On May 23, the U.S. House of Representatives passed HR 1911, legislation that purports to avert student loan interest rates doubling from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent. The truth, as usual, in Washington, D.C., is always slightly more nuanced. The hike in interest rates does not apply to existing loans given at a fixed rate. Instead, it applies to new [...]

By Kevin Mooney — Suddenly, Great Britain’s House of Lords is back in style and that’s good news for the free market. Some of the more forceful critics of anti-energy, global warming policy proposals are finding expression in the elite unelected chamber. There is Lord Christopher Monckton, a former member of the Conservative Party, who has repeatedly challenged former U.S. [...]

By Howard Rich — Who gets credit for Sergei Rachmaninoff’s famous Piano Concerto No. 2?  The composer?  Or should we really thank the manufacturer of the piano he used while performing it?  What about the Declaration of Independence?  Does the credit go to Thomas Jefferson?  Or does our debt of gratitude go to whoever produced the paper and ink products [...]

Interestingly,  the European Banking Authority (EBA) and Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) data on net CDS exposure does not match. The difference could be that EBA is only reporting on European data, so one presumes worldwide exposure would be even larger. In any event, DTCC reported $3.2 billion of net exposure. While EBA reports €21.201 billion, of which it [...]

By Kevin Mooney — Despite an adverse court ruling out of Ecuador, Chevron continues to remain on the offensive against trial lawyers who are suing the company over environmental allegations that have been hotly disputed.  An Ecuadorian appeals court in Lago Agrio  upheld a ruling earlier this month ordering the company to pay $18 billion in damages to plaintiffs who [...]

By Rebekah Rast — If you ever ran a lemonade stand as a child you were aware of the basic market principles of supply and demand. If your lemonade was sold at too high a price, you likely didn’t get much business, or if you sold ice cold lemonade during a snowy day, or you skimped on the sugar, you [...]

By Frank McCaffrey — The confused message of “Occupy Wall Street” has also hit the streets of Washington, D.C.  ALG’s Rebecca DiFede has the story.

By Kevin Mooney — Property owners and small business owners are under assault from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which is operating in collusion with Wall Street hedge fund operatives, free market activists have warned. Here is how the take down works. When the FDIC steps in to close a bank, Wall Street hedge funds can foreclose on anyone [...]

By Howard Rich – In addition to preserving the inalienability of our individual liberties, limited government ideology has always revolved around the belief that the invisible hand of the free market creates more prosperity for more people than command-and-control economic wealth redistribution. Actually this isn’t so much a belief (or theory) as it is an incontrovertible economic law. Unfortunately, this [...]

By Kevin Mooney — “Wealthy liberals” are spreading false and misleading information about new drilling techniques that have opened up natural gas resources in Pennsylvania, according to a report from the Commonwealth Foundation. A geologic formation known as the Marcellus Shale, which cuts across New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Viriginia, was beyond reach at one time. But this has [...]