Simon Johnson points us to more information on the JOBS bill (see link) and a Senate vote today: As it currently stands, the “JOBS” bill now before the Senate would gut investor protection in the United States. The title of the bill is a complete misnomer – anything that weakens investor protection makes it more […]

by Linda Beale Is Congress drinking Grover Norquist koolaid? (or will it fund IRS appropriately) IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman testified before the House Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee on President Obama’s proposed 2013 budget for the IRS. Shulman wants Congress to provide adequate funding to the IRS to support its enforcement function. The […]

Given Ryan’s release of his new plan calling for territorial taxation of corporations comes this example of Apple from Kenneth Thomas, Middle class political economist econoblog: Apple Whines About Having to Pay Taxesby Kenneth Thomas   On Monday, Apple announced that it was going to start paying dividends to shareholders, and buy back $10 billion worth of […]

Who gets water at what prices in the US still appears to be considered a local issue in the US at its core, and at best regional during droughts that cross borders or as it pertains to agricultural use and ‘retail’ (cities and burbs).  The issue of private versus public ownership is not very visible […]

by Dale Coberly AARP vs. Social Security? Last week Huffington Post reported that AARP was embarking on a “Social Security and Medicare “listening tour” called “You’ve Earned a Say and We’re Listening.” Through “town halls, community conversations, bus tours and other events,” the influential organization promises to offer members a chance to speak out on […]

Just wanted to let everyone know about a presentation that aired on Cspan’s Book TV.  It is a 2 hour panel discussion titles: Global Economy: Crisis Without End.  It was held 2/17/12.   Click hereto bring up the show.   What I found most interesting was the different perspectives between Krugman and Sachs. I’m not […]

JKH has magisterial post up on the recent dust-up over Saving as perceived in various sectoral models — one-sector (global, for instance, or government- and trade-balanced domestic private sector); two-sector (government and private including international); the most common MMT construct, the three-sector model (government, domestic private, and international); the rather uncommon four-sector model (government, international, […]

by Rebecca Wilder Housing Bubbles: Less Frothy but Europe is Behind Wolfgang Muenchau’s article in the Financial Times, There is no Spanish siesta for the Eurozone, inspired me to update my post on housing bubbles around the world (really just Europe and the US). He argues that Spain’s bubble was much more extreme, and that […]

by Linda Beale Still haven’t filed your FBAR? Don’t wait till you get hit with forfeiture like this Alaska Plastic Surgeon It looks like the leads from the various voluntary disclosures are beginning to pay off, as the U.S. is beginning to develop high stakes cases related to Americans who have tried to maintain secret […]