In the Water, In the Air: Monday, December 23, 2013.

ECONOMICS 101

Capitalism’s Enigma And Its Future: How the West Grew Rich (Donald Devine, The Federalist -- Economics, 12/23).

How America abandoned its “undeserving” poor "With poverty on the rise in the late 1970s, Reagan conservatives waged war on the needy — and won" (Michael B. Katz, Salon, 12/21).

Market Wisdom Replaced By Political Force (Frank Macchiarola and Michael Macchiarola, RealClearMarkets, 12/23).

THE NATURE OF POLITICS

No Man for Himself, And The Devil Take Most: American people vs. American government (David Corbin and Matt Parks, The Federalist, 12/21).

Don’t Mistake This for Gridlock (Tyler Cowen, The New York Times -- Business Day, 12/21).

REVENUE-SIDE REFORM

Unmasking the Mortgage Interest Deduction: Who Benefits and by How Much? 2013 Update (Dean Stansel and Anthony Randazzo, Reason Foundation, 12/18).

2013 Tax Cut Roundup (American Legislative Exchange Council, November 2013*).

Ultra-Wealthy Dodge Billions in Taxes Using "GRAT" Loophole (citizens for Tax Justice, 12/20).

SPENDING-SIDE REFORM

Lessons from Dutch Welfare Reform (Michael D. Tanner, Cato Institute -- Cato at Liberty, 12/17).

Obama signs order for federal worker pay raises in 2014 (Ros Krasny, Yahoo! News -- Canada, 12/23 [visited]).

The Importance of Unemployment Insurance for American Families & the Economy: Take 2 (Melissa S. Kearney and Benjamin Harris, The Hamilton Project, December 2013*).

MIXED-SIDE AND REGULATORY REFORM

Would Increasing the Minimum Wage Create Jobs? "A few liberals say so. But even if they're right, the effect would be small and short-lived." (Jordan Weissman, The Atlantic, 12/20).

Why the US needs big banks (Richard X. Bove, New York Post -- Opinion, 12/21).

GROWTH AND JOBS

 A Christmas Wish: A Less Debt-Obsessed GOP "Our long-term debt is daunting, but jobs are a more pressing problem."  (James Pethokoukis, National Review Online, 12/23).

MOBILITY AND EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY

Obama's Misguided Obsession With Inequality "He uses statistics that ignore taxes and transfer payments. Faster growth is what the poor really need." (Robert E. Grady, The Wall Street Journal -- Opinion, 12/22).

Inequality for Dummies (Bill Keller, The New York Times -- The Opinion Pages, 12/22).

Obama is right to put spotlight on economic inequality "Virtually every economic problem we have today — slow growth, high unemployment, low social mobility — is both a manifestation and a cause of economic inequality." (Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times -- Business, 12/22).

GOVERNMENT FINANCE AND FINANCIAL POLICY

Too Convoluted to Succeed "Why Dodd-Frank won’t prevent another financial crisis" (Nicole Gelinas, City Journal, Autumn 2013*).

The Federal Reserve at 100: Age shall not weary her "America’s central bank has become ever more powerful over the past century" (The Economist, 12/21).

Bits and Barbarism (Paul Krugman, The New York Times -- The Opinion Pages, 12/22).

At 100, the Fed Can't Do Much to Revive the Economy (Robert Samuelson, RealClearMarkets, 12/23).

GLOBAL ECONOMY [-- GLOBAL CURRENCY |-- InsertCountryHere |-- InsertRegionHere]

Japan Doubles Down on ASEAN "Tokyo has had a busy year reaching out to ASEAN countries. Will the effort continue in 2014?" (J. Berkshire Miller, The Diplomat, 12/23).

Merry Christmas, Europe -- You've Been Downgraded (Alex Berezow, RealClearWorld -- The Compass, 12/23).

Why the elites are rising up (Jackson Diehl, The Washington Post -- WP Opinions, 12/22).

A Union of Banks "The European Banking Union will not increase governments’ regulatory power over the bloated banking sector. It is just another promise to banks that they will certainly be helped in times of crisis." (Juliane Mendelsohn, The European -- Columns, 12/20).

Worries About the World Economy in 2014 (David Dapice, RealClearWorld, 12/23).