Economic Growth Program: Latest Articles

Goldman Sachs, the most profitable firm on Wall Street, announced last week that it will set aside $500 million for "10,000 Small Businesses," a charity co-sponsored by famed investor Warren Buffett and devoted to helping small American businesses survive the economic crisis.

While Goldman may see this as a generous move, its charity is an offense to struggling entrepreneurs and a symbol of failed government policy.

There is widespread recognition that the financial crisis, which triggered the Great Recession, was significantly due to financial excess, particularly in real estate lending. Now, policymakers are looking to reform the financial system in hope of avoiding future crises. But like the drunk who looks for his lost keys under the lamppost because that is where the light is, policymakers remain fixated on capital standards because that is what is already in place.

Three calendar dates. Three anniversaries. Three eras in the history of the United States and the world.

Over the past several weeks, the US dollar's depreciation against the euro and yen has grabbed global attention.

In a normal world, a weaker US dollar would be welcome, as it would help the US come to grips with its unsustainable trade deficit.

But because China links its yuan to the US dollar at an undervalued parity, the US dollar's depreciation risks major global economic damage, complicating the recovery from the worldwide recession.

The 650,000 jobs created or saved by the stimulus package so far make up only a small step toward correcting the gap between the tens of millions of unemployed people and the few openings that those people are fighting over.

Even the administration's goal of creating 3.5 million jobs is far below what the economy really needs. With an official unemployment rate of 10.2 percent, the gap between the number of full-time job openings and the number of people who are unemployed has widened.