Free Republic

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell urged the central bank’s forecasters on Wednesday to remain flexible and “think outside” traditional economic models, as they continue to offer projections for a post-pandemic economy that has repeatedly confounded expectations. Powell touted the Division of Research & Statistics, which provides the Fed with economic data and analysis ahead of its interest rate decisions, at a conference celebrating the division’s 100th anniversary.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Tuesday to incorporate macroeconomic projections into cost estimates for major legislation, a move that critics say could hide the true budgetary effects of tax cuts. The move toward "dynamic scoring" is part of a package of new rules that passed on a 234-172 party-line vote as the new Republican-controlled Congress started its work.

Last week, the other slipper dropped daintily when 69-year-old Mimi Alford, whose dalliance with the leader of the Free World as an intern had been documented earlier by Sally Bedell Smith and Robert Dallek, described in her own words her seduction at 19 by John F. Kennedy. She thereby became one of a circle of "friends" entertained by our hero during a presidency that was doomed to be short, but intense. In this, we learn that she was seduced on her fourth day at work, (and in Jackie's bedroom); that they sometimes played with rubber ducks in a bathtub, and...

The Office of Tax Analysis of the U. S. Department of the Treasury has performed an analysis of the recommendations of the president's commission on fundamental tax reform. The report details findings of OTA regarding each of the two reform proposals by the commission, plus analysis of a third option: a personal consumption tax (PCT). Which plan produces the highest growth in capital and in income? The PCT, of course. This study uses dynamic scoring, which is good. But the study would have been even better if it had analysed the Fair Tax, which has substantial support in Congress, particularly...

TIKRIT, Iraq , Feb. 13, 2006 – In battles fought on the frontlines today in Iraq, knowledge and communications are essential to facilitate interaction between U.S. troops on the ground, Iraqi Forces and coalition forces. A new database is now in place to provide dynamic communications for soldiers on the battlefield. “The quandary Army-wide is in instantaneous communications and information collaboration,” said U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Edwin K. Morris, battalion intelligence officer from the 445th Civil Affairs Battalion at Forward Operating Base Speicher. "The engagement tool in the network exchange is designed for anyone interacting with people, facilities and organizations."...

Whatever happened to compassionate conservatism? Despite the Bush administration’s focus on the war against terror, the idea didn’t disappear. But as White House thinking developed, it got incorporated into a larger, more profound domestic theory. Yes, we need a safety net, the current view seems to go; but we don’t need a European-style welfare state. What’s called for is the traditional American opportunity society, as much a boon to the poor as to everyone else. Implicit in compassionate conservatism was an epochal paradigm shift that is now all but explicit. Taken together, compassionate conservatism’s elements added up to a sweeping...