Will we recover, unbridle ourselves of debt, innovate, pay for our national security? Or, is China fated to become number one, leaving us to live in a Chinese world?

On May 6, all eyes will be focused on the second round of the French presidential election, which Socialist challenger Francois Hollande is likely to win. Equally important for Europe’s future is the Greek parliamentary election scheduled for the very same day.

Judging by the financial market's renewed unease about Italy and Spain over the past week it would seem that all that the European Central Bank's €1 trillion liquidity injection in the European banking system bought was around four months of relative market calm.

AEI Resident fellow Alex Pollock examines past sovereign debt crises, especially the European crisis of the 1920s, in the context of the current economic situation for a piece in the latest Financial Services Outlook and the Wall Street Journal.

The rescue offers Greece the opportunity for an extended struggle to settle for slow economic growth for an extended period. This debt crisis is not over...

Attempts at austerity and deleveraging in Europe have converted an economic problem into a political dilemma, with leftist governments rising against Germany's austerity-laced rescue packages. Germany now faces a tough economic decision that will involve choosing between a breakup of the current euro system and a movement toward a common fiscal policy in Europe.

Portugal could avoid Greece's horrible fate if it were to draw the right lessons from the Greek experience.

On April 13, 2012, the US Department of the Treasury released new cost estimates for the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Looking principally at actual and projected contractual cash flows, the document concludes that: "Overall, the government is now expected to at least break even on its financial stability programs and may realize a positive return."