It’s been said plenty before, but when Congress passes a budget like this one under the guise of fiscal reckoning it’s worth repeating:
The brave, brave men and women of the Republican party have decided that federal spending must be cut, and they have courageously decided that those who have it too easy in this country, […]
Worth remembering:
Of course the flipside of this is that blaming greedy owners only gets you so far. People mostly wouldn’t be running businesses if they weren’t greedy; they’d be in the Peace Corps or some such thing. And without greedy owners, nobody could find a job. Greed isn’t good, but it’s what we have to […]
Mark Schmitt has a must-read post about proposals to finance Katrina reconstruction spending with cuts in pork spending.
After just a few days, the project has identified over $14 billion in spending that could be cut, a small downpayment on the $200 billion reconstruction project. And a lot of it is true waste, mostly the […]
The Economist takes a look (subscription required) at Democrats’ economic policy and concludes that they’re facing battles. It’s a worthwhile piece, though I think it gives to much credit to Republicans for economic policy (essentially, cut taxes, spend more, and pretend it’s not a problem) and “new ideas” (things which have been on neo-conservative wishlists […]
One of the difficulty assessing policy discussions in the presidential debates or even in media discussion is that often there are a series of numbers tossed around that leave viewers more confused and ignorant of the problems policymakers face than when the candidates started. Or, else, the candidate eschews bureaucratspeak and talks instead in humanizing […]
The news has been filled with Reagan retrospectives, some of which are sheer hagiography, others which are quite good and even-handed. I don’t have too much to add, especially as I was fairly young during Reagan’s presidency, and in many ways I come to him both as historical figure and as symbol.
But I do […]
Rhetorical question of the day: why does it take a blogger to put in plain English what every Democratic politician should be saying but that none of them can? Kevin Drum hits the nail on the head today:
[E]veryone who looks seriously at federal spending for more than a few minutes knows perfectly well that […]
I rather enjoyed the NewsHour’s interview with former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin last night, in part because Rubin is such an affable personality and capable of speaking about policy matters in an engaging way. One of the most striking moments came in his criticism on the current administration’s and Congress’s fiscal policy:
PAUL SOLMAN: So when […]
There are two terms - often bandied about in favor of conservative politicians and policy - that confuse divergent meanings. The first and biggest culprit is “fiscally conservative.” On one hand it can mean sound fiscal policy, of not spending more than one takes in, or at least borrowing prudently to safeguard government bond ratings. […]
The Economist has an insightful analysis of the way the states’ budget crises are playing out on the national stage.
IN STATE capitals across America, there is only one story in town: the disaster facing state budgets. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, states face revenue shortfalls totalling $21.5 billion this fiscal year, […]
Starving government agencies can and often is penny wise and pound foolish. No more than in the matter of underfunding IRS auditing and collection abilities. The latest news is that the IRS is considering outsourcing collection. Not only does this pose the problem of submitting taxpayers to the same intimidation techniques that private collectors use […]
Scot Lehigh of the Globe details an apparent rift between the supply-side Club for Growth’s Stephen Moore and the White House:
Asked by Newsweek about those ads [attacking Olympia Snowe], Moore implied they were fine with the White House, noting that Karl Rove, Bush’s chief political adviser, hadn’t voiced any objection. ‘’When he’s upset about something, […]
I’m certainly not in the states-rights crowd, but I’ve always resented the federal government’s threat to withholding funding to achieve legislative ends only marginally related to the funding in question. It was the driving force behind our nation’s draconian drinking-age laws that were passed in the name of greater social good and have shown little […]
Brookings fellow Peter Orszag and economist Joseph Stiglitz have a well-argued piece in Sunday’s globe maintaining that taxes should be raised to solve the state’s budget crisis. Curiously, the debate has so far taken place between the state’s conservatives, who see government waste everywhere they look (even before looking) and the liberals, who see vital […]
It’s official: the Republicans’ approach to the federal budget has moved from irresponsibility to profligacy. Many more people should be ashamed than apparently they are.