News
WSJ | California Drought Will Cost $2.2 Billion in Agriculture Losses This Year
California's drought will cost the state $2.2 billion this year in losses and added expenses for its giant agriculture industry, while cutting 17,100, or 3.8%, of the state's farm jobs, according to a report released Tuesday.
Econ Comments & Analysis
CBO | Testimony on The 2014 Long-Term Budget Outlook
In brief, between 2009 and 2012, the federal government recorded the largest budget deficits relative to the size of the economy since 1946, causing its debt to soar. The total amount of federal debt held by the public is now equivalent to about 74 percent of the economy’s annual output, or gross domestic product (GDP)—a higher percentage than at any point in U.S. history except a brief period around World War II and almost twice the percentage at the end of 2008.
Blogs
Reason Foundation | America's Unsustainable Long-Term Debt Trajectory
In the past year or so, the White House has become increasingly aggressive in touting President Obama’s achievements in reducing the deficit. The deficit has been “cut by more than half since 2009,” a 2013 blog post by the White House Office of Management and Budget declared, pointing to the shrinking of the deficit as a percentage of the economy.
WSJ | Few States Prepared for Economic Slumps
That’s the finding of a new report out Tuesday from Pew Charitable Trusts. Researchers there argue states don’t fill their “rainy day” funds enough to prepare for economic slumps, missing out on a key buffer during recessions.
