Are Americans better off today than they were before Barack Obama was elected to office? Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist and economist John Lott, Jr. argue in "Debacle: Obama’s War on Jobs and Growth and What We Can Do Now to Regain Our Future" that spending increases, mounting debt, new regulations and higher tax rates answer this question with a resounding “no.”

In his April Economic Outlook, American Enterprise Institute (AEI) economist John Makin assesses the risks the world faces as a result of China’s slowing economy. With the coming transition in Chinese leadership, it is unlikely that the world's second largest economy will alter its policies to stimulate growth. As a result, the whole world may feel China's pain.

In less than twenty-five years, government “affordable housing” and other housing policies have turned a healthy market into a financial ruin. Until Fannie and Freddie’s market dominance and the government’s role in the housing finance system are substantially reduced or eliminated, the United States will continue to have an inferior and unstable housing market.

China's new leadership is threatening to stay content with slower economic growth, and the country's manufacturing, housing, and export sectors are experiencing problems. Nonetheless, China has an opportunity to influence economic growth in 2012 through stimulus measures to its own economy.

Last week, the Administration released its eagerly awaited report on reforming the housing finance market. The Dodd-Frank Act had omitted consideration of the government sponsored enterprises (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) because they were perceived to be sufficiently important to warrant separate consideration.

Tackling the jobs situation has to be the biggest priority for the government right now. Yet, while the debt ceiling deal may go some way towards reducing the uncertainties about the economy for businesses, there is little clarity about the details.

A regulatory response to problems in mortgage servicing must fix problems in the industry but avoid poorly conceived actions that would crimp American families' access to mortgage financing and threaten the still-weak housing recovery and the broader economy.

Please join AEI for a series of policy discussions on the Hill to mark the week of the State of the Union address. These discussions will frame the many challenges we face at home and abroad in 2012 while also offering solutions. Food will be provided at each of the events on the Hill, so please RSVP to guarantee your meal.