By Bill Wilson – It is time for congressional Republican leaders, including House Speaker John Boehner, to play hardball on the debt ceiling. The only way House Republicans’ leverage on the debt ceiling will work is if they’re willing to not increase the debt ceiling. Because, if […]

By Bill Wilson – What is the price of a bailout? Nominally, it’s how much a central bank or legislature has to print or spend, respectively, to save a failed institution from its own stupidity. For example, the Treasury has dedicated more than $150 billion to bailing […]

By Bill Wilson – Everyone tends to pull a punch now and again, even here at Americans for Limited Government.  Things go unsaid, but sometimes they must be said.  Today is one of those days. The beauty of a recent piece by Euro Pacific Capital CEO Peter Schiff, “End Game,” is that it pulls no punches.  In it, Schiff […]

By Bill Wilson – It’s the second time within a month, but I agree with the New York Times’ Paul Krugman.  This time, he writes that “bankers and wealthy individuals with lots of bonds in their portfolios” can count on the government to “protect the interests of creditors, no matter the cost”. […]

By Bill Wilson – As the Obama Administration continues to be weighed down by bad economic news, including a double dip recession in housing and rising foreclosures, it is flailing about to improve the housing market it promised to turn around. This is not all that surprising […]

By Bill Wilson – Eyebrows were raised on June 3 when it was reported that China is divesting itself of shorter-term U.S. treasuries . According to U.S. Treasury data, China’s holdings of short-term bills have dropped from $210 billion in May 2009 to $5.6 billion in March 2011 , a 97 percent decrease. Pundits have assured us the Chinese wouldn’t do this. Don’t worry about a run on the dollar, the conventional wisdom advised, it’s not in China’s interests […]

By Bill Wilson – The U.S. has already defaulted on its debts. We’re just all politely pretending that we haven’t. But we have. According to Pimco, last year, the Federal Reserve — a central bank printing press — bought 70 percent of Treasury debt. The year before, […]

By Bill Wilson – The New York Times has launched its trial balloon for the Federal Reserve to begin yet another round of so-called “quantitative easing” to, it thinks,  help the economy.  In its May 30 editorial, “The Numbers Are Grim,” the Times calls for the Fed to, among other things, “be prepared to continue measures […]

By Bill Wilson – As Congress stands at an impasse over increasing the $14.294 trillion national debt ceiling, where Republicans are demanding trillions of dollars of spending cuts and Democrats trillions in tax increases, it is worth contemplating just how the nation’s finances have gotten so rapidly […]

By Bill Wilson – When the Republican establishment is spending much of its time deflecting criticism and denying that the current field of candidates running for president is weak, rest assured, it is weak. A recent AP poll of Republicans found that 45 percent were dissatisfied with […]