We need good economics over politics, now more than ever. That means sensible tax reform, a Fed focus on maintaining liquidity, and rationalization of the European monetary system.

China is heading for a hard landing in 2012 or 2013 for three reasons: Excess capacity tied to overstimulation of investment in export industries and weak domestic demand growth, a bursting speculative bubble in its real estate sector, and a sharp slowdown in global growth.

The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission issued its majority report in January 2011, stating that the 2007-2010 crisis was "avoidable" and caused by widespread failures in financial regulation. Commission member Peter Wallison disagreed.

We in the punditocracy have been attributing Cain's lead to many conservatives' resistance to frequent front-runner Mitt Romney. But I think Cain's current lead is evidence of a larger and longer-range trend that is both heartening and disturbing. I call it the revolt against the experts.

The current economic environment of low—virtually zero—interest rates has hit savers hard, but abruptly raising interest rates could harm economic growth and the housing market. Until the economy stabilizes and the Fed begins raising interest rates again, savers have few options: they can adjust their lifestyles, dip into their savings, or take on riskier investments such as gold and stocks.

In his latest Outlook, AEI scholar John Makin provides three lessons to be learned from the financial crisis to enable a quicker policy response to future crises.

As fears of another recession have mounted, so too have criticisms of the US Federal Reserve, including some irresponsible assertions that could endanger world markets if followed.

At AEI conferences in December 2007 and April 2008, the same five AEI economists had widely divergent views about the direction the economy would take, but all agreed that things would become clearer when more data were available about the scope of market turmoil and the health of the economy....