News
CQ | More Stopgap Funding in the Works
With rival Democratic and Republican spending plans making little headway in the Senate, House appropriators are already working on another stopgap funding measure to keep the government running past March 18.
Washington Times | U.S. sets $223B deficit record
That one-month figure, which came in a preliminary report from the Congressional Budget Office, dwarfs even the most robust cuts being talked about on the Hill…
Econ Comments
NY Times | It’s Time to Face the Fiscal Illusion
James M. Buchanan, a Nobel laureate in economics — and my former colleague and now professor emeritus at George Mason University — argued that deficit spending would evolve into a permanent disconnect between spending and revenue, precisely because it brings short-term gains.
Blogs
The Economist: Daily Chart | The elephant in the room
America's fiscal problem cannot be solved unless entitlements are tackled
Bankrupting America | Did you get your money’s worth from Congress last week?
...while that bill cuts $4 billion in spending from current levels, it means Congress is still mired in fiscal year 2011 budget fights – even as debate on the fiscal year 2012 budget is just a few weeks away.
NRO: The Corner | More Reasons to Be Skeptical of State-Bankruptcy Legislation
A few years ago, a bankruptcy judge gave [Vajello, CA] leaders the authority to void existing union contracts as part of the city’s effort to reorganize. Nothing happened.
Heritage Foundation | Rep. Renee Ellmers: We’ve Only Just Begun to Cut Spending
Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has begun to unveil his yet-to-be-released entitlement reform plan in this manner, Ellmers said, commending that plan as a “good, solid solution” that especially took on the problem of Medicare.
CSM: Donald Marron | The long term keeps getting shorter
The language to describe long-term and short-term budgets in the US is confusing.
Reports
CBO | Monthly Budget Review
Based on the Monthly Treasury Statement for January and the Daily Treasury Statements for February.
Mercatus Center | The "Other" Pension Crisis
Options for Avoiding a Taxpayer Bailout of the PBGC.
