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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. …

Written by Eli Lehrer on Thursday May 5, 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 …

Written by David Frum on Monday April 25, 2011

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 …

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 …

Written by Eli Lehrer on Monday April 25, 2011

How the Super-Rich Scored on Tax Day

This year, the IRS reports that the average federal income tax rate on the 400 highest adjusted gross incomes is 17%. Want to know how? Just look to the tax code. Historically, the Internal Revenue Service makes an announcement the first week of April that they have arrested a public figure or …

Written by Hank Adler on Monday April 18, 2011

New Tax Revenues: The Fiscal Crisis Fix?

Conservatives looking for an alternative to the Ryan plan will need to pay more attention to tax revenues if they hope to craft a serious response to the fiscal crisis. This is part six. Click here to read the entire series. The fourth element of a conservative response to the …

Written by David Frum on Thursday April 14, 2011

Ryan: My Budget is a Political Winner

At an event hosted by the think tank e21, Paul Ryan responded to Obama's Wednesday budget speech and defended the political viability of his own proposal. Paul Ryan is shocked that the president has attacked his budget proposal and is now painting the GOP as a party which wants to leave seniors to …

Written by Noah Kristula-Green on Thursday April 14, 2011

GOP Freshmen: No Tax Hikes to Cover Deficit

Freshmen Republicans reacted negatively to President Obama's speech on the deficit Wednesday, with many echoing Boehner's 'line in the sand': no new taxes. Freshmen Republicans reacted to President Obama's speech on the deficit Wednesday, with many echoing Speaker Boehner's 'line in the sand' - no …

Written by Tim Mak on Wednesday April 13, 2011

Geithner's Small Business Tax Hike

This week, Congress is considering reforms to the tax code. One proposal though could slam small businesses with the same rules and rates that govern large corporations. A House Ways and Means subcommittee is considering tax reform on small business. Treasury Department Secretary Tim Geithner has …

Written by Hank Adler on Tuesday March 8, 2011

Dems Get Obamacare Back on Track

The Democrats took a major step forward today when Sen. Baucus pushed his legislation though the Senate Finance Committee – and did it with Sen. Snowe's support. Now, health-reform legislation by year's end once again seems likely. In September, they seemed hopeless – internally divided, …

Written by David Gratzer on Tuesday October 13, 2009

Overview for taxes