by Linda Beale Robert Reich: Chained CPI Makes No Sense For Seniors With MoveOn.org, Robert Reich has produced a new video on the proposed change to Social Security that would REDUCE BENEFITS for seniors and wreak the most havoc on the most vulnerable. As he notes in the video, the proposed change–which the Obama Administration […]
Joseph Rosenberg of Tax Policy Center notes that the chained cpi changes taxes for ppeople as well: Obama Budget Plan Results In ‘Back Door’ Tax Increase For Middle-Class Households: Analysis: For those looking to put the woes of Tax Day behind them, we have some bad news: It’s probably only going to get worse. President […]
Robert Walmann and Kenneth Thomas have traded e=mails with Michael Ash. Michael Ash and Bob Pollin, two economists at PERI, respond to Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff in the New York Times: THE debate over government debt and its relationship to economic growth is at the forefront of policy debates across the industrialized world. The […]
by Linda Beale Baucus Will Not Run in 2014 (yay!) Max Baucus announced to his fellow Senators today that he will not seek re-election to the Senate in 2014. He has been the top Democrat on the Finance Committee since 2001. See Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus Won’t Run Again in 2014, Bloomberg.net (Apr. 23, […]
by Mike Kimel GW is a Smart Man A few days ago, Keith Hennessey, who worked in GW Bush’s administration, wrote that the former president is a very smart man. Now, a smart person doesn’t have to be smart at everything. There are plenty of examples of very smart people doing very stupid things, particularly […]
Fiscal austerity–or deficit cutting–is the subject of much current debate. As Europe proves, severe austerity can slow growth or lead to recession. Despite periodic slowdowns, the US economy is on a sustainable fiscal path. The deficit is projected to drop below 2.5 percent of GDP by 2017, below its 30-year average, helped partially by the […]
by Linda Beale Fixing Sequestration (for the rich only) Once again, Congress has demonstrated that it notices mostly what affects rich people and can’t quite identify with ordinary Americans. And that it will not pass either spending laws or tax laws (which include a wealth of spending laws through the tax expenditure mechanism) that equitably […]
I have long advocated that the United States should follow Germany’s example of aggressive pursuit of tax evasion, in particular its practice of paying informants for account information from secrecy destinations like Liechtenstein and Switzerland. The German Parliament’s upper house (Bundesrat) rejected a deal in November that Prime Minister Angela Merkel was willing to sign […]
I had my hair cut last week. It’s a big event as it happens about twice per year. While there I always get into political conversations with the lady cutting my hair. This time, as often it was the economy. Her position still is that the individual citizens collecting welfare are effecting her income. We’ve […]
Or: Thinking About Periods and Lags No need to rehash this cock-up, except to point to the utterly definitive takedown by Arindrajit Dube over at Next New Deal (hat tip: Krugman), and to point out that the takedown might just take even if you’re looking at R&R’s original, skewed data. But a larger point: I frequently see econometrics like R&R’s, comparing […]