This week, a coalition charged with finding a way to clean up polluted bodies of water in Minnesota announced a plan that will raise some $80 million per year by adding a tax to water bills. The objectives of the…
China textile tax illustrates flaws in trade
China recently announced a measure that will hurt households in the United States and Europe by increasing clothing costs. It will also harm Chinese firms that make inexpensive apparel. That many hailed this measure illustrates the convoluted logic and hypocrisy…
Media should brush up on monetary policy
I wish more journalists who write about the Federal Reserve would read Gary Stern’s columns. They would gain insights that might keep them from egregious misinterpretations of monetary policy after Federal Open Market Committee meetings such as the one this…
How many Fed branches do we need?
Restructuring public institutions in the face of changing needs is hard. Politics are such that abolishing an existing government institution is nigh impossible. In sharply reducing its check-processing infrastructure, the Federal Reserve seems an exception to that general rule. The…