U.K. Commitment to Joint Strike Fighter Vital for the Special Relationship

Last week, the British government made a decision to change from the Carrier Variant of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) back to the Short Take Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) variant of the JSF—as was originally planned before its 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review. While this move was politically challenging for the coalition government in the U.K., it was the right decision. The assumed cost of equipping the U.K.’s new generation of aircraft carriers with catapults and arrestor gear that are required for the Carrier Variant of the JSF … More

Paul Krugman and the European Austerity Myth

By Daniel J. Mitchell

With both France and Greece deciding to jump out of the left-wing frying pan into the even-more-left-wing fire, European fiscal policy has become quite a controversial topic. But I find this debate and discussion rather tedious and unrewarding, largely because it pits advocates of Keynesian spending (the so-called “growth” camp) against supporters of higher taxes [...]

Paul Krugman and the European Austerity Myth is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog

VIDEO: Britain’s Liam Fox Warns America: Your Debt Is a Threat

Britain’s Liam Fox has a warning for America: Fix the debt problem now or suffer the consequences of less power on the world stage. The former U.K. secretary of state for defense visited Heritage to explain why America’s debt is a national security issue. >> Watch the full 45-minute speech, “Warning to a Superpower” Fox faced cuts to the armed forces in the United Kingdom during his tenure. He said the amount of interest Britain pays on its debt is larger today than its budget for defense. Fox explained that … More

Eurozone: A Bad Situation Getting Worse

At this point in the Eurozone crisis, the only responsible thing for European leaders to do is to develop contingency plans that will minimize the economic fallout in Europe when—not if—Greece defaults. Economic figures released today for the fourth quarter of 2011 paint a bleak picture for the already embattled Eurozone. Italy and the Netherlands, two of the Eurozone’s major economies, have now officially slipped into recession with two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth. For the Eurozone as a whole, economic activity shrunk by 0.3 percent. The Eurozone has … More

Chart of the Week: How Countries Compare on Economic Freedom

Heritage and the Wall Street Journal released the 2012 Index of Economic Freedom on Thursday, ranking 179 countries on 10 benchmarks that gauge their economic success. This year Heritage introduced a new interactive feature that gives you the opportunity to create a comparative graph. This week’s chart shows how the United States stacks up against Canada and the United Kingdom. As recently as 2009, the United States led both countries in economic freedom. But after four years of decline, the United States is heading in the wrong direction. This year … More

Chart of the Week: How Countries Compare on Economic Freedom

Heritage and the Wall Street Journal released the 2012 Index of Economic Freedom on Thursday, ranking 179 countries on 10 benchmarks that gauge their economic success. This year Heritage introduced a new interactive feature that gives you the opportunity to create a comparative graph. This week’s chart shows how the United States stacks up against Canada and the United Kingdom. As recently as 2009, the United States led both countries in economic freedom. But after four years of decline, the United States is heading in the wrong direction. This year … More