Representative Paul Ryan, chair of the House Budget Committee, plans to unveil his 2013 budget plan this morning, much to the excitement of Democrats and to the chagrin of Republicans, who remember how last year's budget negotiations turned out for them (not well). Although the details of the plan have yet to be released, changes to the tax code and Medicare will be the proposal's big-ticket items. Ryan's budget would make it so the tax code would have only two brackets-15 and 25 percent-eliminate the Alternative Minimum Tax, and cut almost all taxes on U.S. corporations' overseas earnings.
Congressional Democrats are already gearing up to assail the budget plan. As Politico put it, "the release of the House GOP budget is like Christmas in March," and media blitzes and town halls are already in the works to frame the budget in a way that could leave them winners for the second year in a row. The Budget Committee plans to vote on the plan tomorrow, and House Democrats will unveil their budget rebuttal next week.
The Latest
- Economists Offer More Pessimistic View on Manufacturing in Upcoming Report The Washington Post
- Behind the Blood Money The New York Times
- On Trail, a Concrete Deficit Plan Is Hard to Find The Wall Street Journal
- The Scent of Fast Money, and Tuna Bloomberg Businessweek
Chart of the Day
The American economy may not be growing fast, but there is no question it's been on the upswing the past few months. People are re-entering the workforce, and finally starting to buy things again. Loans to consumers are up 5 percent from last year, homeowner confidence is rising, and the supply of unsold houses on the market is dropping. Unless something shocks the market again, the economy is trucking along.
Reason to Get Out of Bed in the Morning
Today would have been Mister Rogers' 84th birthday, giving you a perfect excuse to relive your childhood and watch some clips of the best neighbor ever.
