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Focuses on the tax plan, that intends to cut tax, submitted by United States President George W. Bush. Criticism of the tax plan since it is not based on accurate data; Discussion on the loopholes in the plan; View that the projections relating to the effects of tax-cut on economy is inaccurate; Discussion on the current policy for government spending; Deliberation on the effect of the proposed tax-cuts on the budget surplus; View that The government should avoid moving tax rates up and down over time; View that the U.S. needs to save a sizable amount of budget surplus for the welfare programs; Deliberation on U.S. President George W. Bush's plan to privatize Social Security system including Medicare; View that Bush has failed to take into account the interest cost in his plan; Opinion that Bush's attempt to mobilize public opinion in his plan's favor is based on false propaganda.

Presents a day by day analysis of the United States' antitrust trial of Microsoft Corp., from February 23 to February 26, 1999. Problems which Microsoft has made for itself in the trial; Technique of David Boies, the chief prosecutor in the United States government's case against the computer company; The paper trail; Weak testimony of Microsoft executive Daniel Rosen.

Reports on the presidential campaign of Richard Gephardt that is based on specific policy proposal in the U.S. Discussion the increasing problem of unfair foreign competition; Absence of complex argument about strategic industries or technological innovation; Consideration of the factors attributing to trade deficit; Loss of jobs to foreign competition; Efforts to give national producers an advantage over foreign rivals.

Focuses on the sources of American economic ills. Background information on the wage of an American worker; Role of the manufacturing sector; Trade deficits; Automation; Comparison of productivity growth with the service sector; Global competition.

Focuses on the escalating competitiveness level in the global economy. Emphasis for the raising domestic productivity in order to lift living standards; Stagnation of the U.S. living standards that been in large part due to a failure to compete effectively on world markets; Discussion that the U.S. economy has been the great job engine of the advanced world, with a 38% increase in employment from 1973 to 1990, compared with 19% in Japan and only 8% in Europe.

Can the U.S. economy grow much faster than the two-point-something percent it has in recent years? Standard economic analysis suggests that it cannot. But many influential business leaders and journalists--and even a few economists--have embraced a radical economic theory that argues that the old speed limits to growth are obsolete. According to this so-called new paradigm, the rise of digital technology and the growth in international trade and investment have qualitatively altered the rules of the game. Rapid technological change means that the economy can grow much faster than it used to; global competition means that a booming economy will not produce high inflation. Many people in the business community take the new doctrine very seriously, notes MIT economist Paul Krugman. Unfortunately, he says, it is riddled with gaping conceptual and empirical holes. Krugman lays out in clear terms the macroeconomic principles that explain how markets interact and why there are limits on growth. Essentially, at a time of full capacity utilization, growth is dependent on increases in the number of workers and in their productivity. In the United States, both are growing sluggishly. In addition, Krugman takes on the argument that official statistics are underestimating productivity growth. Even if it were true, he shows, it would not support the case for breaking the speed limit. Likewise, he explains how global competition has not changed the way in which economies react to excessive monetary expansion. We would all like the U.S. economy to grow faster than it has, says Krugman, but all the evidence suggests that it cannot. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Examines the role of U.S. economists in the Asian financial crisis in 1998. Claim that the economists played on market confidence as an international economic policy in Asia before the crisis; Way of coping with the loss of confidence from international investors; Directions given by the U.S. and the International Monetary Fund to Asian countries affected by the crisis; Explanation for the concept of self-fulfilling speculative attacks; Countries that experienced recession as of 1998.

Discusses the confusion surrounding United States antitrust law as of spring 1998. Original intention of the laws; Business expectation in 1998 that mergers should be allowed, and laws even changed after the fact to make them legal, as in the case of Travelers' merger with Citicorp; Why the rules seem to have broken down; Suggestion that market forces are better regulators than government intervention.

The article discusses U.S. President Barack Obama's economic stimulus plan and its potential impact on the financial crisis in the U.S. The Obama administration's attempts to expand unemployment benefits, rewrite mortgage terms and rescue key banks and other financial institutions are assessed. The Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman questions whether Obama's $787 billion stimulus package is large enough to solve the country's economic problems. INSET: Winners and Losers.

The article discusses the challenges faced by U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, examining steps that Obama could take to restore the U.S. economy to health. Very few presidents have to deal with the financial crisis on the scale of the 2008 financial crisis, the author states. Other topics include lessons people can learn from steps taken by U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt.

The article profiles Milton Friedman, a remarkable economist in the U.S. known for his major contributions in the field of macroeconomics and microeconomics. It includes key information on the various ideas he had shared in economics, the various awards he had received and his affiliations with the different organizations and people who had recognized his expertise in the field.

