The big question here is with the sequester — the mandated spending cuts across the board that are expected to have a particularly harsh impact on defense spending.
Tag: Taxes
“Fiscal cliff”: important policy questions, but no “crisis”
The worst case scenario — tax increases to levels of 2000 accompanied by some sharp spending cuts — will put us back on a much faster path to a balanced budget and a reduced federal debt. Going over the so-called “cliff” would hurt growth and likely put us back in recession, but it will also help clean up our long-term problems.
That’s hardly a “crisis”.
A look at 2012 — in graphs
We engaged in wars we didn’t pay for. The Bush tax cuts, the first of which came at a time when the federal budget showed surpluses, left the government hopelessly in the red. The recession exacted a huge toll — cutting tax revenues and forcing greater expenditures on safety net programs.
And Obama’s stimulus package cost us, but only temporarily. Without it, we would have certainly seen the economic downturn take an even bigger bite.
Calculated Risk: Ten Economic Questions for 2013
For short, pithy summaries of key issues facing the economy in 2013, check out Calculated Risk’s Ten Economic Questions for 2013.
Georgia Senator Isakson, other key Republicans want “fiscal cliff” deal
“The president’s statement is right,†Mr. Isakson said Sunday on the ABC program “This Week.†“No one wants taxes to go up on the middle class. I don’t want them to go up on anybody, but I’m not in the majority in the United States Senate, and he’s the president of the United States.â€
NYT: “How Party of Budget Restraint Shifted to ‘No New Taxes,’ Ever”
As I’ve noted here repeatedly, the most expensive items in the federal budget are wildly popular — including with Republicans. Americans like Social Security as it is and don’t want to restrain spending on Medicare — and don’t want deep cuts to defense either.
Tonight in the “fiscal cliff”: Boehner calls off vote on Plan B
Put a couple of reasonable people in a room together, and they could easily split those very small differences.
But it seems that Boehner could not sell that plan to more than half the House Republicans.
So he pushed for a vote on a plan that would have raised tax rates only for those earning over $1 million — a plan that would have also hit working folks hard because of cuts to the child tax credit and earned income tax credit.
Mark Thoma on fiscal policy during a recession: did we learn anything?
“If both sides agree that taxes and spending can be used to offset recessions, then why can’t we use fiscal policy more effectively?”
CNN covers Georgia’s growing film industry
The CNN reporter George Howell didn’t really get out of Atlanta for this report, but it’s still well worth a watch.
When push comes to shove, Americans — including Republicans — oppose significant spending cuts
President Obama and leaders of both parties need to do a better job of educating Americans about the simple realities of the arithmetic.
And the news media needs to do a better job of it too.
“The data speaks”: Tax hikes for wealthiest Americans won’t destroy the economy
Before I continue to the numbers, I want to say that I’ve been surprised over the last few years to realize that so many Americans simply reject data collected and analyzed by independent scholars, economists, government workers following strict methodology, and other experts. So many Americans just want to go with their gut — they want to believe, well, what they believe.
Eliminating the deficit may be harder than you think
I’d encourage all readers who are closely following the so-called “fiscal cliff” negotiations to take a look at this great interactive feature at the Wall Street Journal today: Make Your Own Deficit-Reduction Plan
Almost half of Americans think — wrongly — that “fiscal cliff” would increase deficit; 25% have strong opinions about a plan that doesn’t exist
Americans interested in understanding how the economy works need to turn off the 24-hour news networks and find better sources for their information.
The case against the mortgage interest deduction
A little over 10 years ago, I was flying back from London and had a long, long conversation with the man seated next to me. I had been to London to interview actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers for a now defunct Savannah-based magazine, and my neighbor had been there to pick up a cache of rare Emerson, Lake, & Palmer albums. Some interesting conversation ensued.