Charles Schumer is my hero. I’m starting to think that he may be one of the most intelligent and articulate senators that we have. Sorry for the length of the following transcript excerpt; I couldn’t resist. From yesterday’s confirmation hearings : SCHUMER: [L]et me ask you this about judges in general. You sit on a […]

The Washington Times notes that DeLay declares victory in war on budget fat: House Majority Leader Tom DeLay said yesterday that Republicans have done so well in cutting spending that he declared an “ongoing victory,” and said there is simply no fat left to cut in the federal budget. Mr. DeLay was defending Republicans’ choice […]

The Federal Reserve reported today on industrial production and capacity utilization. From the report: Industrial production rose 0.1 percent in August, and at 119.7 percent of its 1997 average, was 3.1 percent above its year-earlier level. Manufacturing output increased 0.3 percent; excluding motor vehicles and parts, manufacturing production was unchanged from July. The output at […]

Stephen Roach thinks that long-term interest rates in the US are nearly as low as they will get, primarily because everyone in the US seems to be borrowing rather than saving: [T]he US saving outlook has just taken a worrisome turn for the worse. That wouldn’t be so bad if America started from a position […]

I must confess that I’ve spent relatively little time thinking about or paying attention to the Roberts confirmation process. I think that’s probably largely a function of the fact that there’s almost no suspense; unless it comes out that Roberts eats puppy dogs for breakfast, or maybe masterminded an identity-theft operation for the mob, there’s […]

The short term supply of gasoline remains tenuous. The NYTimes reports today: ‘… four major refineries … are either flooded or without power, and are likely to be out of commission for several weeks, perhaps months. Together, these refine 880,000 barrels a day, or 5 percent of domestic capacity.’ And, according to the Lundberg Survey, […]

In his comments to this post, Jeffrey Miller points us to an excellent discussion from Roger Lowenstein: But as Alan Greenspan and Warren Buffett have observed, they aren’t “free” in an economic sense. Like other forms of compensation, options bear a cost to the corporation. But what is that cost? … Academics have been devising […]

It seems if one has White House connections, one may receive reconstruction contracts: WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Companies with ties to the Bush White House and the former head of FEMA are clinching some of the administration’s first disaster relief and reconstruction contracts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. At least two major corporate clients of […]

More proof that the only thing the National Review cares about is excusing the failures of the current Administration comes from Fuzzcharts (OK, I’m now stealing Mark Thoma’s phrases): Let’s call it Bowyer’s Law: The emphasis that the mainstream media give to unemployment while a Republican is in the White House is directly proportional to […]

This seems to be the message from John Tamny: Majority Leader Bill Frist (R., Tenn.) has promised to hold a vote on the estate tax as soon as possible. Those presently suffering in Louisiana and Mississippi should hope he does, and that the Republicans also have the courage to make permanent the 2003 Bush tax […]