News
CNN Money | Fiscal cliff: Years of self-made messes
Democrats blame the Republicans; Republicans blame the Democrats. President Obama gives speeches on the hustings. House Speaker Boehner holds press conferences. Interest groups launch ad campaigns with one of two messages: "Don't you dare raise taxes!" or " Don't you dare cut Medicare and Social Security!"
Bloomberg | State Tax Revenue Rebounds as Post-Recession Spending Rises
U.S. state governments are recovering from the recession as tax collections increase, allowing them to spend more on schools and transportation, according to a report.
CNN Money | Fiscal cliff imperils Asian economies, U.N. says
A failure by politicians in the United States to avoid the fiscal cliff could drag down economies on the other side of the globe, according to a new analysis by a United Nations agency.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Washington Times | By the numbers, it’s past time to start cutting back
Well, folks, unless you’ve been living under a rock since Cyber Monday, you know that the politicians in Washington have not gotten very far in terms of solving the “fiscal cliff” before the end of 2012. When you read this, we’ll have 10 business days left before we ring in the New Year. The crux of the dispute seems to be raising revenue – code for “higher taxes” – versus cutting spending.
Forbes | Don't Cave GOP, This Time Deficits DO Matter
Do deficits matter? Conservatives have sometimes claimed that they don’t. Dick Cheney has said on more than one occasion that, “Reagan taught us that deficits don’t matter.” In fact, he said that to me personally once.
Washington Times | Clock is ticking for fiscal cliff
We all know the clock is ticking on the “fiscal cliff.” In a few weeks, tax increases of more than $500 billion will take effect alongside the first of $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts unless President Obama and congressional leaders are able to strike a compromise during the lame-duck session.
Blogs
AEI | Does Social Security increase the budget deficit?
There are two main measures of the budget deficit and the federal debt: The “on-budget” deficit shows the balance of programs other than Social Security (and the postal service), while the “unified budget” deficit combines Social Security with the rest of the budget.
WSJ | Fiscal Cliff Deal Necessary, but Rushing Makes Bad Policy
The U.S. tax code is about 73,000 pages. Congress and the White House seem to want to rewrite it in little over a week. Good luck with that.
National Review | ‘Debt Default and Government Shutdown Avoidance Act’?
My friend and George Washington Law School professor Michael Abramowicz recently sent me this suggestion about how to deal with the upcoming “debt ceiling” crisis. He suggests passing a bill called something like the “Debt Default and Government Shutdown Avoidance Act.”
AEI | What do we make of this chart?
To paraphrase Soren Kierkegaard, ”We are like spectators in a theater who applaud the announcement — and repeated announcement — that the building is on fire.” Time to fix the debt.
