News
Bloomberg | First China Default Seen as Record $427 Billion Debt Due
Chinese company debt twice the size of Ireland’s economy will come due in 2014, spurring concern the nation is on the cusp of its first corporate bond default.
Bloomberg | Budget Deal in U.S. Would Reduce Automatic Spending Cuts
U.S. budget negotiators are nearing a deal to trim automatic spending cuts that might break a three-year cycle of failed fiscal talks in Washington.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Mercatus | Comparing President Obama’s Early Budget with His Mid-Session Review
How realistic are presidential budget projections? Even the most careful calculations are susceptible to inappropriate assumptions, misplaced optimism about economic and political conditions, and unavoidable uncertainty about what the future will hold.
Blogs
CBO | Options for Reducing the Deficit: Mandatory Spending
CBO recently published a report on Options for Reducing the Deficit: 2014 to 2023. That report is now available in a fully digital version, so users can search the options according to major budget category, budget function, and major program category. The report included 23 options for changing mandatory spending programs (apart from options primarily involving health); they are listed at the bottom of this post with estimates of their budgetary savings.
CATO | Budget Deal: A Dangerous Precedent
Republican and Democratic negotiators are expected to agree to a budget deal this week setting spending levels for 2014. The Washington Post says that the deal will amount to “little more than a cease-fire.”
