News
WSJ | Obama Open to Debt-Cap Deal
The White House encouraged congressional leaders to reach a major deficit-reduction deal by offering them a little more time, as they scrambled to find a way to prevent a government default in less than two weeks.
Econ Comments
National Journal | Fact Check: Can Spending Cuts Stick?
A key obstacle to a bipartisan budget deal that raises taxes and cuts spending is the belief among conservatives that such deals lock in tax rates while promised cuts never materialize, but an independent budget analysis shows that isn’t the case.
WSJ | The Gang of Six Play
A conceptual breakthrough that has too few details.
Washington Times | MILLER: Debt sealing America’s future
Senate leaders scheme to maintain the big spending that’s bankrupting the country.
WSJ | How Spending Cuts—Not Higher Taxes—Saved Canada
Liberals up there listened to voters, and their economy is now growing faster than ours.
Daily Caller | Cut, Cap and Balance: What would Reagan do?
Reagan understood — as did few presidents before, and none since — that unsustainable government borrowing and spending would threaten the economic opportunity that makes America exceptional.
Cato Institute | The Futility of the Gang of Six Budget Plan
I've opined that a budget deal yielding just $4 trillion in budget savings is unlikely to improve the U.S. fiscal condition by 2020.
Blogs
Cato@Liberty | Budget Plans: Gang of Six and Senator Coburn
My summer homework assignment for every congressional office is to go through a Coburn/Paul-style budget downsizing exercise. That could lead to more serious spending debates and more concrete proposals than the generally meaningless bullets points issued by the Gang of Six.
American: Enterprise Blog | How Does the Gang of Six Budget Plan Measure Up?
Overall, we need to see more details on how much is raised, how much is cut, and how those cuts are distributed. Hopefully, by the time the details are published, the Gang of Six will have decided to include bigger entitlement reforms as well.
Mercatus Center: Neighborhood Effects | Balanced Budget Rules and Unintended Consequences
If belt-tightening leads to muffin-tops, maybe we need more than a balanced budget amendment? Perhaps spanxs?
