Kudlow's Money Politic$
Pro-growth, strong defense, virtuous values, business, and stocks
1.27.2005
Torts
I gave a dinner speech last Friday to the staff of Home Depot at CEO Bob Nardelli’s beautiful home outside Atlanta, GA. The biggest applause line I got was when I called for a “loser-pays” reform to the egregious and abusive tort system excesses that has been plaguing our businesses and our economy. So this morning’s WSJ editorial (“Tort Reform Road Map”), suggesting that a British-style loser-pays system won’t get through, was most disappointing. However, on class action reform, medical liabilities, and asbestos, some positive steps may be taken this year. Good. This whole legal liability abuse issue is exacting a growing tax-cut drag on the whole economy. Fortunately, President Bush is keen to make these changes.
posted by Money Politic$ at 3:18 PM 0 comments
Oil, Oil
Peter Huber and Mark Mills have a great op-ed in today’s WSJ. Oil is really plentiful. Doomsayers are wrong. It costs between $5 per barrel and $15, even less if you can get into the Saudi area. With current prices around $50 it should be economical to extract and produce plenty more oil. Recently, a whole bunch of natural gas and oil producers marched on Washington to protest federal policies that have prevented access to huge US gas and oil reserves. They want deregulatory access. On K&C last night, the venerable Senator Pete Domenici again made his case for nuclear energy. Also an issue of deregulation and new license permits. The point of all this is that if government gets out of the way and stops blocking the vast new potential of energy sources, we won’t have to worry about Saudi Arabia or OPEC or $50 oil or $2 per gallon at the gas station. I remember years ago, during Reagan’s first term, our chief economist Murray Weidenbaum used to say in Cabinet meetings: “Don’t just stand there. Undo something.”
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