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This morning on Fox News Sunday, host Chris Wallace moderated a discussion about the auto industry.  One of his guests was Dr. Austan Goolsbee, who is a Member of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers and chief economist on the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board.
I want to focus on some incorrect and inflammatory statements by [...]

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
_______________________________________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 1, 2009
BACKGROUND BRIEFING
BY SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS
ON THE GENERAL MOTORS RESTRUCTURING
May 31, 2009
Via Conference Call
7:10 P.M. EDT
MS. PSAKI:  Thank you, everyone, for joining the call.  Just a reminder that the call this evening is on background, and you can attribute quotes to a senior administration official.  And [...]

The President’s Chrysler announcement last Thursday produced mixed results.
The agreement among Chrysler, Fiat, UAW, the Administration, and the large banks appears to increase the probability (from almost zero) that Chrysler will survive for the long run, albeit as a part of Fiat.  This is clearly a good thing. Is it worth the cost to taxpayers [...]

Despite Secretary Geithner’s statement to the contrary, I still think the Administration is running out of room within the $700 B Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP).  In my last four posts on TARP funding (1 2 3 4), I have stuck to what I think I can demonstrate analytically.  I am now going to shift [...]

In part one of this series I reviewed some background and long-term problems facing the U.S. auto manufacturers.  I pointed out that General Motors and Chrysler, and the Obama Administration, face a more immediate cash flow problem.  The Obama Administration is in the midst of rolling out the President’s new game plan.  I’d like to [...]

Which matters more to you?

Anger at failed AIG executives who are receiving bonuses while their employer is being bailed out by the taxpayer.
Fear of what this or a future Congress might do once they cross the line and start breaking contracts retroactively for people who are politically unpopular.

There are few more unsympathetic figures than a [...]

We’re getting questions about whether banks that receive taxpayer funds from the Treasury are “hoarding” that cash, rather than using it to support lending.
We know that banks aren’t hoarding yet, since at most they’ve had cash for two days.
Remember that there is a two-fold purpose to this program:  (1) strengthen the banking system (prevent a [...]

We are frequently asked whether there should be a “second stimulus” bill.  Unfortunately, what is being considered on Capitol Hill is a very different animal from what we did earlier this year.

10-second macroeconomic review
GDP    = Consumption + Investment + Government spending + Exports – Imports
= C + I + G + X – M

In January [...]

Last Friday the President spoke about the need for additional Congressional action on the economy.  Outsiders are referring to this as “fiscal stimulus”.  We’ve been calling it a “growth package”.
There’s a lot to say, so I’m going to break this up into three big parts.

what the President proposed;
why the President proposed it; and
today’s [...]