Rick Wagoner, Chairman and CEO of General Motors, has given his opinion on why GM and the other three major US automakers should be bailed out. The gist of it is that GM is too big to fail. That is, the consequences of GM failing would be disastrous for the nation, not just the auto [...]
Government and Business
Business, government, society, and their relationships to each other. How can government policies benefit business? How can government hurt business? Where should the line between regulation and free enterprise be drawn? Here are my opinions for what they’re worth.
On Monday congress will hold hearings on speculation in oil markets. Politicians hope this will boost their image with voters as it creates the impression that they’re doing something to bring the price of gas down, but as usual, the government has found a convenient scapegoat who they have no real intention of going after, [...]
I’m not sure why there is even a debate on this. Sure, I took economics classes in college, but I think I failed some of them and I still get this. I’m not surprised to hear Democrats coming up with strange explanations, but why Republicans can’t explain it or are failing to explain it is [...]
It’s easy to say I’m not going to vote for McCain until you read something like this. From the WSJ:“Globalization and technology and automation all weaken the position of workers,” he said, and a strong government hand is needed to assure that wealth is distributed more equitably. I don’t know about you, but that’s one [...]
John McCain, who apparently is qualified to be President because he was a prisoner of war, recently said in response to a question about whether he would enact a windfall profits tax on oil companies “Um, I don’t like obscene profits being made anywhere…” Let’s assume that oil execs are horrible, horrible people. Let’s assume [...]
Floridians are voting today in a primary battle that could play a crucial role in deciding the Republican presidential nominee. If Sen. John McCain wins, his status as the national front-runner will be cemented. If former Gov. Mitt Romney comes out on top, the battle for the GOP presidential nomination will be up in the [...]
Some say a recession (two quarters of negative growth) is coming. Some say it’s already here. And every time a recession comes around politicians start talking about how to “stimulate” the economy. I’m sure Ben Bernanke is a smarter guy than I am, but since when has that stopped me from spouting my opinions? So [...]
This is what I love about the government. Seriously, I’m not the greatest business owner, but compared to the government I’m the photo of fiscal responsibility.
So Arizona just passed a law that punishes employers who “knowingly” employ illegal immigrants or the “undocumented” as we now call them, as though all that separates legal immigrants and illegals is that the illegals misplaced their paperwork somewhere.
Gore has revamped the mansion he’s gotten so much flak about and has reduced his power consumption a whopping 11 percent. Is it just me or does that number seem rather insubstantial? But aside from that, this merely gives me a segue into addressing an issue I’ve been wanting to say something about for years, [...]
I’m voting yes on Referendum 1 for school vouchers in the upcoming Utah elections. Yes, I actually have read and studied the full text of Referendum 1, or House Bill 148, unlike many other commenting on it, and that has only strengthened my support of it. Here are my reasons for voting yes: 1. The [...]
Warren Buffet says when he’s evalutating a business he looks at the cash. How much cash is coming in, how much is going out, how much cash is in the bank. Just knowing that much about the man might tell you why he didn’t get caught up in the dot-com mania. In a different way, [...]
Marketplace, bless their hearts, ran a story a few weeks ago by Sarah Gardner about Democratic Senator Christopher Dodd proposing to make employers guarantee at least partial family-leave pay for mother’s who have a baby while working. Like most legislation pushed by the Democrats, it sounds nice if you don’t look too deep.
I’m thrilled that lawmakers seem to finally be dealing with, or talking about dealing with, or at least planning on talking about dealing with the issue of healthcare costs and separating them from employment. Utah’s own Mike Leavitt spoke last Wednesday on the White House’s new ideas about healthcare. While I’m not sure I like [...]
I just started going to the gym after…man, how long has it been? I think the last time I was in a gym I was living on-campus at BYU, so this was probably around 2001 or so. In high-school I went to the gym for at least an hour per day, plus I was skateboarding [...]
Len Burman of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center spoke on the Marketplace Morning Show regarding the idea of indexing the minimum wage for inflation. That is, add a provision to the minimum wage law to make sure it adjust with inflation each year. After all, if we’re going to raise it anyway, why not have [...]
Here’s Romney’s healthcare initiative in a nutshell: 1. The first thing to understand is that the U.S. already provides universal healthcare, so don’t get bogged down saying “But that’s Hillary Clinton’s plan! We don’t want universal healthcare!” Tough, you’ve already got it. If you’re uninsured and you break your arm and go to the hospital, [...]
There are multiple reasons why I get excited about the potential of Mitt Romney being the next President of the United States, even if it seems like a long shot. But aside from matters of religion, social policy, and there being fewer degrees of separation between me and him than between me and Kevin Bacon, [...]
The results are in and we lost. Undecided races notwithstanding, every single seat in both the Senate and the House has been taken by politicians.
