Forums: Private Label Rights

If private equity and hedge fund managers were optimistic that the election of one of their own would preserve their prized carried-interest tax break, Monday’s debate must have given them pause. Given the chance to defend his low tax rate by talking up the importance of low taxes on investment for job creation and competitiveness, Mitt Romney balked. Instead, he made an implicit case for why investment taxes shouldn’t be any lower than they are — as Newt Gingrich wants — and defended his own conduct rather than seeking to justify the tax policy.

An unknown number of the over 1,000 terrorists who are to be freed in exchange for Gilad Shalit will be allowed to return to Jerusalem. A group of concerned residents has responded by announcing the creation of an informal “terrorist warning system.” The system is simple: activists will keep tabs on freed terrorists, and will alert the public if they attempt to enter public areas or use public transportation. In addition, the terrorists’ pictures and personal information will be made available.... “The public does not know them, and they could wander freely. People do not realize that these are terrorists...

Outlays for U.S. construction projects rose 1.4% in August on public and private spending gains...Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected overall construction spending to decline 0.3%

Politics: A week ago, as the secretary of labor greeted grim job data by hailing the economy's "turnaround," the Dow fell 100 points in seconds — a vivid sign America is wising up to this administration's incompetence. Only minutes after her department reported that payrolls had shed another 131,000 positions in July, there was Secretary Hilda Solis speaking brazenly of the "strong and immediate action" the White House had taken to save or create "more than 2.5 million American jobs." But as the market action showed, investors could see she didn't know what she was talking about. But then, Solis...