The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is in deep trouble. After tripling the size of its insurance to $1 trillion in the past four years, it's now balancing an extremely leveraged portfolio with a dangerously small cash cushion. Unless the economy makes a swift recovery, the FHA will need a massive taxpayer bailout—between $50 and $100 billion. And if the economy turns down for any reason, even more funds would be needed.

There is a simple solution to the housing-bubble problem that lies behind the current panic: an institution that makes a mortgage loan should be required to keep that loan on its balance sheet.

It is a mistake to think that the housing market slumpwill permanently improve the U.S. current account deficit.

The establishment of new accounting rules for expensing options would likely do more harm than good.

What is there about a market economy that leads large numbers of people, including a lot of intelligent people, to believe that there is something radically wrong with it?

For the third time in a century, the United States is seriously considering its place among the world’s nations. The current debate, in some ways, is more far-ranging than those that occurred after World Wars I and II because it encompasses not just membership in particular organizations but our general...