Press Briefing

May 25, 2010

U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue 2010 Outcomes of the Strategic Track
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2010/05/142180.htm

We, Robot. By Peter W. Singer, Director, 21st Century Defense Initiative, The Brookings Institution
http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2010/0519_drone_wars_singer.aspx

"Power"-less Pakistan. By Charles K. Ebinger, Director, Energy Security Initiative, & Kashif Hasnie, Expert on International Security and Natural Resource Management.
The Brookings Institution
http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2010/0519_pakistan_ebinger.aspx

How High are Your State’s Electricity Prices?
http://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/2010/05/04/how-high-are-your-states-electricity-prices/

The Brookings Institution: How We're Doing as Debt Fears Rise
http://www.brookings.edu/papers/2010/0523_recovery_renewal.aspx

Iran and North Korea March On - Pyongyang's behavior shows why we must stop the mullahs from getting the bomb
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704113504575264270768612284.html

Sufrage, Schooling, and Sorting in the Post-Bellum U.S. South. By Suresh Naidu
http://tuvalu.santafe.edu/~snaidu/papers/suffrage.pdf

Cap and Flee - California refutes its own 'green jobs' policy
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703559004575256981030653158.html

Come party with Lady Gaga. By Caitlin Moran
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article7129672.ece

The Tax Caps Cometh - Massachusetts shows how to put a lid on education spending increases
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704113504575264663842523880.html

Christopher Hitchens: 'I was right and they were wrong'
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/may/22/christopher-hitchens-decca-aitkenhead
From hero of the left to neocon turncoat, and still battling on: Christopher Hitchens talks to Decca Aitkenhead about old arguments and his new memoir

The Road To Economic Serfdom. By Peter Boone and Simon Johnson
http://baselinescenario.com/2010/05/23/the-european-road-to-economic-serfdom/

Briefing on Trip to Indonesia
http://www.state.gov/g/142165.htm

America’s amazing success since 1980: Why Krugman is wrong.
http://www.themoneyillusion.com/?p=5164

Angels (Back) in America. WSJ Editorial
Dodd spares start-up financiers.
WSJ, May 25, 2010
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703957904575252430233003388.html

We take our policy victories wherever we can get them amid Washington's march to Europe-dom, so we're pleased to report that the Senate finance reform that passed last week did not contain new regulations on investors who finance start-up companies.

Chris Dodd's original draft contained numerous provisions targeting angel investors, the wealthy individuals who directly fund innovative new businesses that are still too small to attract venture capital. Currently they can do so with minimum government interference, but the bill would have subjected entrepreneurs seeking angel capital to a 120-day Securities and Exchange Commission review, which would ensure that many of these budding companies die a slow bureaucratic death. Angel investors would also have been subject to net worth and income requirements more than double today's, as well as a 50-state regulatory scheme that would replace today's single federal standard.

This attack on the businesses that create most new jobs in the U.S. and had nothing to do with 2008's financial panic was too much even for the Senate, which removed these restrictions in an uncontroversial voice vote earlier this month. Special credit goes to Missouri Republican Kit Bond, who led the charge, though Mr. Dodd and other Democrats cosponsored Mr. Bond's amendment and at least had the sense to recognize a mistake.

Still, the fact that such a destructive provision made it that far shows how little the Members and staff now running Congress understand about wealth creation and the sources of American prosperity.


Washington's $1 Trillion Opportunity - It's been 60 years since we streamlined our federal government. These days there are plenty of savings to be found.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704113504575264463277182700.html

Multinational banks: They did not run away during the crisis. By Giacomo Calzolari   Micol Levi   Giorgio Barba Navaretti   Alberto Franco Pozzolo
http://www.voxeu.org/index.php?q=node/5083

Federal President Ignores Sudan's Genocide - African hopes are fading as the U.S. lets President Omar al-Bashir escape justice
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704113504575264273090491244.html

The Budgetary Impact and Subsidy Costs of the Federal Reserve’s Actions During the Financial Crisis
http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=11524

American Jobbery Act - Dissecting this week's stimulus bill
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704113504575264532051783298.html

How Civilization Deals with Torture States
http://mises.org/daily/4295

The Buck Stops Nowhere
http://blog.heritage.org/2010/05/24/morning-bell-the-buck-stops-nowhere

Japan's problem is supply, not demand
http://super-economy.blogspot.com/2010/05/paul-krugman-wrote-in-nyt-that-we-are.html