News
Politico | Odd allies fight against taxing municipal bonds
The push for reliable roads and bridges is bringing together a strange-bedfellows coalition: not only cities and counties whose economies rely on such projects but also soybean farmers, truckers and state transit advocates.
Bloomberg | Fiat Chief Urges End to Until-We-Die European Austerity
Fiat SpA (F) Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne spoke out against deeper budget cuts in Europe as Renault SA (RNO) CEO Carlos Ghosn urged government spending to revive the region’s anemic sales, which he forecast won’t recover for another three years.
CNN Money | Why spending cuts may be here to stay
The threat of automatic budget cuts was supposed to light a fire under lawmakers and force them to do their jobs.
Econ Comments & Analysis
WSJ | #SequesterThis
In its bid to make the sequester as painful as possible, the White House announced Tuesday that it is canceling all visitor tours of the White House "during the popular Spring touring season." This fits President Obama's political strategy to punish the eighth graders visiting from Illinois instead of, say, the employees of the Agriculture Department who will attend a California conference sipping "exceptional local wines" and sampling "tasty dishes" prepared by "special guest chefs."
Barrons | Thinking About the Unthinkable
As Washington partisans fight with smoke and mirrors over automatic federal budget cuts for the current fiscal year, it's hard to see them in proper perspective. It may help to remember that Washington is the place where the word decimation lost its original meaning of a 10% reduction and became a synonym for total destruction.
CATO | Fewer Taxpayers, More Spending
Under economic pressure, the Obama administration has pursued an increasingly vigorous class war strategy. At the same time people continue to be dropped from the income tax rolls. This likely expands government and increases what the rest of us will have to pay.
AEI | Spending cuts may be answer to slow economic growth
The Dow set a new high on Tuesday, but the larger economy is a different story. What if today's sluggish economic growth turns out to be the new normal? That's the unsettling question asked by some of our most creative economic thinkers.
Heritage Foundation | Research Review: Spending Cuts Are Better Than Tax Increases
Governments regularly run fiscal deficits and periodically awake to the need to restore balance to their finances. These episodes of “fiscal correction” or “austerity” may emphasize either tax increases or spending cuts. As the United States faces an out-of-control budget deficit and trillions in unfunded promises to future retirees, the question looms large: Tax more, spend less, or do some of both?
Blogs
WSJ | White House Economist: Sequestration Poses New Risk to Economy
The across the board government spending cuts now in place pose a new threat to the U.S. economy, White House economist Alan Krueger said Tuesday.
