People have been getting ripped off lately. Thousands of Enron employees reportedly have lost money on the Enron stock they held in their 401(k) plans or personally. Millions of Argentines who scrimped to build up dollar-denominated bank accounts now can’t…
Sorting out government aid to business
How far a government should go to provide economic support to a private business–whether it’s moving, closing, shrinking or growing—seems to be a never-ending question in Minnesota. Proponents of subsidies, tax breaks and creative financing plans present convincing arguments that…
Time for the Fed to ease up on the money accelerator
“A hundred million here, a hundred million there, pretty soon it adds up to real money.” That reputedly was Senator Everett Dirksen’s sardonic explanation of how minor pork barrel appropriations for special interests could affect the federal budget. The great…
Political rhetoric needs balance
Big oil companies are announcing their earnings for the fourth quarter of 2001, and the news is generally negative. Exxon-Mobil, Sunoco, Amerada-Hess, Kerr-McGee and others all reported losses or sharply lower earnings compared to preceding quarters. These companies are big…