News
Market Watch | EU agrees debt deal; 50% Greek debt haircut
European leaders announced a deal early Thursday in which private investors in Greek government debt will take a 50% writedown on the value of their holdings as part of a wide-ranging package of measures designed to stem the euro-zone debt crisis.
CNN Money | Debt committee: Why $1.2 trillion isn't enough
That's because under the most likely scenario, reducing deficits by $1.2 trillion won't stop the accumulated debt from growing faster than the economy.
NY Times | Democrats’ First Offer: Up to $3 Trillion for Debt
The proposal, which came after weeks of silence, has virtually no chance of winning approval from Republicans on the committee, who have repeatedly said they would not accept a package that included tax increases.
WSJ | Parties Trade Deficit Plans
GOP, Democrats Clash Over Taxes, but Offers Lay Groundwork for Further Talks.
Econ Comments
Washington Post | Stuntmen of the supercommittee
And so, as the 12 stuntmen on the committee assembled for their hearing this week, it was to discuss something different: the relatively small slice of the budget known as “discretionary spending.”
Politico | Supercommittee should cut more
A wide-ranging plan that saves $3 trillion to $4 trillion is more likely to win bipartisan consensus on debt reduction for three reasons.
Blogs
NRO: The Corner | What Successful Fiscal Adjustments Look Like
The case studies highlighted in this book show that while successful fiscal adjustments tend to bring in more revenue ex-post than expected (by 1 percent of potential GDP), few were actually intended as revenue-based adjustments.
Atlantic: McArdle | EU Reaches Deal on Greek Debt
They make a deal, the market rejoices, and then everyone notices that they still aren't an optimal currency union, and they haven't done many of the things that would help ease those tensions, like deepening fiscal integration.
American: Enterprise Blog | Euro debt deal likely ‘too little too late’
One has to hope that these misgivings about the package prove to be misplaced. For if this package fails, the very survival of the Euro in its present form would be in question and Europe could experience its own Lehman moment.
