HICKS: Failure of public unions is good for country
This week’s recall vote in Wisconsin has been heralded by many observers as a forecast of the presidential election. I think they are wrong. It is far more consequential.
Mike Hicks
Articles
HICKS: UL model could fix financial regulation morass
We need a compromise that preserves innovation and mitigates the tendency for the sort of moral hazard that fueled the last recession.
HICKS: Lasting meaningful change requires patience, fortitude
This new birth of freedom is the largest in human history, and only a handful of truly totalitarian states still linger today.
HICKS: Policy choice boils down to austerity or austerity
The plain reality is clear: Austerity is coming to Europe, either as a planned and thoughtful exercise or through fiscal ruin.
HICKS: European recession likely to affect U.S. economy, too
As disparate facts, the economic conditions in Europe and the United States are disconcerting. Taken together, they are frightening.
HICKS: Debate rages on about role of Federal Reserve
The Employment Act of 1946 essentially required the Federal Reserve to do two mutually exclusive things: promote full employment and keep inflation low.
HICKS: Finding freedom through ‘The Hunger Games’
What has kept me in a three-week state of shock is the message about values our kids are getting from this work.
HICKS: Spending, debt influence long-run growth
But it is only during the depths of this type of recession (perhaps two in a lifetime) that the disagreement among economists is so sharp.
HICKS: Accounting mistakes and local government reform
The $206 million in late payments is about half the total tax revenue our state’s woefully mismanaged townships kept sitting in the bank over the past several years.
HICKS: Some types of unemployment signal progress
Structural unemployment is a byproduct of healthy technological progress, and those who can learn new skills flourish.
HICKS: The joke’s really on us with Social Security
If treated as a financial investment, Social Security is a really effective way to destroy wealth.
HICKS: State smoking ban recognizes value of life
The workplace smoking ban signed by Gov. Mitch Daniels this week was a much-needed law. Of course, my Libertarian friends will object to its intrusion on liberty, and my leftist friends will say it didn’t go far enough. To them I ask, “What are you smoking?”
HICKS: Value proposition should drive higher ed debate
Even with higher tuition, college students are still flocking to campus. The real problem isn’t increasing costs, but uncertain benefits.
HICKS: Manufacturing industry is alive and well
America has always been a place where we make things. In fact, 2011 was a record year for manufacturing in America, as will be 2012 and 2013 (all in inflation-adjusted terms).
HICKS: Gas prices likely to influence presidential race
Late last month, our president gave what was billed as an important speech about gas prices. It was that and more.
HICKS: Upcoming election to influence corporate tax cuts
Obama’s plan is to eliminate loopholes for energy companies and create new ones for manufacturing firms. The condition of the 2012 electoral map should make his motivations clear.
HICKS: Imperfect markets influence economic growth
Markets rule supreme, but they also work imperfectly and will do so as long as humans themselves remain imperfect.
HICKS: It’s time for labor unions to make some changes
How is it, I wonder, that an employment contract between willing parties could get to the point where either side is viewed as an enemy?
HICKS: Field research sheds light on Super Bowl impact
My two sons and I headed to Indianapolis’ Super Bowl Village recently for some field research.
HICKS: Measuring intangibles part of economist’s job
A frequently heard criticism of economic analysis is that it focuses only on those things that can be easily measured. This is an astonishing and vacuous censure championed largely by the innumerate among us.