Lawrence Kudlow from Creators Syndicate

Obama's 'Public' Health Plan Will Bankrupt the Nation for 05/14/2009

Thu, 14 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Does anybody really believe that adding 50 million people to the public health-care rolls will not cost the government more money? About $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion more? At least.

So let's be serious when evaluating President Obama's goal of universal health care, and the idea that it's a cost-cutter. Can't happen. Won't happen. Costs are going to explode.

Think of it: ...

Updated: Thu May 14, 2009

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Little Green Cars for 05/30/2009

Sat, 30 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Get ready, folks: America is about to buy a car company. As of Monday, we the taxpayers will own more than 70 percent of GM. Whether the company will be formally renamed Government Motors remains to be seen. But that's what it will be.

Instead of putting the failed car enterprise into bankruptcy six months ago — where Carl Icahn or Wilbur Ross could have bought it — the Bush ...

Updated: Sat May 30, 2009

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Recall the Stimulus, Let the De-TARPing Begin, and Set the Fed Free for 06/05/2009

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Testifying before the House Budget Committee this week, Ben Bernanke said that when the time comes, the Fed will raise interest rates in order to stop inflation from building in the next recovery. He also asked for "fiscal balance" to sustain financial stability. On the surface — in terms of keeping prices stable and restoring value to the softening U.S. dollar — this is p ...

Updated: Fri Jun 05, 2009

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We Don't Need Big-Bang Health-Care Reform for 06/25/2009

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Why do we need President Obama's big-bang health-care reform at all? What's the real agenda here? If it's really to cover the truly uninsured, a much cheaper, targeted, small-ball approach would do the trick. But on the other hand, maybe the real goal is a larger, ultra-liberal plan aimed at a government takeover of the U.S. health system.

In a recent column, Larry Elder points to an ABC ...

Updated: Thu Jun 25, 2009

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June Jobs Tell a Bad Story -- and Obama's Policies Won't Make It Any Better for 07/03/2009

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

After nine months of explosive monetary and fiscal stimulus, you'd think economic recovery would be upon us. But the June jobs report tells a much different story.

Non-farm payrolls fell by 467,000, as the unemployment rate edged up to 9.5 percent. This isn't nearly as bad as the 700,000 monthly job losses of last winter, but it's still a rough number. Equally disappointing is the househ ...

Updated: Fri Jul 03, 2009

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The Road to Economic Demoralization -- Washington Is Going the Wrong Way. for 07/11/2009

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

There's no question that current government policies for taxes, spending and regulation are causing the United States to lose competitiveness in the global race for capital, prosperity and growth.

Of course, China has been moving in the direction of free-market capitalism for years. To some extent, this shows the positive benefits of America's free-trade policies and its open-mindedness ...

Updated: Sat Jul 11, 2009

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Is Bernanke Wise Enough to Exit? for 07/23/2009

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Fed head Ben Bernanke went before Congress this week with his midyear update on monetary policy and the economy. In so many words, the former Princeton economics professor is taking credit for averting the collapse of our financial system; is cautiously optimistic about economic recovery by year-end and 2 to 3 percent growth in 2010; and says he has the tools and wisdom for a carefully crafted ...

Updated: Thu Jul 23, 2009

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Are Republicans the Economic Pessimists? for 07/30/2009

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Are Republicans too pessimistic about the economy? I put this question to Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., this week, and it would be hard to describe his response as optimistic. The senator trash-talked Vice President Joe Biden's recent defense of the stimulus in The New York Times, and he warned that any economic rebound will be short-lived because of the runaway spending-and-borrowing plans of the O ...

Updated: Thu Jul 30, 2009

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Vote for the Clunkers for 08/06/2009

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

As a free-market capitalist who does not believe in artificial spending and pump-priming from Uncle Sam, I'm going to eat a little crow with the following statement: At this moment in history, if we're going to use fiscal stimulus as Washington insists, I favor extending the cash-for-clunkers car-rebate program.

With the greatest respect for my conservative friends and colleagues who tot ...

Updated: Thu Aug 06, 2009

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Obama's Hoof-in-Mouth Disease for 08/13/2009

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

It's hard to know why President Obama said what he said at Tuesday's health-care town hall in New Hampshire. He actually stated: "If you think about it, UPS and FedEx are doing just fine. It's the Post Office that's always having problems."

Oops. Freudian slip? Subliminally speaking, was the president inferring that private health insurers are doing just fine?

G ...

