News
CNN Money | Spending cuts: Here comes the hard part
Congress cut spending, but still has to decide which programs and agencies will receive less money.
Washington Times | U.S. debt deal alone won’t sustain AAA rating
The U.S. averted a debt default Tuesday when President Barack Obama signed a bill raising the country’s debt ceiling. But the debt deal might not be enough to maintain its coveted AAA debt rating, according to two credit rating agencies.
WSJ | Deficit Battle Shifts to Panel
The Senate approved—and President Barack Obama immediately signed—the long-awaited deal to raise the nation's debt limit Tuesday, as the battle shifted to how a special committee created by the measure will cut the deficit by $1.5 trillion.
NY Times | Worries Rise Over Spain and Italy Debt
Just as European markets seemed to resume their normalcy after the tumult of their sovereign debt crises, the wolves are back at the door.
WSJ | Moody's, Fitch Affirm U.S.'s Triple-A Rating
Moody's Investors Service confirmed its Aaa rating on the U.S. but maintained a downbeat outlook, saying more progress is needed for the government to shrink its fiscal deficit.
Econ Comments
Washington Times | DE BORCHGRAVE: Unthinkable is reality
Dysfunction reigns in U.S. policies at home and abroad.
National Journal | 'Not a Solution' or 'A Good Result'? Lawmakers, Officials Sound Off on Debt Compromise in Op-Eds
With a compromise deal to raise the debt ceiling and reduce the deficit signed into law, a handful of politicians and officials took to op-ed pages Wednesday morning to weigh in on the deal, the process, and the future of the nation's economy. Here's a roundup of what was written.
NY Times | A Crisis Merely Postponed
LAST month, President Obama and Congressional leaders came close to an agreement that could have set our nation on a sound fiscal path, only to see deal after deal, compromise after compromise, collapse.
RCM | A Debt Opportunity Deferred, Not Entirely Lost
Fortunately, the opportunity to tackle this problem hasn't been lost, only deferred. The new law gives Republicans and Democrats the tools they need to address the fiscal imbalance later this year, if they can find the courage and flexibility to use them.
AEI | The Debt Ceiling Deal: Kicking the Can Down the Road
It offers fiscal half-measures at best, setting the country up for a replay of this year's contentious debate in 2013, and it forecloses serious policy consideration of reforms needed to put Medicare on a sustainable fiscal path.
Blogs
Cato@Liberty | Debt Deal to Slow the Economy?
The Washington Post reports that spending cuts in the budget deal threaten to slow the economy. The article quotes a number of economists who seem to harbor a rather extreme Keynesian bias in their thinking.
Volokh Conspiracy | The Debt Deal and Divided Government
If nothing else, the deal provides additional evidence in support of the proposition that divided government reduces the growth of the state, and makes deregulation and spending cuts more likely.
Daily Capitalist | Market Sees Through Budget “Solution”
While politician are congratulating themselves today (Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid: ”Our country was literally on the brink of disaster.”), the markets weren’t fooled by their hyperbole and the Dow declined 2.19% (265 points) and the S&P dropped 2.56%.
NRO: The Corner | What’s Missing from the Debt Deal: Entitlement Reform
Under current law, CBO projects that spending on Social Security and major health care programs — mainly Medicare, Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program — would be 12.2 percent of GDP in 2021; a 70 percent increase relative to the historical average.
Reports
CBO | CBO Analysis of August 1 Budget Control Act
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has estimated the impact on the deficit of the Budget Control Act of 2011, as posted on the Web site of the House Committee on Rules on August 1, 2011.
