Overview for debt

GOP Picks the Wrong Spending Fight

The GOP seems convinced inciting a debt ceiling crisis is the best way to restrain spending. But even a short increase in the limit can stave off a bigger crisis. One might note within many ostensibly conservative discussions about the debt ceiling a strain that comes far more from Leon Trotsky …

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Written by Fred Bauer on Monday May 16, 2011

No Deal in Sight as Debt Deadline Nears

As the U.S. hits its debt limit, it's time for Republicans to take the matter seriously. They can start by putting revenue expenditures on the negotiating table. The debt limit that the United States hit yesterday isn't a big deal yet but, by any reasonable accounting, it could be pretty soon. If …

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Written by Eli Lehrer on Sunday May 15, 2011

Is Boehner Ready for the Budget Backlash?

Republicans may have signed up for the fight of a generation, without understanding how much is at stake - or how fierce the resistance is likely to be. Here's another bit from Speaker Boehner's Thursday speech to the Economic Club of New York that commands some attention: There's another …

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Written by David Frum on Sunday May 15, 2011

Boehner Takes Heat for Hardline Debt Stance

Last week’s botched GOP messaging forced Boehner to "clarify” the party’s position. He ended up calling for $2 trillion in cuts and putting Medicare back on the table. House Speaker John Boehner is this week’s D.C. whipping boy.  Whether it is A.B. Stoddard writing in The Hill or Ruth Marcus …

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Written by Steve Bell on Thursday May 12, 2011

Toomey's Budget: Too Good to Be True

Sen. Toomey's budget proposal promises a budget surplus achieved painlessly through a combination of tax cuts and spending increases. It's not going to happen. I am mightily impressed by Sen. Toomey’s budget proposal. It promises to achieve a budget surplus and, most importantly, it does that …

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Written by Andrew Pavelyev on Thursday May 12, 2011

Don't Link Debt Deal to Budget Amendment

Many conservatives are floating the idea of linking balanced budget amendment as the price for raising the debt ceiling. But this approach has some serious problems. More than a few conservatives are floating the idea that the passage of a balanced budget amendment should be the price for …

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Written by Eli Lehrer on Monday May 9, 2011

GOP Retreats From Ryan Medicare Plan

Two weeks of recess, complete with ginned-up demonstrations against Medicare and Social Security reform were enough to lead to a GOP collapse on the fiscal front. That’s all it took for House Republicans to begin to scatter like a covey of quail? Two simple weeks of recess, complete with …

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Written by Steve Bell on Friday May 6, 2011

As Debt Talks Begin: Dems Hold Upper Hand

Republicans in Congress set to resume debt ceiling talks Thursday should go into them with a clear sense that they have a weak negotiating position. Republicans in Congress set to resume debt ceiling talks Thursday should go into them with a clear sense that they have a weak negotiating position. …

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Written by Eli Lehrer on Thursday May 5, 2011

Debt Talks Stall Before They Even Start

Far from clarifying the fiscal debate, Congress has returned after the two-week Easter Recess to find themselves no closer to a debt deal. The death of Osama bin Laden dominates media, as it should. Yet, in the shadow of that dramatic story lies the continuing federal fiscal tar pit. Events …

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Written by Steve Bell on Wednesday May 4, 2011

Norquist Moves to Nix Bipartisan Debt Plan

A new proposal by the Bipartisan Policy Center could make it easier to cut the debt. But some conservatives are already dismissing the plan for leaving revenue raising on the table. Can the debt be brought down if the Congress sets targets for how it wants to do it in dollar amounts? That is the …

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Written by Noah Kristula-Green on Wednesday April 27, 2011

GOP Freshmen Take Heat For Ryan's Medicare Plan

During the two week recess in their home districts, Republican freshmen are getting challenged by constituents for their votes on Medicare. During the two week recess in their home districts, Republican freshmen are getting challenged by constituents on their votes which would drastically change …

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Written by Tim Mak on Monday April 25, 2011

How Norquist's Pledge Blocks Real Deficit Cuts

Economically, Grover Norquist's rule on what constitutes a "tax increase" makes little sense. And politically, it's making deficit reduction much more difficult. Eli Lehrer has an incisive piece on this page about Tom Coburn's "Gang of Six" tax proposals. I believe however that the proposals …

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Written by David Frum on Monday April 25, 2011

Coburn’s Reforms: Brave but Insufficient

Tom Coburn and his colleagues are showing a good deal of courage by putting taxes on the table. But the handful of specifics they’ve offered so far aren’t very promising. Tom Coburn, hardly a moderate or a shrinking violet by any measure, has effectively “ unsigned ” Grover Norquist’s pledge …

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Written by Eli Lehrer on Monday April 25, 2011

Washington Flirts with a Debt Disaster

On Monday, S&P sent a wake-up call to Washington reminding them to get their debt act together. Yet, at week’s end, it’s easy to wonder if anyone got the hint. Lunacy abounds in every field, though it seems to appear most prominently in Hollywood and Washington, D.C., where the media takes …

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Written by Steve Bell on Friday April 22, 2011

The GOP's Hardest Sell

Using social issues to rally the base isn't enough. Eventually, the GOP has to speak to middle-class anxiety and actually sell their proposed spending cuts. A few weeks back, I wrote for Frum Forum on the ongoing battle in Alabama between Republican legislators and the state’s two largest …

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Written by Will Barrett on Friday April 22, 2011

GOP Plays Weak Hand in Debt Debate

A look at the current set of Republican debt limit vote negotiating points ought to disappoint any committed fiscal conservative. Plenty of people have already spilled ink on why Congress should raise the debt limit and why failing to do so would be a catastrophe. Nearly all of the arguments …

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Written by Eli Lehrer on Thursday April 21, 2011

GOP Won't Win Debt Blame Game

If the U.S. does experience a credit downgrade, the Republican party's reputation for economic competence will take a big hit in the eyes of voters. There may be less in Standard & Poor’s new negative outlook on US debt than meets the eye. There’s no actual downgrade of the US credit rating …

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Written by Andrew Pavelyev on Wednesday April 20, 2011

Did U.S. Overreact to Debt Outlook Shift?

There's a lot of buzz about Standard and Poor's shift in outlook on U.S. debt. But a change in outlook isn't the same as a downgrade and, by itself, does little or nothing. There's a lot of buzz in Washington about Standard and Poor's shift in outlook on the United States' debt. I'm not sure if …

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Written by Eli Lehrer on Tuesday April 19, 2011

Washington Moves Slowly After Debt Warning

S&P's debt outlook announcement shocked Washington. But with Congress out of session and members focused on jobs and gas prices, we're still no closer to a long-term debt deal. Standard and Poor’s unexpected announcement yesterday that it had put United States sovereign debt on watch with …

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Written by Steve Bell on Tuesday April 19, 2011

Debt Debate: What Would Hamilton Do?

To get a fresh perspective, I attempted to contact the spirit of Alexander Hamilton for his take on the current political and economic debates in Washington. To get some perspective on current political and economic debates, I attempted to contact the spirit of Alexander Hamilton by resetting …

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Written by Kenneth Silber on Tuesday April 19, 2011