FreedomTalks

Over at Reason, I make the argument that biofuel subsidies are making beer — yes, that all important, all-American brew of choice — more expensive. But that’s not all their doing. As this NYT editorial today points out, they’re also making food, which, no matter how much you love beer, is a wee bit [...]

Tell me again: Why is the federal government bailing out banks and irresponsible borrowers?

Take action AngryRenter.com.

Here is the clip from yesterday’s edition of The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer on CNN.

So it looks like the government can’t even manage something as basic as employee purchases using government-issued credit cards. You’ve got federal employees running up tabs for iPods, luxury dinners, and dating services, and $2 million worth of purchased stuff unaccounted for. In the grand scheme of our $3 trillion federal budget, that’s [...]

Turns out all the criticism of U.S. broadband policy (Obama mentioned in in a recent speech) may not be warranted.  According to the New York Times, “European researchers say that the Internet infrastructure of the United States is one of the world’s best and getting better.”
How does the U.S. stay ahead despite somewhat lower average [...]

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker was deeply critical (in fed-speak terms) of the Fed’s intervention in the Bear Stearns matter in a speech today, as reported by Bloomberg. (ht Calculated Risk)
“The Federal Reserve has judged it necessary to take actions that extend to the very edge of its lawful and implied powers, transcending in [...]

Switzerland’s largest bank, UBS, is also a primary dealer with access to the Federal Reserve’s emergency lending window. We don’t know if UBS is actually using the Fed’s credit line, because that is kept secret. But the bank recently announced another multi-billion dollar mortgage-related write-down, and is trying to raise $15 billion in [...]

As the Democrat candidates for president spend more time in Pennsylvania these next couple of weeks, it will be interesting to see what they spend their time talking about.
So far, the campaign has focused quite a bit on identity politics, character, change and experience. Much of the bickering has had nothing to do with [...]

Congress is finally stirring on the broad new risks the Federal Reserve is taking as it intervenes to prop up financial asset prices. Rep. Henry Waxman sent a letter today to the central bank asking some good questions about the Bear Stearns deal and how $30 billion in new federal government collateral will [...]

This weekend I will be speaking at the Young Conservatives of Texas annual convention in San Antonio. If you are in the area and would like to join me for coffee on Saturday, just drop me a line at bsteinhauser @ freedomworks.org
I will be providing an update on our federal and state campaigns to donors [...]