The White House finally released the President’s FY 2014 budget proposal last week. Not only has it garnered the media’s attention due to the fact that President failed to keep his deadline (more than two months late) but also both the Democrats and Republicans are equally unsatisfied with the President’s proposal. Here are some key … Continue reading
Category Archives: Debt
Debt / Economy / Fiscal policy / Taxes
Social Security: A Little Reform Today Might Solve a Big Problem Tomorrow
The CBO’s budget and economic outlook, released last week, looks bleak. And one of the drivers of future budget shortfalls? Social Security. During the Feb. 13th house budget hearing on CBO’s outlook, Rep. John Campbell (CA) asked Doug Elmendorf – CBO Director – if we were in a pickle with regards to the U.S. budget. … Continue reading
Debt / Economy / Fiscal policy
Economics Made Easy: Does the U.S. Have too Much Debt?
On Wednesday, January 25, Congress voted to raise the debt ceiling to allow more government spending until about May of this year. The sequester’s forced automatic spending cuts go into effect March 27th. Debt, spending, “fiscal cliff’, budgets, etc. keep Americans on the verge of a heart attack, and many find themselves wondering: how much … Continue reading
America / Debt / Economy / Fiscal policy
Let He Who Is Without Sin Cast the First Stone
By Chris Hartline The American political system is broken. Congress is broken. Our representatives don’t represent us. These are common refrains you hear particularly outside of Washington – though inside as well – and they possess some semblance of truth. The 112th Congress was the most unproductive Congress in 60 years and the 2nd year of … Continue reading
America / Debt / Economy / Fiscal policy
Economics Made Easy: The Debt Ceiling
Members of Congress and President Obama are squaring off for a showdown. The US will hit the debt limit by the end of February, and with Obama insisting that he will not negotiate, “dooms day” scenarios are being predicted. Discussions of alternative solutions have yielded little in the way of progress. The idea to mint … Continue reading
Debt / Economy / Fiscal Cliff / Tax
Why do Democrats Want to Raise Taxes?
Last Thursday, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner presented Congress with the Obama administration’s plan intended to avert the impending fiscal cliff. The plan was, quite literally, laughable. It called for $50 Billion in new stimulus spending, the end of Congressional authority to raise the debt limit, $1.6 Trillion in new revenues from higher taxes on the … Continue reading
America / Debt / Europe / Fiscal Cliff / Taxes
Cult of Uncertainty: The Catalytic Hysteria Surrounding the Fiscal Cliff in Europe
The attention surrounding the Fiscal Cliff has escalated it from an issue of domestic panic to international concern. While the direct impact of the event involves strictly domestic policies, the resulting uncertain economic forecast stateside has created detrimental consequences for European markets that are reliant on the United States for trade. The suggested calamity results … Continue reading
Tax Expenditures: Why the GOP should Abandon Grover Norquist
The impending American debt crisis has almost nothing to do with taxes. If the Democrats get their way on the expiration of the high-end Bush tax cuts, roughly $65 Billion in revenue would be raised (assuming that this tax increase would have zero negative effect on economic growth – a disputable point, to be sure). … Continue reading
The National Debt: Ranking the Presidents
In the first part of this series on the history of the national debt, we looked at what factors caused the national debt to grow or shrink in the short-term. This week, we will take a step back and focus on how successive presidential administrations have affected the national debt over time. As we discovered … Continue reading
The National Debt: Factors Contributing to Growth and Decline
Our elections may be over, but our growing national debt remains. It is also approaching unprecedented levels—last year, it exceeded 100% of GDP for only the fourth time in history. The other three times were during World War II, when we were fighting a war on all seven continents. Yet the economy is recovering from … Continue reading
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