The New Republic

High technology and advanced manufacturing centers are recovering strongly from the recession, reports Brookings’ latest quarterly Metro Monitor regional economic tracker, and the landscape of the Intermountain West reflects the trend perfectly.  READ MORE >>

America’s financial sector is in the news almost every day, its role in the economy and relationship to government subjects of public debate. “Banks got bailed out, we got sold out!” is a common protest chant in the Occupy Wall Street movement, while Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke defends the Fed’s assistance to banks during the financial crisis in 2008. Meanwhile, the nation as a whole remai READ MORE >>

Last week I argued here that it would be premature for the Department of Energy to authorize massive exports of natural gas, notwithstanding the astonishing recent boom in American shale gas production. I worried that precipitous large-scale exports could tighten U.S. supplies and raise prices, with negative ramifications for U.S. industrial concerns that depend on cheap gas. READ MORE >>

As we said this past summer in our “Sizing the Clean Economy” report, the U.S. energy system won’t be cleaned up without a combination of aggressive innovation to develop new technologies and widespread deployment of existing ones. The trouble is, bold action at the federal level appears imminent on neither of these issues.  READ MORE >>

USA Today always makes a point to cover national trends in transportation, and Larry Copeland and Paul Overberg’s piece last week is no exception. “Economy, gas prices make Americans drive less” is an excellent summary of the recent changes in vehicle miles traveled, or VMT. READ MORE >>

Often when making the case for U.S. infrastructure investment, someone will point overseas to Europe or Asia and wonder aloud why other countries have world-class, economy-shaping infrastructure and the United States doesn’t. There are obviously many reasons but a key problem is that, unlike other nations, the United States is still over-reliant on the public sector for delivering infrastructure projects. READ MORE >>

Since the recession global engagement--especially in the form of exports and foreign direct investment (FDI)--has been a needed antidote to sluggish domestic growth in numerous U.S. regions. The reason is clear: More than ever, as our work keeps stressing, nations and regions prosper by linking up with often faster-growing global markets. READ MORE >>

The astonishing boom in American shale gas production continues to change everything--perceptions of fuel abundance and scarcity, projections of the U.S. energy mix, and the price environment for renewables.   READ MORE >>

This week, Congress took a small step in reforming America’s out-dated immigration system. In H.R. 3012 the House voted to end country limits for employment-based visas, which should increase the number of highly-skilled workers from India and China granted green cards.  The bill would also raise per-country limits for green card applicants for certain family-based visas. READ MORE >>

Despite the shock of the recent Great Recession, Washington continues to neglect one important asset that America has over other nations: people. Whether they are Americans or non-Americans, recent immigrants or fourth-generation Americans, skilled or unskilled, the mobility of people in and out of a country plays a key role in today’s global economy.  READ MORE >>