Why did the greatest failure of laissez-faire capitalism since the Great Depression lead to a turn to the right rather than the left in both Europe and the U.S.?
Budget
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Forget the Super Congress
A lot of punditry today is being directed at the super-committee of 12 that the debt-ceiling deal establishes, ostensibly to bring our fiscal house in order. But God knows why. The idea that the Republicans on the committee will accede to any tax increases — after House Republicans read John Boehner the riot act for […]
Posted inEconomic Policy
I Ruined the Economy and All I Got Were These Lousy Tax Cuts
Will the GOP’s budget plan spark a double-dip recession?
Posted inAmerica and the World
Governing Beyond His Means
Rep. Paul Ryan’s foreign policy ideas are sensible, but his budget would make implementing them impossible.
Posted inEconomic Policy
Fancy Talk
For some time, liberals have felt that their messenger-in-chief has been AWOL. In the wake of President Barack Obama’s acquiescence to $38 billion in spending cuts, many targeted at vulnerable populations, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman wrote of the president that “arguably, all he has left is the bully pulpit. But he isn’t even […]
Posted inEconomic Policy
Debating the Obama Budget
Adam Serwer, Monica Potts, and Jamelle Bouie discuss the Obama administration’s budget proposal, and the rash on anti-choice bills Republicans have introduced.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
TAP Talks to Bill Richardson
The New Mexico Gov. and Democratic presidential hopeful discusses balanced budgets, universal health care, and what it means to be “pro-growth.”
Posted inEconomic Policy
The Balanced Budget Trap
Absolute budget balance has become orthodoxy; a constitutional amendment to enforce it may pass Congress even if Democrats win the elections. But look at the costs.
Posted inAmerica and the World
Orbit of Influence: Spy Finance and the Black Budget
America’s huge budget for electronic reconnaissance might have come in for scrutiny after the Cold War. But the few in Congress who are supposed to watch over the world of spy finance are also big beneficiaries of it.