News
WSJ | Wisconsin Governor Seeks Deep Cuts
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker proposed a two-year budget Tuesday cutting more than $1.25 billion in state aid to schools and local governments, part of a broad proposed reduction in state spending of nearly 7%.
ABC News | From Connecticut to Wisconsin to Florida, States Try Creative Ways to Balance Budgets
In Connecticut, Gov. Dan Malloy is even going after coupon clippers. As part of $1.5 billion in new taxes in Connecticut, Malloy proposes a sales tax on the original price of something -- never mind whether you get a big discount when you buy it.
WSJ | States Fumble Revenue Forecasts
The report's authors calculate that during the depth of the latest recession in 2009, income forecasts by all 50 states overshot reality by a total $49 billion.
WSJ | Both Sides Embrace Government-Waste Study
House and Senate leaders of both parties promised to rein in government spending after examining a new report that detailed billions of dollars in duplicative federal programs.
National Journal | Cantor Says GOP Will Have Budget Plan With Entitlement Reform This Month
Cantor said that it’s only a matter of time until the GOP and the Democrats come together for a “grand bargain” that will fund the government for more than just a few weeks at a time.
Minyanville | What Would Happen if the Government Actually Shut Down?
The federal employees that kept working were responsible for what the Office of Management and Budget describes as "excepted activities"…
Econ Comments
Cato Institute | There Are Worse Things Than Government Shutdowns
No one really wants to shut down the government, of course. But one does have to wonder why it is more important to prevent a government shutdown than it is to stop the tide of red ink threatening to engulf our economy.
AEI | The Public No Longer Sees Government Shutdown As a "Train Wreck"
Pollster Scott Rasmussen reports that 58 percent of likely voters would rather have a government shutdown until both parties can agree on spending cuts, while only 33 percent would prefer spending at the same levels as last year.
Washington Times | DE RUGY & FICHTNER: Don’t raise the debt ceiling
The Treasury Department estimates that at the current rate of government spending, America’s debt will crash through the $14.3 trillion ceiling in April or May.
AEI | There's Little Chance the Budget Will Be Done in 2 Weeks
The debate we should be having, over the larger long-term debt problem and over how to make smart savings that preserve both a safety net and critical investments in the future, is both obscured by the current one and made more difficult to have if we end up with vicious disputes and potential shutdowns draining energy and the tiny amount of trust and goodwill that exists in the larger political process.
Blogs
Marginal Revolution | How bad is the state pension funding mess?
I don't see Baker -- not once -- analyzing the public choice considerations of how state governments actually behave and treat their finances.
NRO: The Corner | Long Live Bad Models and Government Spending!
Many of us have said it before, but it’s worth repeating: Both studies are based on the same faulty models that predicted that the stimulus of 2009 would stimulate economic growth.
WSJ: Real Time Economics | Bernanke Warns on Debt-Limit ‘Chaos’
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned Congress could create financial and economic “chaos” if lawmakers bind together raising the short-term debt limit to fund the federal government with fundamental fiscal restructuring.
Cato@Liberty | GAO Report on Duplicative Programs
Most of the “services” discussed in the report need to be eliminated, not consolidated. Turning 82 teacher quality programs into, say, 10 doesn’t change the fact that the federal government should not be involved in education in the first place.
WSJ: Real Time Economics | U.S. Getting Closer to $14.29 Trillion Debt Ceiling
As of Monday, the U.S. had $14.14 trillion in debt subject to the $14.294 trillion debt ceiling, according to the government’s Bureau of Public Debt. This is up from $14.0 trillion Jan. 28.
Reports
Heritage Foundation | How to Fix the Federal Budget
The public debt is closing in on 70 percent of the economy and within the decade will exceed the tipping point of 90 percent, resulting in significant harm to economic growth and prosperity.
AEI | Getting to Deficit Reduction
Waiting for a fiscal crisis to occur before taking action is unwise. Japan’s failure to address its debt problem has caused an erosion of living standards over the last decade and a half, and the United States could follow suit if it does not learn from Japan’s mistakes.
Heritage Foundation | Chinese Investment in the U.S.: $2 Trillion and Counting
The Department of the Treasury just issued its preliminary annual report of foreign holdings of American securities. It puts total Chinese investment in the U.S. at $1.61 trillion as of June 30, 2010.
