Assorted Links (4/18/2011)

Here’s a list of articles that I have been reading lately:

Digital Innovators vs. the Patent Trolls

professional.wsj.com

“In The Wall Street Journal, Peter Huber says that too many junk patents are being granted, clogging the courts and introducing confusion into the process of innovation.

The President’s “matching deficit reduction” claim is off by a trillion dollars (or more)

www.advancingafreesociety.org

“Now, one plan put forward by some Republicans in the House of Representatives aims toreduce our deficit by $4 trillion over the next ten years.”

Firms Tip Scale Back in Favor of Stocks

professional.wsj.com

“In Expedia’s planned spinoff of travel media unit TripAdvisor, chalk up another point for shareholders in the battle of stocks versus bonds.”

S&P Cuts U.S. Ratings Outlook to Negative

professional.wsj.com

“Standard & Poor’s cut its outlook on the U.S. to negative, increasing the likelihood of a potential downgrade from its triple-A rating, as the path from large budget deficits and rising government debt remains unclear.”

Market Mauled As S&P Cuts U.S. Debt Outlook To Negative

blogs.forbes.com

“Ratings agency affirms AAA rating, but expresses concern about budget uncertainty.”

Students are drowning in debt

www.economist.com

“THIS year American student-loan debt surpassed credit-card debt for the first time. More students are borrowing more money than ever before in order to buy a commodity that is often of dubious value.”

Tax the Rich! Tastes Great, Less Filling

www.realclearmarkets.com

“Tax The Rich! As an applause line it never fails. The desire to equalize economic outcomes runs strong if you believe that the rich got that way by theft, the poor got that way through no fault of their own, and tax hikes don’t influence economic growth.”

Where the Tax Money Is

online.wsj.com

“The Wall Street Journal says that President Obama targets the middle class while pretending to tax only the rich.”

The 30-Cent Tax Premium

online.wsj.com

“Arthur B. Laffer writes in The Wall Street Journal that tax compliance employs more workers than Wal-Mart, UPS, McDonald’s, IBM and Citigroup combined and drags down the overall economy.”

Reliable Tally of Gay Population Proves Elusive

professional.wsj.com

“A demographer studying the size of the gay, lesbian and bisexual population has come up with a figure smaller than the 10% number that was once widely used. But social scientists say they are far from making a definitive estimate.”

On Green Energy: Renewable Energy Fails to Green the U.K. Economy

www.american.com

“Pursuing a new green energy economy in the United Kingdom has led to lost jobs and higher energy prices.”

Ultimate Spoiler Alert

www.nytimes.com

“With President Obama and Paul Ryan having developed a cold contempt for the other’s position, where will the budget wars take us next?”

The Obama Growth Discount

professional.wsj.com

“In The Wall Street Journal, former Sen. Phil Gramm writes that if Barack Obama matched Ronald Reagan’s post-recession recovery rate, 15.7 million more Americans would have jobs.”

Obama Is Likely to Lose

professional.wsj.com

“But Republican unseriousness may be his trump card, Peggy Noonan argues.”

Why Conservatives Are Angry at Obama’s Debt Speech

www.theatlanticwire.com

“The reasons why they found it disingenuous and distasteful.”

Drugs: The Price Is Right

www.american.com

“AARP continues to mislead the public about the true trend and nature of pharmaceutical prices by maintaining a narrow view of the market.”

Alan J. Reynolds: Obama’s Soak-the-Rich Tax Hikes Won’t Work

professional.wsj.com

“Income tax revenues have been remarkably stable at 8% of GDP, regardless of tax rates. The way to increase revenue is to grow the economy.”

Henninger: Who Do You Trust?

professional.wsj.com

“Obama and Ryan agree: This is a “defining moment.””

The Presidential Divider

professional.wsj.com

“Obama’s toxic speech and even worse plan for deficits and debt.”

Donald L. Luskin: Remembering the Real Ayn Rand

professional.wsj.com

“The author of “Atlas Shrugged” was an individualist, not a conservative, and she knew big business was as much a threat to capitalism as government bureaucrats.”

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