Updated: Thu Aug 13, 2009

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Bob Novak, R.I.P. -- Faith, Freedom and Free Enterprise. for 08/18/2009

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Now we say goodbye to Robert Novak, who passed away early Tuesday morning at the age of 78. Yet another conservative icon has left us. He was a good friend and an amazing reporter. In fact, I believe he was the best reporter of his generation, which spans all the way back to the Dwight D. Eisenhower years.

Bob had a lot of opinions — conservative opinions; Reaganesque opinions. But ...

Updated: Tue Aug 18, 2009

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Hey, Conservatives, We're Recovering for 09/03/2009

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Believe it or not, sometimes good news on the economy can be bad news for stocks.

It's a distant point, but one worth considering in view of conservative pessimism over Obama's plans to spend, tax, borrow and control the economy. I share these worries. But the U.S. is still a free-market economy, and it will be so at least until the health care and energy sectors are nationalized. And fr ...

Updated: Thu Sep 03, 2009

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The Jobless Recovery for 09/05/2009

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The jobless-recovery theme re-emerged on Friday with the arrival of a disappointing employment report. The daunting number was the unemployment rate, which jumped from 9.4 percent in July to 9.7 percent in August. This is a big-versus-small-business issue. Sort of the haves versus the have-nots.

The large companies are gradually recovering as a result of major cost-cutting, inventory red ...

Updated: Sat Sep 05, 2009

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The Government-Insurance Option Is Dead for 09/11/2009

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The day after President Obama's impassioned speech for big-government health care, Wall Street bet heavily that the so-called government-insurance option he supports is dead.

In a strong stock market on Thursday — the market's fifth-straight daily rise (so much for the September swoon) — health-insurer shares advanced significantly. Cigna increased 5 percent; Health Net almos ...

Updated: Fri Sep 11, 2009

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Kevin Warsh Is on the Money for 09/26/2009

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Attendees of the G-20 meeting in Pittsburgh and members of the Federal Reserve Board in Washington should carefully read a Wall Street Journal op-ed by Fed Governor Kevin Warsh. In a piece titled "The Fed's Job Is Only Half Over," the former Wall Street investment banker sends a shot across the global economic bow. He says the Fed's job will not be done until it removes the easy-money ...

Updated: Sat Sep 26, 2009

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The Mundell-Laffer Solution for 10/08/2009

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Team Obama is in economic trouble on two fronts right now: The dollar could be headed toward its demise, while the jobs and unemployment numbers have gotten worse. (The unemployment rate is up to 9.8 percent as of the September report released last week.) And there's a simple policy mix the White House could adopt to fix this. It could enact the Mundell-Laffer supply-side approach of a steady K ...

Updated: Thu Oct 08, 2009

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Storm Clouds Gather as Dow Hits 10,000 for 10/16/2009

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Dow Jones 10,000 arrived on Wall Street Wednesday for the first time in a year. It's a milestone of sorts, and it certainly represents a vote for investor confidence in economic recovery. Blowout profit reports from Intel and JPMorgan helped fuel the day's 145-point gain. So did a retail sales report that excluding Cash for Clunkers was actually quite strong.

Profits are the mother's mil ...

Updated: Fri Oct 16, 2009

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Economic Freedom Fighters, Unite for 10/29/2009

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

It must be something in the water. The ruling Democrats know their tax-hiking, re-regulating and big-spending policies have failed to rejuvenate job-creation or reduce the unemployment rate. And yet they persist in trying more of the same.

A recent New York Times editorial acknowledges that the economy is weak, but it pleads for yet another federal stimulus package. The Times editors wan ...

Updated: Thu Oct 29, 2009

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The Economics of a GOP Gubernatorial Sweep for 11/05/2009

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Against the backdrop of high unemployment and a public revolt against a Democratic health-care bill — which would significantly increase taxes, slash Medicare spending, and massively raise health-care spending elsewhere in a government takeover of our leading growth sector — the Republicans swept the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial races.

It's interesting that early sig ...

Updated: Thu Nov 05, 2009

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President Zero Sum Goes to Asia for 11/19/2009

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

President Obama took his declining dollar to the Asia-Pacific economic conference, and he added to it a declinist opinion of America's economy. His big message? Don't count on American consumers to lead the world from recession to recovery and beyond. His second big message? In the U.S., we must save more and spend less.

Huh? This is the same limits-to-growth, central-planning w ...

Updated: Thu Nov 19, 2009

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