In considering whether the government should back housing finance, the first consideration this committee should have in mind is whether it would be good policy at this time to add to the U.S. government’s financial obligations.

Hope springs eternal among policy makers in Europe’s beleaguered periphery. At five minutes to midnight in Athens, and with a bank run having started in Madrid, these policy makers cling to the forlorn hope that somehow Germany is going to relent on its strong opposition to euro bonds.

It's tempting to call the shameful taxpayer subsidy for electric cars - vehicles that are unaffordable for all but a small number of wealthy Americans - this nation's costly little secret.

President Obama has learned to face "the world as it is" and loudly proclaim the right to self-defense.

Many public workers are overpaid relative to their private sector counterparts, especially in large, unionized states such as Wisconsin, Ohio and California. This may sound like a controversial claim, but it shouldn't. A consensus is building about the need for reform.

In times of crisis, everybody wants a government guarantee, and those who have one have a fundamental advantage.

The single employer defined benefit pension system and the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation is in crisis and in urgent need of fundamental reforms.

The real question hanging over all this is whether there was a quid pro quo for Mr. Chen’s release.