The article examines the economic inequality of the U.S. and how President George W. Bush's tax cuts benefit the wealthy class. While the economy is improving, wages have languished and poverty increases but, the author finds, wealthy people are becoming richer. Wal-Mart is the U.S.'s largest employer but there is a wide disparity between the earnings of its officers and employees. Labor unions have difficulty organizing and the U.S. economy is similar in character to economies in Latin America.

Analyzes the economic and societal impact of Wal-Mart Stores on the U.S. as of April 2006. Role of Wal-Mart in alleviating welfare program-dependent citizens by providing them jobs; Average hourly rate given by Wal-Mart to its employees; Action taken by Maryland legislators to force Wal-Mart to either increase its spending on health-care benefits or to make payments to the state's health program for the poor.

Contends that tax cuts do not benefit the middle class, nor do they create jobs or growth. Fervor and political power of the tax-cut movement in the U.S.; How the mismatch between benefits Americans expect to receive from the government and the revenues government collect is having profound effects at state and local levels; Assessment of the overall level of taxes; Comparison of taxes across countries; Doctrine of so-called supply-side economics; How former President Ronald Reagan's tax cuts led to large budget deficits; Growth of the economy during the term of President Bill Clinton; Strategy of President George W. Bush's tax cuts; Outlook for a fiscal crisis.

Discusses the widening income inequality in the U.S. Profound economic, social and political effects caused by this inequality; Hypotheses about how it began; Examples of the high salaries of corporate chief executive officers; Inequality and politics; Inequality in 2002 as compared with the 1920s.

Presents a view of the economic effects of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. Fear that terrorist attacks will have dire consequences; How timing threatens economy already weakened before attacks; Psychological impact; Comparisons to Great Depression of the 1920s and Japan's economic troubles; Views on curbing economic slump; Concern of effects on world economy; Need for effective leadership.

The author argues that current public policy in the U.S. has helped to widen the gap between the rich and the poor. America looks more and more like a class-ridden society. And guess what? Our political leaders are doing everything they can to fortify class inequality, while denouncing anyone who complains-or even points out what is happening--as a practitioner of "class warfare." Thirty years ago we were a relatively middle-class nation. It had not always been thus: Gilded Age America was a highly unequal society, and it stayed that way through the 1920s. During the 1930s and '40s, however, America experienced a drastic narrowing of income gaps, probably as a result of New Deal policies. The economy was hardly egalitarian, but a generation ago the gross inequalities of the 1920s seemed very distant. Now they're back. Over the past generation upward mobility has fallen drastically. Very few children of the lower class are making their way to even moderate affluence. Suppose that you actually liked a caste society, and you were seeking ways to use your control of the government to further entrench the advantages of the haves against the have-nots. What would you do? One thing you would definitely do is get rid of the estate tax, so that large fortunes can be passed on to the next generation. More broadly, you would seek to reduce tax rates both on corporate profits and on unearned income such as dividends and capital gains, so that those with large accumulated or inherited wealth could more easily accumulate even more.

Discusses the implications of technological innovations on employment in the United States. Relationship of the unemployment rates with the rate of technological development; Impact of growing competition in the world market; Economic theories on the impact of technology on the economy and manpower supply; Influence of technology on the employment prospects of industries; Modifications of employee qualifications.

Presents comments from leading economists in the United States on Ethan B. Kapstein's article on the effect of politics on economics. Inflation as the result of New Deal spending from Paul Krugman and Robert Z. Lawrence; Thomas Donahue's praise for Kapstein's compassion; Caution against excessive social welfare by Hilary Barnes and Steve Forbes.

Analyzes the Washington consensus, a term denoting the United States government's changing policy towards developing countries. Impact of the Washington consensus on international economic affairs; Implication of Mexico's economic crisis to US' economic policy; Logic of free markets.

The article focuses on the economic problems faced by European nations due to their growing economic competitiveness with the U.S., and Japan. In the words of former U.S. president Bill Clinton, each nation is like a big corporation competing in the global market place. It is mentioned that the obsession with competitiveness is not only wrong but dangerous, misleading domestic policies and threatening the international economic system. Thinking in terms of competitiveness leads, directly and indirectly, to nonfruitful economic policies on a wide range of issues, domestic and foreign, ranging from health care or trade.

This article discusses the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on the environment and the labor market in the U.S. The hard-core opposition to NAFTA is rooted in a modern populism that desperately wants to defend industrial America against the forces that are transforming us into a service economy. There has been an extensive debate over the prospective job impacts of NAFTA. However, the whole idea of counting jobs gained and lost through trade represents a misunderstanding of the way the U.S. economy works. Aside from job fears, the most effective argument against NAFTA has been the claim that the agreement will hurt the environment. But that is the wrong comparison. One reason is simply that the U.S. has made the environment an issue, and as a result Mexico will enforce its environmental laws more strictly.

Points out the widening gap between the affluent few and the bulk of ordinary Americans. Radical right's pronouncement of an American revolution during the era of Ronald Reagan; Changing demography of the middle class; Sources of inequality; Decline of labor. INSET: Irreverent economist..

