News
WSJ | Fiscal Talks Spur Charitable Giving
Tax uncertainty in Washington is setting off a mad scramble among wealthy taxpayers and charities to maximize donations before the end of the year.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Washington Times | Government spending the true ‘dark money’ scandal
The country is on the verge of barreling over a “fiscal cliff.” Absent any change, taxes will spike by more than $500 billion next year (an average of $3,500 per household), which economists think could precipitate another recession.
Real Clear Markets | Under Obama, Economic Stagnation Is the New Normal
Friday's "Employment Situation" report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed that 5.4 million Americans have dropped out of the labor force since Barack Obama took office. The labor force declined by 350,000 in November, despite an increase of 191,000 in our working age population.
WSJ | Obama's Historic Budget Opportunity
Since the election, PresidentObama has focused the debate about the fiscal cliff on taxes. This tactical political positioning is putting at risk the strategic objective of a pro-growth budget package to reduce U.S. debt.
Washington Times | Resist the siren song on compromise in budget talks
Nothing could be more intellectually fashionable these days than the idea that the middle ground is where the solution to all problems can be found, particularly when it comes to the ailing U.S. economy. But “compromise,” the New Oxford American Dictionary tells us, has another meaning: “the acceptance of standards that are lower than is desirable.”
CBO | Monthly Budget Review
The federal budget deficit was $292 billion for the first two months of fiscal year 2013, $57 billion more than the shortfall recorded in October and November of last year, CBO estimates.
Heritage Foundation | The Fiscal Cliff and the Perils of Grand Budget Deals
One of the major complications in the current fiscal cliff debate is that both sides are overreaching, trying to tie a near-term resolution to a sweeping deficit reduction plan that would address the longer-term budgetary crisis looming in the years ahead.
Blogs
WSJ | Vital Signs Chart: Americans’ Shrinking Debt Burden
Consumers are both paying off debts and seeing their after-tax incomes rise modestly.
