[VIDEO] Unleashing Prosperity with Stephen Moore

FreedomWorks Senior Economic Contributor Stephen Moore discuss his new role and partnership with FreedomWorks and our new plan to Unleash Prosperity in America.

Via: Freedom Works

Better to Live in a Red State or Blue State?

California was the subject of both admiration and derision in the Intelligence Squared sponsored Oxford-style debate on the topic: For a Better Future, Live in a Red State. California’s former governor, Gray Davis, was one of the debaters defending blue states, while Chapman University professor and radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt spoke up for red states. These Californians were joined by New America Founder Michael Lind on the blue side of the table, and Wall Street Journal editorial writer Stephen Moore on the red.

Davis argued that blue states are better because they aim to give economic opportunity for everyone by investing in education and infrastructure, protecting the environment and providing a safety net. The former governor said if you look at the top ten states with the highest average income nine are blue states.

Hewitt countered that education in many blue states was subpar, pointing to California’s low ranking. He attributed that to red states’ innovation in education while blue states are in the grip of education special interests.

Statistics flew about the debate as both weapons and shields. There were plenty of comparisons between the economic leaders of the two categories, California and Texas.

Stephen Moore said while one million jobs have been lost in California, Texas has gained one million jobs over the same time period. Moore said the poverty rate in California was higher than Texas.

Yet, Lind argued that those moving to Texas were more likely low-income people undercutting the argument that high taxes chase out those with higher incomes.

Davis said that California leads in Fortune 500 company headquarters, manufacturing and agriculture and has more venture capital investment than all other states combined.

Citing the innovation of the Silicon Valley, Davis flatly stated: California is the future.

Via: CA Political Review

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Obama's Economy Hits His Voters Hardest

Stephen Moore: Obama's Economy Hits His Voters Hardest
Young people, single women and minorities have fared the worst during the past four years.
By STEPHEN MOORE, Wall Street Journal

For better or worse, a truism of American politics is that voters vote their pocketbooks. Yet according to a new report on median household incomes by Sentier Research, in 2012 millions of American voters apparently cast ballots contrary to their economic self-interest.

Each month the consultants at Sentier analyze the numbers from the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey and estimate the trend in median annual household income adjusted for inflation. On Aug. 21, Sentier released "Household Income on the Fourth Anniversary of the Economic Recovery: June 2009 to June 2013." The finding that grabbed headlines was that real median household income "has fallen by 4.4 percent since the 'economic recovery' began in June 2009." In dollar terms, median household income fell to $52,098 from $54,478, a loss of $2,380.

What was largely overlooked, however, is that those who were most likely to vote for Barack Obama in 2012 were members of demographic groups most likely to have suffered the steepest income declines. Mr. Obama was re-elected with 51% of the vote. Five demographic groups were crucial to his victory: young voters, single women, those with only a high-school diploma or less, blacks and Hispanics. He cleaned up with 60% of the youth vote, 67% of single women, 93% of blacks, 71% of Hispanics, and 64% of those without a high-school diploma, according to exit polls.

According to the Sentier research, households headed by single women, with and without children present, saw their incomes fall by roughly 7%. Those under age 25 experienced an income decline of 9.6%. Black heads of households saw their income tumble by 10.9%, while Hispanic heads-of-households' income fell 4.5%, slightly more than the national average. The incomes of workers with a high-school diploma or less fell by about 8% (-6.9% for those with less than a high-school diploma and -9.3% for those with only a high-school diploma).

Via: Fox News

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