Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

John Boehner says “we do not have an immediate debt crisis.”

Via Salon, David Sirota points to statements by John Boehner and Rand Paul: America owes this debt of gratitude to Boehner after he finally came clean on yesterday’s edition of ABC’s “This Week” and admitted that “we do not have an immediate debt crisis.” (His admission was followed up by Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, […]

Beliefs and economics

New study finds wealthy are different? via Alternet.  Since today and yesterday is shaping up to be deficit days in posts from me, this note caught my attention: One especially significant difference between the opinions of the wealthy and the population as a whole centers on deficit reduction. According to a study cited by Demos, […]

The United States long term debt problem

Michael Linden from Center for American Progress addresses one aspect of using CBO projections, especially the June 2012 report. Best to walk it through with him based on the June report and subsequent reports…good for several posts more is how the current situation is still improving on the debt to GDP ratio so much talked […]

Guest post: HOW DID WE GET HERE? THE ROOTS OF DEFICIT BRINKSMANSHIP

Guest post by Joseph White, Case Western Reserve University and Department Chair andDirector of the Center for Policy Studies and reposted from Scholar Strategy Network: HOW DID WE GET HERE? THE ROOTS OF DEFICIT BRINKSMANSHIP March 2013 brings yet another in an endless series of budget showdowns in Washington DC. This time, draconian “sequestration” spending cuts […]

A Quick Look at Federal Spending

Over at Plain Blog, an anonymous wing nut made this off-topic comment. Now, yes, Bill Clinton and his 2000 federal spending level of 18% of GDP doesn’t put him on the fringe, which makes it surprising that you lefties are celebrating him, even as you hysterically condemn anybody who resists the Left’s current massive spending […]

AEI Economists and the Ugly Memory Hole

by Mike Kimel From an article in the NY Times: Politicians sometimes say that lower tax rates lead to higher economic growth, which in turn leads to higher overall tax revenue. This may have been true in the early 1960s, when the top tax rate was 91 percent, but the top tax rate today is […]

Weapons That Didn’t Work Out

by reader ilsm The Campaign to Preserve Pentagon Waste is in High Gear: From Forbes, Defense Advocate Loren Thompson:  How To Waste $100 Billion: Weapons That Didn’t Work Out One of the most unsettling facets of federal finance is the way the government devalues past investments. The political system is so focused on the next […]

The Argument Against the "First Derivative Mistake" Excuse

Unless you’re really stupid, or bending over backwards to find excuses for the Obama Administration’s Geithnerian malfeasance, you should be less than impressed with Matt Yglesias’s attempt to argue that the Administration saw reason to be happy with overall employment (link to Brad DeLong). If you’re Matt Yglesias, you should be even less impressed with […]

GOP Representative moves to increase deficit–and aid the investor class

by Linda Beale GOP Representative moves to increase deficit–and aid the investor class The GOP has made lots of fusses lately about the deficit. According to the party line, earned benefits that Americans rely on for health care and retirement income just “have” to be reduced, no matter how painful it is to the GOP-controlled […]