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Sunday, March 21, 2010
 
 
RESEARCH   AREAS
 
AEI on the Economic Crisis and the Stimulus
 

When President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on February 17, 2009, he said, "With a recovery package of this size comes a responsibility to assure every taxpayer that we are being careful with the money they work so hard to earn." AEI scholars have examined the structure of the stimulus package, and they have also followed its progress and promises. This section of the website gathers work done by scholars on the current economic problems, from its roots in the subprime mortgage crisis to the continuing debate over fiscal stimulus policies.

 
Feature: Like a Box of Chocolates
Related Work

Kevin A. Hassett recently compared the economic stimulus to a very expensive box of chocolates. "You get a sugar high, and a caffeine rush, but when the chocolates are gone, you have nothing but fat to show for it. You are worse off than you were before and still need to find real nutrition." AEI economists agree that the stimulus was poorly designed and targeted, and we are just beginning to realize how costly the misguided effort has been for our country in the short and long term, especially the unnecessarily large increase in the national debt. The administration claims it created 2 million jobs last year, which means that we spent about $100,000 on each job. Hassett notes that we could have "used the stimulus to hire individuals at the going median wage of $37,115, [and] created more than 23 million new jobs." There are better ways, he notes, and we need to address them now. As John H. Makin points out in his latest AEI Economic Outlook, "A substantial risk has emerged of negative growth in the second or third quarter of 2010."

Photo credit: iStockphoto/Konstantin Inozemtsev

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
Entitlement Apocalypse
 
Entitlements traditionally have paid generous benefits--financed by affordable taxes--to the rich and poor alike, because the ratio of workers to beneficiaries has been high; those days are long gone.
 
Racial Recession
 
If conservatives want to appeal to black Americans, they can start by admitting there is a problem with the disproportionate ratio in unemployment among black Americans throughout the country.
 
If You Liked Fannie and Freddie . . .
 
If Senator Chris Dodd's bill passes, it will reform the financial system the way Obamacare will reform the health care system.
 
Jobs Debate Comes Amid Troubling Economic Forecasts
 
Once the health care bill is finally done with, the domestic issues of jobs and unemployment will resurface.
 
 
Privatizing Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks Why and How
 
This book argues that privatization of the government-sponsored enterprises is the only viable way to protect the taxpayers and the economy.  
 
Serving Two Masters, Yet Out of Control Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
 
Because two disparate clients demand loyalty from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, these government-sponsored entities must fulfill two ultimately irreconcilable roles.  
 
Nationalizing Mortgage Risk The Growth of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
 
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have aggressively used their government support to achieve extraordinarily high profitability and domination of the residential mortgage market.  
 
 
PAST EVENTS
 
 
At this luncheon press briefing, SFRC members will issue one or more statements and answer questions.
 
 
Where do we stand with respect to global imbalances? What are the remaining dangers and the lessons of the past year?
 
 
At this AEI event, experts will discuss the future of the CFPA bill in the House and Senate and whether it has the potential to effectively reform the financial system.