Sub-prime bail out
Encouraged by the housing bubble, easy credit, along with the expectation that housing prices would continue to appreciate, many subprime borrowers took out mortgages they could not afford in the long run, particularly if...
We don’t have to ditch capitalism to fight climate change
It is of course possible that the 95 percent-plus of scientists who have explored the topic and the National Scientific Academies of every major nation are mistaken, and that the uncontrolled emissions of greenhouse...
The recession is a media myth
But over the last half-year, the media and politicians have said we were in a recession even while the economy was still growing.
Gas prices are going up. The economy is slowing. Talk of recession...
The moral economy
But despite the politicians' rhetoric, it is not hard to understand why America is in trouble.
First, there has been too much madcap real estate speculation. In recent years, housing prices were driven sky-high on...
10 ways to supercharge the American economy
He's spot-on since Obama's progressive pottage has left us with a sluggish economy, unemployment over 9 percent and a 14.3 percent poverty rate—more poor people than we have had in a half-century.
Our economy suffers...
Dangerous trends
The real precedent was set with the 1998 multi-state tobacco settlement of $365.5 billion. Tobacco is a legal substance. In the mafia, this is called a shake down. If the government can attack one...
Agency borrowing: Why the multifamily industry relies on GSEs
First, there are the portfolio lenders including banks and insurance companies. These lenders retain loans "in their portfolio" by making loans using funds from deposits or insurance premiums and then keeping those loans on...
Why business despairs of Obama
Those who might help us escape are now being held back by the anti-business policies of President Barack Obama.
Obama's administration predicted a V-shaped recovery, based on the historical experience of the 1970s and 1980s....
Mourning the loss of freedom to fail
It is perhaps even stranger to claim that we should actually fear losing the freedom to fail. Most of us are hardwired to avoid losing, and giving up the prospect does not logically seem...
The success of the U.S. at creation destruction
But as the government steps in to bail out automakers and financial institutions, is the world's largest economy undermining the very process of creative destruction that has propelled it thus far?
Steven Davis, a professor...
Building a strong foundation for a housing recovery
The federal government, which now owns or guarantees some 37 million mortgages because of the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bailouts, is forced to take possession of properties at huge expense to the taxpayer....
Does it really take Hercules to fix the federal budget deficit?
That got us thinking about Hercules and the budget. All we're talking about is how to ensure the government takes in enough money to cover what it spends. Is tackling the country's massive deficits...
Government must step in to prevent rental housing shortage
Rents are starting to rise dramatically and in every major metropolitan area are expected to rise from 3 percent to 10 percent in 2011 and beyond. That means a family paying $1,700 a month...
Apartment industry at a crossroads
It is obvious that there has been a fundamental change in the demand for homeownership over the last few years. Fiscal policies and social pressures have encouraged American consumers to buy homes, oftentimes biting...
Home ownership may fall more than expected
Then JPMorgan CEO, Jamie Dimon, suggested that his bank could get out of the mortgage ownership business in the future. "Owning consumer assets may be something we don't want to do," Dimon said on...
