News
WSJ | Deficit Proposal Picks Up New Allies
The effort of a bipartisan group of senators to attack the long-term budget deficit has won notable new support in recent days, raising lawmakers' hopes of reaching a deal within weeks.
Fox News | Rainy day' funds sit unused in handful of states
...a handful of states with billions of dollars socked away in "rainy day" funds for troubled financial times are discovering they can't use that money to offset their cuts.
Econ Comments
Antony Davies | To understand the magnitude of the Federal budget…
...let’s scale down the Federal government to the size of the average U.S. household.
CNN Opinion | Gang of Six' may solve U.S. debt mess
Washington has been preoccupied with the prospect of a federal government shutdown.
NRO | The Procrastinating Generation
The Obama administration appointed a national-debt commission — only to ignore (so far) its recommendations because they’re seen as too painful.
Cato Institute | Budget Policy Talk in the Dark
Yet the White House's Office of Management and Budget is keeping secret the detailed and long-term budget projections and parameters that it uses to forecast the deficit in future years…
RCM | Short-Term Budget Thinking by Rs and Ds
Democrats like John Kerry believe that a cut of $61 billion in a nearly $4 trillion budget is "dangerous," while some Republicans appear to believe that this cut is meaningful.
Blogs
NRO: The Corner | $862 Billion Over 10 Years
$61 billion x 10 years (+ interest) = $862 billion
Ludwig von Mises Institute | What's Wrong with Government Debt
...after [2018], the deficits get progressively bigger, not merely in absolute dollar terms but even as fractions of the economy.
Heritage Foundation | Budget Deficits Undermine U.S. Trade Policy Agenda
Budget deficits require the government to borrow money that otherwise could be spent on U.S.-made exports or invested in our economy’s productive private sector
NRO: The Corner | There’s No State Pension Crisis After All!
...some states’ pension funds are scheduled to run out as soon as 2017.
Reports
Heritage Foundation | Government Shutdown 101: A Slowdown, Not a Shutdown
The term “shutdown” substantially overstates the matter. Even if Congress and the President fail to reach agreement, the most essential services continue, such as: (1) providing for national security, (2) conducting foreign affairs, (3) providing for the continuity of mandatory benefit payments, and (4) protecting life and property.
