)
Subjects:  Debts, Public, Economic development, Economic forecasting, Financial crises, International aspects, Government spending policy, Gross domestic product, U.S., Economic policy, U.S., Economic policy, Statistics

Summary:   "While we can quantify things such as gross domestic product or home foreclosures, it's harder to measure their impact on our collective happiness. One way to gauge that effect is through what has become known as the economics of happiness--a set of new techniques and data to measure well-being and contentment. Hundreds of thousands of people are surveyed and asked how happy or satisfied they are with their lives, with possible answers on a scale between very unhappy and very happy." (Washington Post) The author discusses how factors such as economics influence happiness.
Subjects:  Discontent, Happiness, U.S., Economic policy, Economics, Psychological aspects

Summary:   "America's top international aid and development agency got a Christmas present Thursday [December 24, 2009] when the Senate confirmed President Obama's nomination of Rajiv Shah, a medical doctor and food security expert, to head the US Agency for International Development....Shah takes the helm of USAID, which has been without a chief since the outset of the Obama administration, at a crucial moment." (Christian Science Monitor) This article discusses the challenges that lie ahead for Rajiv in his new position as well as the need to rebuild the agency after losing much of its influence during the past decade.
Subjects:  Economic assistance, Economic assistance, American, International relief, U.S. Agency for International Development, U.S., Economic policy, U.S., Politics and government

Summary:   John Greco, president and CEO of the Direct Marketing Association, argues that collecting taxing from Internet retailers "would not only be unfair, it would also suppress one of the strongest sources of commercial growth in today's fragile economy." (USA Today)
Subjects:  Electronic commerce, Taxation, Taxation of articles of consumption, Taxation, Law and legislation, U.S., Economic policy, Internet, Taxation, Internet retailers

Summary:   "For the price-conscious consumer, shopping on the Internet offers one other major advantage: no sales tax (unless the website has a store, warehouse or other 'physical presence' in the shopper's state). The tax break averages about 6%, which is very nice, of course, but with the recession threatening Main Street retailers and dangerously depleting state treasuries, maybe it's time to summon the Grinch. Online sales should be taxed." (USA Today) The author of this article contends that "[t]ime and technology have eroded the two main reasons for exempting Internet sales from taxation."
Subjects:  Electronic commerce, Taxation, Taxation of articles of consumption, Taxation, Law and legislation, U.S., Economic policy, Internet, Taxation, Internet retailers

Summary:   "If I were a senator, I [Howard Dean] would not vote for the current health-care bill. Any measure that expands private insurers' monopoly over health care and transfers millions of taxpayer dollars to private corporations is not real health-care reform. Real reform would insert competition into insurance markets, force insurers to cut unnecessary administrative expenses and spend health-care dollars caring for people. Real reform would significantly lower costs, improve the delivery of health care and give all Americans a meaningful choice of coverage. The current Senate bill accomplishes none of these." (Washington Post) The author argues against the Senate health-care reform bill.
Subjects:  Health care reform, Insurance, Health, Medical care, U.S., Economic policy, Insurance, Health, Costs, Insurance, Health, Law and legislation

Summary:   "Authorities on both sides of the Atlantic are moving to enact tough curbs on pay, in an indication that governments are taking increasingly aggressive steps to rein in compensation after the financial crisis. In the U.S., the Treasury Department's pay czar, Kenneth Feinberg, is poised to enact tougher-than-expected rules for employees at companies that received large amounts of government assistance. The U.K. on Wednesday [December 9, 2009] slapped banks with a 50% tax on portions of bonuses they pay to individuals, in perhaps the most aggressive move yet by a government." (Wall Street Journal)
Subjects:  Executives, Salaries, etc., Financial institutions, International, Financial institutions, Law and legislation, Great Britain, Economic policy, Taxation, U.S., Economic policy, Chief executive officers, Salaries, etc., Bonus system

Summary:   "Distressing new research shows that unemployment fosters social isolation not just for the unemployed but also for their still-employed neighbors. Moreover, the negative consequences last much longer than the unemployment itself. Policymakers have focused on short-term help for the jobless, but they must address these longer-term community effects, too." (USA Today) The authors of this article discuss studies that show unemployment causes long-term social harm.
Subjects:  Demographic surveys, Economic security, Economics, Sociological aspects, U.S., Economic policy, Unemployment

Summary:   "Those who embrace bad trade deals claim that 'protectionism' will cost jobs and raise prices. They ignore the fact that America built the biggest, strongest economy ever behind a wall of protectionism. We nurtured infant industries through tariffs and subsidies. We need to be doing that again." (Detroit News) James P. Hoffa, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, argues in support of the TRADE Act, which would protect American manufacturers.
Subjects:  Financial crises, International aspects, Industries, International trade, Protectionism, U.S., Economic policy

Summary:   "President Barack Obama called for a major new burst of federal spending Tuesday [Dec. 8, 2009], perhaps $150 billion or more, aiming to jolt the wobbly economy into a stronger recovery and reduce painfully persistent double-digit unemployment. Despite Republican criticism concerning record federal deficits, Obama said the U.S. has had to 'spend our way out of this recession' with so many people out of work but insisted he was still mindful of a need to confront soaring deficits." (Washington Times) The article describes aspects of President Obama's plan to create jobs and reaction to the proposals from politicians and interest groups.
Subjects:  Intervention (Federal government), Job creation, U.S., Economic policy, Unemployment, Obama, Barack

Summary:   "Today [December 8, 2009], the President laid out some of the broad steps that he believes should be at the heart of our efforts to help put Americans back to work and get businesses hiring again. This announcement is part of the President’s ongoing effort to take every responsible step to accelerate the pace of job growth." (President Obama Announces Proposals to Accelerate Job Growth...) This article outlines President Obama's "fiscally responsible approach" to create jobs.
Subjects:  Job creation, U.S., Economic policy, Obama, Barack, Addresses, messages, etc.