Analyzes the performance of George Soros' Quantum fund in relation to dollar devaluation predictions made by the fund's Stanley Druckenmiller. Likelihood the United States Federal Reserve will tighten the supply of dollars against increases in the euro and Japanese yen; Foreigners weary of holding US assets; Speculation on dollar devaluations against foreign currencies.

Discusses the impact of the United States economy from the 1950s to the late 1990s. The author's experience of the retreat of business bureaucracy in the face of the market; Mention of a victim of information technology, which ended up deconstructing instead of reinforcing the corporation.

Examines the reluctance of workers in the United States to go on strike in the 1990s. The greater willingness of workers earlier in the 20th century to strike, as seen from examples from the author's boyhood in New York City; Reluctance of workers in 1990s to ask for wage increases, and reluctance of employers to grant them; The role of unemployment; Question of why wages do not increase the way they formerly did; Demographic reasons for this.

Discusses why the United States should not raise interest rates to slow the stock market down in March 1999. How the debate over the market and monetary policy today correlates with those of 1928; What advocates for slowing the market down would like to have done; Why the Federal Reserve should do nothing.

Presents information on the United States energy crisis of the 1970s and early 1980s. Projection on world oil demands and decline in the costs of production; Sale of oil for around $10 a barrel, which in real terms is about what it sold for in 1972; Market instability due to the energy crisis; Generation of new wealth by high prices in order to save for the future; Discussion on the rise and fall of oil prices that was one of the most spectacular and puzzling events in economic history.

Examines the issues associated with the improving economic conditions in the U.S. in the 1990s. Factors contributing to the economic trend; Ways of increasing the living standards of citizens without sacrificing the economic success attained by the country; Effects of high employment rate on the economy; Need for establishing social services for the needy citizens of the nation.

Suggests several measures that ought to be included in a new economic program in the U.S., regardless of its political feasibility. Presumption by the program that the government can do positive things not only for the society but for the economy as well; Need to improve the dismaying performance of the U.S. economy since the time of former President Jimmy Carter; Need to spend money in the areas of child care, education, and infrastructure; Statistics on the economic condition of children; Discussion on lower income taxes; Need for recapitalization of banks.

Comments on the rise of the United States stock market. Comparisons to the Ancestral Adaptive Environment; Two fictitious tribes the Clan of the Cave Bear and the Clan of the Cave Bull; Disadvantages to investors who take the long view of the scale of recent gains in the stock market; Prediction of a stock market Ice Age just over the horizon.

Considers the controversy over the Wall Street idea that inflation has given way to deflation. The idea that prices will fall more often than they will rise; The trend of inflation downward; The prices in goods that are falling; The historic epics of deflation.

Discusses the New Economy doctrine and the United States presidential election of 2000 as of October 1997. No sign in the economy's potential growth rate, according to conventional economic measures; Response of the New Economy enthusiasts; The suggestion that every presidential election is driven largely by economics.

Discusses the debate over welfare policy in the United States and claims that, despite the problems, most Americans would be sorry to see the end of welfare. Argument that political administrations do not directly cause economic recessions or recoveries, despite all the rhetoric otherwise; Evidence that the US economy has remained unmoved by all the posturing of politicians for two decades; The relationship between changes in unemployment and economic growth.

The article offers the author's insights on how to end the depression in the U.S. The author discusses the role of government spending on job creation and the tax rates' effect on economic performance. He also notes the need for a more timid efforts of the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama to lessen homeowner debt. He asserts that all that is preventing economic recovery is a lack of political will and intellectual clarity.

Argues that Alan Greenspan has allowed politics to ruin his legacy. Ability of Greenspan to get the Bush tax cuts through Congress which made him a supporter of President George W. Bush; Recent nomination of Greenspan to a fifth term as chairman of the Federal Reserve; Background on Greenspan's climb to power; How he handled the bubble trouble of the1990s; Greenspan's change from a nonpartisan figure to a backer of the President; Description of the Federal Reserve and how it works to control the country's economic growth; Belief that Greenspan's explanation of policy has been flawed; Contention that Greenspan holds George W. Bush to a different standard than other presidents; Possible reasons for the change in his tactics.

Lots of things has happened in the U.S. after becoming George W. Bush as the U.S. President. Endless wars, tax giveaways, budget deficits, the president is playing by a radical new set of rules, while the media and the Democrats give him a free ride. Stock-market decline and business scandal, energy crisis and environmental backsliding, budget deficits and recession, terrorism and troubled alliances and now, finally, war. During the first two years of the Bush administration, many pundits insisted that its radically conservative bent was only a temporary maneuver, that Bush would tack back to the center after solidifying his base. INSETS: Don't Get Fooled Again;Deconstructing Bush.