by Linda Beale Essential Health Benefits and cost benefit analysis: can we maintain doctors’ incomes and provide decent care for all? So we thought we had finally created a national system of health insurance that would permit near-universal coverage for essential health benefits to every American. But the Obama administration says it is not going […]
by Linda Beale Madoff and Mankiw and Inequality–the corporatist ideology at work There are two letters to the editor in the Times today that are worth noting–as usual, the ‘real’ analysis is hidden in the interior pages, positioned next to a huge ad (for an investment adviser, no less).Chris Cannon from San Francisco notes […]
by Linda Beale House passes spending bill While the Senate was wrangling over what of the noxious provisions in HR 3630 they would have to keep in order to get expanded unemployment compensation and a payroll tax cut, the House passed a spending bill 296-121 (with 147 Republicans and 149 Democrats in favor) to […]
by Linda Beale Payroll Tax Cut -Keystone vote up Saturday at 9 in Senate Apparently, Senate leaders on Friday ironed out the difficulty between the GOP and the Democratic party. The GOP got most everything it wanted, and the Dems got just barely more than nothing. That’s the way “negotiating” seems to go in the Congress […]
by Linda Beale Should reinsurance using foreign affiliates be deductible to US corporations? Foreign-owned US insurance companies frequently reinsure through their foreign affiliates and then claim a deduction under section 832(b)(4)(A) for the reinsurance premium paid to the affiliate to reduce the US tax liability of the US company. Rep. Richard Neal (D-Ma) introduced a […]
Dan here…Linda Beale writes on the intent and passage of these bills. Whether the use of the payroll tax has political and budget consequences for people’s perceptions of Social Security and its future remains a question previously discussed at Angry Bear here. by Linda Beale (Update from Linda: Payroll Tax Extension Passes) GOP’s payroll tax […]
by Linda Beale The Hill reports on “supercommittee Alexander Bolton reports that “With Supercommittee Deadlocked, leaders Reid and Boehner meet“, The Hill (Nov. 15, 2011). Reid (Dem) and Boehner (GOP) met Tuesday, but aides told The Hill that “They’re not about to dive in” to the negotiations. But as the committee seems to be at […]
by Linda Beale GOP two-step approach problematic Discussion continued apace yesterday about the “supercommittee” and the idea of agreeing to agree someday on some revenue increases while going ahead with cuts. This approach is a terrible one since it gives the obstructionist GOP members just another setting in which to refuse to go ahead with […]
by Linda Beale Super-Congress wants to have its cake and eat it too So the Democrats and Republicans on the so-called “Super-Committee” that is supposed to find $1.2 trillion in budget reductions/increased revenues within a week now thinks it has a solution–let the regular tax committees (Finance and Ways & Means) come up with the […]
by Linda Beale GOP wants to repeal Dodd-Frank: instead they should listen to Nassim Taleb Nassim Taleb, the author of the book on long-tail events, suggests in a Nov. 6, 2011 op-ed in the New York Times that “it is only a matter of time before private risktaking leads to another giant bailout like the […]