Summary:   Peter Edelman, professor at Georgetown Law Center, and an assistant secretary of Health and Human Services in the Clinton administration and author Barbara Ehrenreich argue that "[i]t's time to acknowledge that America's 1996 experiment with welfare reform was based on reckless assumptions about the economy, as well as a callous disregard for the realities of sustaining a family. We need a massive emergency relief package not only to fund new jobs but to repair the grievous holes in our national safety net. Fifty million people need help now--not in three months or six months, but today." (Washington Post)
Subjects:  Public welfare, Public welfare, Statistics, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, U.S., Economic policy, Welfare recipients, Welfare Reform Act (1996), Poverty, Global impact

Summary:   "Within the vast pool of 15.4 million unemployed workers, a split is emerging: The number of long-term jobless--those out of work six months or longer--is growing, while the number of short-term unemployed is declining. The trend highlights a considerable challenge for the economy and policymakers: finding a way for the millions of Americans laid off last fall and early this year to get back to work." (Courier News) This article provides statistics on unemployment (including a comparison with unemployment during previous recessions) and unemployment by sex and ethnic group. In addition, the article includes a breakdown of new jobs by industry.
Subjects:  U.S., Economic policy, Unemployment, Unemployment, Statistics, U.S., Economic policy, Statistics

Summary:   "[President Obama's] economists insist that technically, the recession is over. But double-digit unemployment was neither prevented nor has it ended. To get people back to work as rapidly as possible and to restore America's economic vitality, the nation must change course. Here's the advice I would give." (USA Today) Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts and 2008 Republican presidential candidate, outlines his "10-point" plan to stimulate the economy and boost employment.
Subjects:  Economic stabilization, Employment (Economic theory), Job creation, U.S., Economic policy, Unemployment

Summary:   "To local fans they might be the 'Damn Yankees,' but to Harrisburg and City Hall, the Phillies couldn't have hosted better guests than the likes of Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, and Mark Teixeira...That's because the New York Yankees, just by spending an autumn weekend in Philadelphia, probably chipped in well over $300,000 to the state and city treasuries in the form of income taxes….As with cash-hungry governments all over the country, the city and both states have found pay dirt in the mega-salaries of professional athletes. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey--which hosts two ‘New York’ football teams with generous payrolls--might have collected $40 million or more in income taxes from their sports teams and their visitors in 2008." (Philadelphia Inquirer) This article describes the taxation of professional athletes’ salaries in some states. Tax experts and tax collection agencies debate the fairness of the tax."
Subjects:  Athletes, Salaries, etc., Income tax, Sports, Economic aspects, Taxation, Taxation, State, U.S., Economic policy

Summary:   The author of this article argues that "[b]eyond fighting for tougher regulation, including higher capital requirements, simplification or banning of many derivatives, consumer protection, provisions for resolving bank holding company failures, and many other provisions being debated in Congress, Obama and Democratic legislators should break up the biggest banks and limit their size." (In These Times)
Subjects:  Banks and banking, Financial crises, International aspects, Financial institutions, Financial institutions, Law and legislation, U.S., Economic policy

Summary:   "The jobless rate for young black men and women is 30.5 percent. For young blacks--who experts say are more likely to grow up in impoverished racially isolated neighborhoods, attend subpar public schools and experience discrimination--race statistically appears to be a bigger factor in their unemployment than age, income or even education. Lower-income white teens were more likely to find work than upper-income black teens, according to the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University, and even blacks who graduate from college suffer from joblessness at twice the rate of their white peers." (Washington Post) This article examines how the current financial crisis is disproportionately affecting young black men and women.
Subjects:  African Americans, Economic conditions, African Americans, Employment, U.S., Economic policy, Unemployed, Unemployment, Unemployment, Statistics, U.S., Economic policy, Statistics

Summary:   "To establish a global foundation for growth and avert future economic crises, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says, the major advanced economies must rebalance global demand." (America.gov Press Release) This article summarizes Geithner's November 17, 2009 testimony regarding the global recovery to the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Subjects:  Financial crises, International aspects, U.S., Economic policy, Group of Twenty, U.S., Economic policy, Global impact

Summary:   "The financial crisis started with Americans buying homes they couldn't afford. It is ending with the government struggling to sell buildings it never wanted. In the past two years, the FDIC [Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation] has taken over 150 failed banks. In the process, it has seized more than 5,000 houses, subdivisions, buildings, parcels and other foreclosed assets. The current backlog of property stuck on the agency's books, with an appraised value of $1.8 billion, ranges from an $18,700 clapboard home with stained carpets in Birmingham, Ala., to a $1.7 million mountainside lodge with a heated driveway in Steamboat Springs, Colo. Taxpayers will be grappling with this flotsam for years to come, one example of how the crisis will linger long after the economy begins to revive." (Wall Street Journal)
Subjects:  Bank failures, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Financial crises, International aspects, Real property, U.S., Economic policy