ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES

The Federal Reserve System was designed to be independent of political influence. The seven members of the Board of Governors serve 14-year terms. Thus, appointees can be in office longer than the U.S. President who appoints them. And the terms are staggered so that one term expires every two years, minimizing the influence of one President on the makeup of the Board. However, resignations and retirements can give a President opportunities to appoint a majority of the Board. As the article below explains, Barack Obama will soon make his fifth appointment and thus will have reshaped the composition of the U.S. central bank that guides monetary policy, controls the money supply, and oversees the banking system. In the April 29, 2010 article " Obama to name Yellen as Fed's No. 2 ," Associated Press writer Darlene Superville reports: WASHINGTON – Putting a bigger stamp on the Federal Reserve, President Barack Obama is set to name Janet Yellen as vice chairwoman of the ce

Bill Clinton Sees 'More Immigrants' As A Way To Reduce Deficit Dan Froomkin Dan Froomkin Wed Apr 28, 2:26 pm ET Former President Bill Clinton enthusiastically weighed into the blistering national debate on immigration today with a resounding assertion that America needs more immigrants -- not fewer -- to ensure its long-term fiscal future. At a symposium on deficit reduction today (see my earlier story), Clinton said that one key to avoiding massive debt is to maintain a good ratio between people paying into the system, and those receiving payouts (through such programs as Social Security.) That means more jobs and more people working, he said. "Which to me means more immigrants." Clinton said he supports immigration reform as proposed by President Obama or as supported by Sen. John McCain before he changed his mind. Clinton spoke glowingly of the immigrant experience in the United States. "We've got somebody from everywhere here, and they do well," he

When Florida voters approved Amendment 1 to the state constitution with the perceived promise that everyone would pay less in property taxes, most of them failed to consider the economic concept of tradeoffs and the reality that government services must be adequately funded. Amendment 1 essentially allows more of the assessed value of all property to be excluded from taxation. For example, a home valued at $150,000 previously would be liable for taxes on $125,000. With the new provision, only $100,000 is subject to the property tax. Yet, another provision of the amendment allowed the wealthy to exclude as much as $400,000 from taxation when they sold a house and moved. So the benefits of the amendment went overwhelmingly to the rich. But with more property excluded from taxation, revenues to fund local government services have declined significantly. Marginal tax rates may increase over time in an effort to recoup the lost revenues. In the meantime, however, other taxes and fe

In the April 12, 2010 article " AP survey: Recovery to remain sluggish into 2011 ," Associated Press economics writer Jeannine Aversa says a survey of economists suggests U.S. economic growth will remain quite modest until at least 2011. "Among the first survey's key findings: • The unemployment rate will stay stubbornly high the next two years. It will inch down to 9.3 percent by the end of this year and to 8.4 percent by the end of 2011. The rate has been 9.7 percent since January. When the recession started in December 2007, unemployment was 5 percent. • Home prices will remain almost flat for the next two years, even after plunging an average 30 percent nationally since their peak in 2006. The economists forecast no rise this year and a 2.3 percent gain next year. • The economy will grow 3 percent this year, which is less than usual during the early phase of a recovery and the reason unemployment will stay high. It takes growth of 5 percent for a year to lower th

One way to reduce the size of the U.S. federal government is to decrease military expenditures. Some people advocate a return to state militias as a response to increased federalism. According to the April 12, 2010 article " Okla. tea parties and lawmakers envision militia ," members of the Oklahoma tea party movement are considering it.

Interest Rates Have Nowhere to Go but Up

Murdoch rips competitors for bias even as more Fox critics emerge on the right

In the April 7, 2010 article " Nearly half of US households escape fed income tax ," Associated Press writer Stephen Ohlemacher reports that almost half of all U.S. households pay no income tax. Does this infer that the Tea Party movement is people of modest means advocating for more financial gains for the wealthy? According to Ohlemacher: WASHINGTON (AP) -- Tax Day is a dreaded deadline for millions, but for nearly half of U.S. households it's simply somebody else's problem. About 47 percent will pay no federal income taxes at all for 2009. Either their incomes were too low, or they qualified for enough credits, deductions and exemptions to eliminate their liability. That's according to projections by the Tax Policy Center, a Washington research organization. Most people still are required to file returns by the April 15 deadline. The penalty for skipping it is limited to the amount of taxes owed, but it's still almost always better to file: That's the

In the April 6, 2010 U.S. News & World Report article How To Tell When The Recession Is Really Over , Rick Newman says "the recession is officially over, but many Americans won't feel the recovery until these things happen." There are two kinds of recessions: the one that economists measure, and the one that ordinary people feel. The official recession is over. That's because the economy is growing again after a sharp decline, with GDP back to the levels of mid-2008. For people who have kept their jobs, suffered no loss of income and enjoyed a rebound in their investments thanks to the year-long stock market rally, things are pretty good. Then there's the unofficial recession, which clearly persists. More than 8 million people have lost their jobs over the past two years, and the economy has barely started to add those back. Many others have had their pay or hours cut. The housing bust, in its fourth year, still isn't over. Foreclosures continue to mount,