Nothing less than the expected results for the midterm elections on Tuesday. While there were a couple of suprises both ways, several trends emerged.


Today, we address The Rise of the Far Right


Tea Partiers who believe in a smaller government and fewer regulations advanced. In some cases, the Tea Party Republican displaced a moderate Republican or RINO (Republican In Name Only). In others, they replaced a “Blue Dog” Democrat, one that, for the...

After watching a bit of propaganda from both political extremes, it occurred to me that people may not know what kind of economic policy options that are available to our leaders. Believe it or not, it’s pretty easy to draw up and easy to understand.

I realize that there is a lot of anger in some people’s attitude toward our government, and it is rightly deserved. Our leaders have screwed up. However, policy options and their effects on the economy and jobs don’t change when there’s...

In keeping with the symmetry of the date, I thought it appropriate that we discuss the a-symmetrical effects of the Bush Tax Cuts. Before anyone gets their panties in a bunch, I want to assure the readers that as an economist and policy wonk, I have no dog in this hunt, other than to see whatever policy that is enacted perform as expected. Data and facts are the non-partisan tools. Problem is, we have some on both political sides who don’t like certain facts, or any facts for that matter, and...

There have been times in the past where, during the heat of trading forum posts, our discussions have moved from purely thread related issues to economic issues. I've noticed that many have opinions on economic policy, local, national and international. When I see a topic that could use some illumination, a post here in the Sanity Zone will ensue rather than get a thread bogged down in distracting and unproductive argument. I will do my best to maintain my tradition of non-partisan, non-ideologic...