Economy

When companies must spend money to comply with an ever-increasing flood of federal regulations, they need to make cuts in other areas. This usually means holding off on job creation or even cutting their existing work force and employee hours. What does it cost American businesses to comply with excessive federal regulations? The Competitive Enterprise […]

As I tried to suppress my anger over the recent news unfolding regarding possible corruption within the Obama administration, I looked back to see if our Founding Fathers had anticipated this. It didn’t take long to find a quote from Thomas Jefferson, who wrote: “Experience has shown that even under the best forms of government […]

Despite a series of potentially damaging scandals, President Barack Obama continues to enjoy a positive net approval rating for his overall job performance and is viewed more favorably than the leaders of the opposition Republican Party on his handling of most issues of greatest concern to voters. Approval of Obama’s management of the economy, although […]

Three factors hold great potential for American firms wishing to profit from the flow of hundreds of millions of Chinese investment dollars entering the American private sector annually through the Employment Based Fifth Preference (EB-5) Visa Program, also known as the Immigrant Investor Program. These factors include expertise in investment risk analysis, ROI calculation, and […]

As an exporter, I half-heartedly believed in President Obama’s proposal to double U.S. exports in five years. That pledge was made in his State of the Union address in 2010, which means the clock is ticking on his plan to double American exports from $1 trillion to $2 trillion by 2015. His National Export Initiative […]

<p>After thirty years in the leadership business, first as an executive and then as a leadership consultant, I am frequently asked ‘What makes a leader great?’ I’ve had years to observe and correlate competencies and behaviors to leadership effectiveness. While many competencies are essential, one that comes before all others is self-awareness.</p>

The world is witnessing a profound economic initiative in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP): the regional free trade agreement under negotiation between the United States and ten countries in the Americas and Asia-Pacific region. It’s clear that a global free trade agreement, which includes the first and third largest economies, and all of NAFTA, will truly [&hellip;]

The landmark victory of the DPJ in 2009 promised a fresh start after five decades of the LDP political dominance. But the party failed to live up to expectations, and went down to defeat at an early election that was held in December 2012 against a backdrop of growing economic pessimism. The LDP’s victory capped [&hellip;]

The United States currently has an estimated 11 million immigrants who entered this country illegally. According to the National Research Council, the migration of these individuals into the United States costs American taxpayers $346 billion annually. Now we are starting to get a feel for the costs being absorbed by one sector — the U.S...

One of the hottest topics among people interested in either international trade or manufacturing is the apparent trend in backshoring: moving manufacturing back to the United States from abroad. This is exactly the opposite of the offshoring trend that took hold more than 20 years ago and resulted in the movement of production of many [&hellip;]

If Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke steps down next year, his successor may be Janet Yellen. In a recent statement, she indicated that unemployment should become the priority for the Fed. It seems reasonable to want to aim all our policy guns at this plague. But many things that seem reasonable on the surface sometimes [&hellip;]

Economics too often makes outsourcing the manufacturing of goods a necessity, especially when a major hand assembly component is involved. And when horrific calamities strike in faraway places, such as the building collapse on April 24th in Savar, a suburb of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, American companies whose goods come from these factories often [&hellip;]

After years of building what they hoped would boost profits by enhancing overseas operations, many U.S. manufacturers have become disillusioned by the lack of return on investment they had anticipated. Instead of finding cost-saving benefits overseas through outsourcing, they are finding headaches, which have spurred a growing number of American companies to head home and [&hellip;]

It is still galling that this nation’s entrepreneurs and small businesses — our country’s job creators — don’t get any support. Our political parties rail against each other, determined not to let either side win. This is a giant roadblock toward economic security.

It is generally understood by Members of Congress, journalists and the public that exports are good for the American economy. They generate revenue, are responsible for a significant portion of U.S. economic growth, and contribute to employment. But what about imports?

<p>Tax reform is on the minds of elected officials in Washington and in many state capitals. If and when reform is passed, the likelihood that big business will benefit is high. Unfortunately, although small business represents 99.7 percent of all American firms, as defined by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), it’s unlikely they will [&hellip;]</p>

While inflation seems to be on everyone’s mind these days, misconceptions abound. Few concepts in economics are as misunderstood as inflation. This article examines several commonly-asked questions about inflation, and other key questions people should be asking.

Everyone loves a tiger. Powerful, elegant – yet tricky to manage. Ireland was the Celtic Tiger during the boom of the &#8216;zeros. But now, many economists are looking at the characteristics of a tortoise – slow, controlled, non-violent — as possibly more attractive. Is this the new Ireland?

The possibility of Cyprus becoming the Achilles Heel of the eurozone and causing its eventual downfall has been heightened by the botched resolution to its payments crisis. This comes at a time of increased regional risk aversion as the eurozone’s plight has re-emerged on investors’ radars with Germany (and other, strong countries) seemingly more reluctant [&hellip;]

Unfortunately, our nation faces enormous challenges in virtually every region of the globe. In countries ranging from Iran to North Korea to Syria to Mali, and on issues spanning terrorism, drug trafficking, global warming and cyber warfare, each day will bring seemingly impossible problems for our nation&#8217;s foreign policy leaders, especially new Secretary of State [&hellip;]