In the Numbers

The battle in Iraq is just a precusor to the greater conflict of the 21st century. In his article, published in last months Atlantic, Robert Kaplan explores the threat--and counter threat--of China.

Every reputable financial news source from the FT to the Journal to the New York Times led their readers to believe that General Motors is laying-off workers.

Prices increased 3.0 percent in the first quarter of 2005, slightly up from 2.9 percent the previous quarter. This piece of data, issued last week by the Commerce Department along side news of a slowing economy, caused many to utter a seldom heard word: stagflation.

Last week, the Commerce Department announced that the United State's GDP slowed to 3.1 percent in the first quarter of 2005. Is this just a blip in an economy that has been rapidly expanding for seven straight quarters? Or, is this the beginning of a long-term slowdown?

In the last issue of Foreign Affairs, David Levey, a former director at Moody's, and Stuart Brown, an economics professor at Syracuse, argue that people's fears that the United States will collapse under the weight of its debt is unfounded. Are they right?

In the debate about reforming asbestos litigation, it helps to have an expert that exagerates the facts...ten-fold.

I read George Lakoff’s “Don’t Think of an Elephant” and could not be more disappointed.

Since the advent of the oil economy, people—me, for one— have envisioned an apocalyptical end to society. Without oil, we argue, millions, possibly billions, would starve, as both food production and food transportation is made possible with oil.

For 20 short minutes, China's yuan left its pegged and floated against the dollar, appreciating a fraction of a cent.

Why increase fuel economy when you can save energy by extending daylight savings?

The Economist says the Presidents Panel on Federal Tax Reform "could not suggest a flat tax even if it wanted to." Oh really?

The New York Times wrote a great editorial on America's impending fiscal crises, but failed to mention two salient problems: oil and savings.

Oil at $105 a barrel is scary, but it is scarier coming from Goldman Sachs.

In his column today, Geo-Greening by Example, New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman called for a national gas tax that would elevate the price at the pump to $4 a gallon. While his intentions are good—make gasoline so pricey that people change their driving patterns, thus reducing our dependence on Mid-east oil, while simultaneously combating global warming—his method is misguided.

When I see the people holding vigils outside of Terri Schiavo's hospice, I ask myself one question: How many of them are without health insurance?