Author: Ed Lotterman

Gov’t sponsored crop insurance less attractive for business

A notable feature of today’s insurance business in the U.S. is the large lines of insurance that hang almost entirely on a government mandate or government subsidy. Regardless of whether these subsectors are profitable, unlike traditional life or property and…

New Fed president tackles ‘too big to fail’

The Federal Reserve’s policy-making committee squeezed the trigger this month and raised its target for the Federal Funds rate, the interest rate banks charge one another for overnight loans of reserves, by a quarter of 1 percent. December 2015 marks…

Targeted business tax breaks unhelpful to society

Governments have long used tax breaks, in lieu of direct subsidies, to attract business or real estate developments to a particular locality. This also has been a perennial political issue. The use of tax increment financing allows government to fund…