Steve Adams

  • Why Do Americans Feel Economic Anxiety?

    Marketplace with Kai Rysdal is one of my favorite radio programs.

    Why Do Americans Feel Economic Anxiety?
  • The Opposite of an Employee Benefit

    It seems employers are being encouraged to help their young employees spend their money as fast, or even faster, than they earn it.   Some employers are taking the bait.  Some even think it is a benefit to make employees loans, help pay them off, or be better at payday loans than payday lenders.

    The Opposite of an Employee Benefit
  • Minimum Wage: Can Government Fix the Economy?

    Many Americans are legitimately dissatisfied with their economic progress.  The tepid recovery has left too many workers unemployed and it has held down wage increases for those with jobs.  Still, do we really think mayors, governors and presidents will solve our economic problems?

    Minimum Wage: Can Government Fix the Economy?
  • Don’t Look to Congress to Solve Unemployment Disparities

    Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen got it half right yesterday when she answered a question about how the Fed can help reduce disparities in unemployment in the states. During Dr. Yellen’s testimony before the House Committee on Financial Services, she was questioned by a congressman from Minnesota about what the Fed can do to address the…

  • My Hopes for 2016: Back to Business Basics

    Here’s hoping that 2016 brings back an economy that relies more on business fundamentals, and less on the machinations of technocrats in Washington.  With the drama of the first Fed rate hike behind us, perhaps business leaders and investors can focus on the things that make American companies competitive for the long haul.

    My Hopes for 2016: Back to Business Basics
  • Community and State Colleges Spur Business Innovation

    The C. Lowell Harriss Award demonstrates that important business innovation comes from many places beyond Silicon Valley and the biopharma centers around Boston, San Francisco and San Diego. America’s community and state colleges are  increasingly taking on the challenge of helping their students turn entrepreneurial aspirations into real businesses, and it’s paying off. 

    Community and State Colleges Spur Business Innovation
  • Creativity and Economic Growth

    If our economic future depends on America’s ability to innovate, we could do no better than to make the creative arts a part of every child and adult’s ongoing education.

    Creativity and Economic Growth
  • Media Should Challenge MIT’s R&D Claims

    I recently heard a news report on the radio about a new MIT study that finds that the U.S. government is not spending enough on research and development, and it’s putting us at a competitive disadvantage.  More detail on this was available from the Wall Street Journal story (“U.S. Is Faulted for Risking Edge in…

    Media Should Challenge MIT’s R&D Claims
  • Fed, Heal Thyself

    It is breathtaking to read about Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen berating Wall Street banks, as reported by Victoria McGrane in today’s Wall Street Journal, “to follow the law and to operate in an ethical manner.”  Ms. Yellen’s speech to the Citizens Budget Commission in New York City is an apparent reference to the various…