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 …GOP Freshmen: Job Numbers Still Too Weak
GOP freshmen were dismissive of Friday's report that the economy had added jobs. Instead, they pushed the White House to do more to boost the recovery and cut energy prices. Friday’s unemployment numbers were greeted almost unanimously by discontentment from freshmen Republican Congressmen over …GOP Jobs Bill Needs a Bigger Shot in the Arm
Why doesn't the Senate GOP job proposal include a 100% tax credit for all businesses big and small? Isn't that the usual conservative proposal to jump-start a sluggish economy? Does anybody understand why the Senate Republican job proposal launched yesterday does not include a 100% tax credit for …Will GOP Back Tax Breaks Over Deficit Cutting?
Tax credits and deductions are substitutes for government spending. So why is there so much opposition to eliminating them? Martin Feldstein has an important idea . Despite the strong case for limiting tax expenditures, it is politically difficult to do so because no one wants to give up …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. …Washington Abandons the Jobless
More than 13 million Americans are unemployed, yet neither party is offering a real plan to boost employment. In the fall of 1984, I was a student living in Boston. A high-tax manufacturing state, Massachusetts had been hit hard by the economic troubles of the 1970s. But now suddenly there were …Bernanke's Toughest Job: Selling the Fed
Next week, Ben Bernanke will do something new: hold a press conference. But will this fresh round of openness make the Fed more popular with the public? Next week, Ben Bernanke will do something no Fed Chairman has ever done before: hold a press conference after the conclusion of the Fed’s FOMC …
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 …Debt Default Fears Hit Wall Street
Wall Street's reaction to S&P's downgrade of the outlook on U.S. debt should be a warning to Republicans not to use the debt ceiling as a political football. S&Ps recent downgrade of the outlook on American debt isn't surprising. But the market's rapid decline in its wake should be a warning …Centrists' Deficit Numbers Don't Add Up
The Gang of Six's efforts to reach a budget deal deserve praise. But by using Obama's deficit commission report as a starting point, their plan may not be much good. The Senate Gang of Six's efforts to reach a budget deal deserve a lot of praise: by putting everything including defense, security …Budget Fight May Freak Out Markets
Global financial institutions are keeping a close eye on Washington. And even if there is a budget deal, the damage may already be done. Whether the federal government “closes down” for this weekend remains unknown at this time. But for the sake of discussion, let’s assume that Congress …Ryan's Rosy Job Numbers: Fact or Fantasy?
Ryan's budget has received the most criticism for his unemployment figures. FF spoke to the source of the numbers to see if they add up. The element of the new Ryan/GOP budget which has received the most condemnation and in some cases mockery are the unemployment figures. Specifically, the Ryan …TARP Profit Proves It Was the Right Call
There's a lot to indict in the recent financial management of the United States. TARP should not have been necessary. But it was, and the news of its $24 billion profit is the proof. Here's why TARP's $24 billion profit is so important: The profit confirms that what happened in October 2008 was …How Progressive Taxation Punishes Hard Work
A new study shows how progressive taxation is inequitable for people who are working harder. My friend Kip Hagopian has a very thought-provoking article in the current issue of Policy Review on the (in)equity of the progressive income tax. Here is a core point: The progressive …No Evidence of Double Dip Recession With New Job Numbers
The latest job numbers suggest it is unlikely that America will enter a "double dip" recession. Although the just-announced drop to 8.8 percent unemployment hardly reflects a thriving economy, it does seem to show that the economic recovery has at least some legs. It’s unlikely the economy …Rich State Vs. Poor State
Does our current political divide give advantages to the preferences of poorer, less innovative states over wealthier ones? In a recent blogpost at The Atlantic Online , Richard Florida notes the increasing political conservatism of people in America's poorer states. He writes : The current …
Will Japan Crisis Hike Interest Rates?
In the aftermath of the recent earthquake, will Japan stop purchasing U.S. debt and instead focus on its own recovery? Japan is the second largest foreign holder of US debt after China. In the aftermath of the recent earthquake it is expected that Japan will likely stop purchasing US debt and …Who Will Lead Canada's Economic Recovery?
Canada faces one question: Who should be trusted to manage the economic recovery? Those who want government to spend more or those who want government to tax less? Every Canadian election is built upon a question. Should the sponsorship scandal be punished? (2006) Shall Canada have free trade with …College Degrees: No Longer Recession-Proof
In this recession, even a college degree won't protect you from joblessness. The recession is proving that even a college degree does not protect you from joblessness. This may fly in the face of the conventional wisdom but the evidence backs it up. A chart from a Cleveland Federal Reserve report …