My latest column for the Christian Science Monitor argues that a slew of budget deadlines will drive policy action this Fall. Case in point, the potential for a government shutdown when the government’s fiscal year ends next week. I don’t think that’s likely, at least not yet, but such deadlines will be the big thing this [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Deficit’
Deadlines, Deadlines, Deadlines
Posted in Budget, Politics, tagged Debt, Deficit on September 22, 2011 | 1 Comment »
The Latest Sovereign Debt Meme? Going Big
Posted in Budget, International, tagged Budget, Debt, Deficit, Europe on September 16, 2011 | 2 Comments »
The developed world is awash in sovereign debt. Greece stands on the precipice of painful (and inevitable) default. Italy and Spain struggle to convince markets that their debts are good. Portugal and Ireland hope to get in the lifeboat with Italy and Spain, rather than drown with Greece. And then there’s the United States. Much further from a sovereign crisis than many Euro nations, [...]
S&P’s $2 Trillion Error
Posted in Budget, Finance, Politics, tagged Budget, Debt, Deficit on August 7, 2011 | 22 Comments »
In the final hours before Friday’s historic downgrade, Standard & Poors gave Treasury an advance copy of its report. Amazingly, that report contained a $2 trillion error in its calculations of U.S. deficits and debt over the next decade. Here are four things you should know about it. 1. Treasury hoped that S&P would change its decision [...]
Five Things You Should Know About the S&P Downgrade
Posted in Budget, Finance, Politics, tagged Budget, Debt, Deficit, Interest Rates on August 5, 2011 | 11 Comments »
On Friday night, Standard and Poors announced that it was downgrading U.S. long-term sovereign debt from AAA to AA+, the first such downgrade in U.S. history. Here are five things you should know about the downgrade — four important, one trivia. 1. S&P downgraded U.S. debt not only because of the deteriorating fiscal outlook, but [...]
Does the Gang of Six Cut Taxes or Raise Them?
Posted in Budget, Politics, tagged Budget, Debt, Deficit, Taxes on July 20, 2011 | 5 Comments »
Here’s a quick multiple choice quiz about the Gang of Six’s new budget proposal. Over the next ten years, would the proposal: a. Cut taxes by $1.5 trillion b. Increase taxes by $2.0 trillion c. Increase taxes by $1.2 trillion d. All of the above. If you answered (d), you have a fine future as [...]
A Big Error in the Senate Republicans’ Balanced Budget Amendment
Posted in Budget, Politics, tagged Budget, Debt, Deficit, Politics on July 6, 2011 | 5 Comments »
Senate Republicans made a striking error in the balanced budget amendment they introduced last week. As written, the amendment would limit federal spending far more than those senators realize or, I suspect, desire. The Republicans want the budget to be balanced by keeping spending down rather than by raising tax revenues. They thus propose limiting [...]
The Day the United States Defaulted on Treasury Bills
Posted in Budget, tagged Debt, Debt Limit, Default, Deficit, Treasury on May 26, 2011 | 35 Comments »
Since the day of Alexander Hamilton, the United States has never defaulted on the federal debt. That’s what we budget-watchers always say. It’s a great talking point. One that helps bolster the argument that default should not be an option in Washington’s ongoing debt limit slowdown. There’s just one teensy problem: it isn’t true. As [...]
Cut Spending by Raising Taxes
Posted in Budget, tagged Budget, Debt, Deficit, Taxes on May 24, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
My latest column at the Christian Science Monitor argues that we can cut spending by raising taxes: Here’s a shocker: America can cut government spending by eliminating tax breaks. I know that sounds crazy. Everyone usually talks as if spending and tax breaks are distinct. Spending is what the government gives out or uses for [...]
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