Monday, January 5, 2009
Heckonomics: The Bailouts
Friday, January 2, 2009
2008, The Year of the Bailout
Read the whole thing here.Not too long ago, in fact, at the beginning of 2008, the U.S. had a reputation as a free-market economy in which businesses rose and fell of their own strengths or flaws and to their own profit or loss. But 2008 changed all that. Too be more precise, the administration of President George W. Bush changed all that in 2008.
Americans used to get exorcised any time the federal government considered bailing out private interests. When Chrysler got a $1.5 billion loan in 1979 (about $4.25 billion in today’s dollars), there was an outcry. When the Clinton administration bailed out Wall Street bankers in 1994 with a bailout of the Mexican peso, it was scandalous.
But as 2008 wound down, we got bailouts so large and in such rapid succession that we never had time to catch our breath.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
ENPR: Blagojevich Causes Headaches for Democrats
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Ghosts of Auto Bailouts Past

My Christmas column in the Washington Examiner discusses the long history of Uncle Sam playing Father Christmas to General Motors.
So, as consumers and taxpayers, we start another year serving as Santa’s slave-elves involuntarily working to load up GM’s stocking. Let’s face Detroit and say, “bah humbug.”Read the whole thing here, and Merry Christmas.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Who the Heck is Keynes, and Why Is he Being Resurrected Now?
Who the heck was Keynes? What did he prescribe. That's what I address in this week's Heck-o-nomics?
So, this is the sort of man Keynes was. He was very bright and very confident that smart enough people of good will could solve the world’s problems as long as they were able to dismantle the prejudices of culture and control the behavior of the unwashed. And today we’re told that he is making a comeback, and that we are all Keynesians now. What the heck could that mean?
Read the whole thing here, at Culture11.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Obama Taps Another Corporate Welfare King in Vilsack
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Big Elmo Loves Big Government
Not surprisingly, lobbying disclosure reports indicate that Mattel and Hasbro massively increased their lobbying budgets in the months after the scandal broke, with Mattel’s lobbying expenditures (to be distinguished from campaign contributions) increasing from $60,000 in the first half of 2007 to $480,000 in the second half. This pace continued through at least the first three quarters of 2008.
Much more surprising, at least at first glance, is the position these companies took with respect to this legislation. For instance, in hearing testimony on November 6, 2007, Kathrin Belliveau of Hasbro and Joseph McGuire of the big-business dominated National Association of Manufacturers testified before Congress that they supported this legislation, with only minor modifications requested. Importantly, both testified that they supported the testing requirements that will likely be particularly devastating to small and medium-sized businesses and domestic manufacturers.
Let's just say I'm not surprised.
ENPR: Illinois, Colorado, and New York Senate Vacancies Kick off 2010 Race
Will Senators Recall Richardson's Scandalous Cabinet Record?
After skipping the June 14 hearing, Richardson did appear before the Intelligence Committee, at which point Byrd castigated him: “You will never again receive the support of the Senate of the United States for any office to which you might be appointed,” said Byrd. “It’s gone. You’ve squandered your treasure, and I’m sorry.”
Read the whole thing here.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Blagojevich Shakedown Is Standard Government Practice
Read the whole thing here.Blagojevich offered a bailout to the Tribune Company, which owns both the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago Tribune. Allegedly, he made it clear that the company would only get the bailout cash if it would fire deputy editorial page editor John McCormick, a leading Blagojevich critic.
Only in Chicago? Don’t speak too soon. General Electric, the company that spends more than any other lobbying, is getting special access to credit insurance from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which used to be available only to banks. The insurance is $139 billion in GE debt.
GE also owns NBC, MSNBC, and CNBC (which aggressively supported the Wall Street bailout). So, the U.S. government is in the business of bailing out a major media corporation.
