MONDAY, APRIL 23, 2012 ECONOMICS: Bernanke Charts New Mission for the Fed: Financial Stability http://www.americanbanker.com/issues/177_77/bernanke-fed-chairman-financial-stability-1048606-1.html While by law the Federal Reserve Board must worry about price stability and unemployment, Chairman Ben Bernanke appears to have charted a third mandate for the central bank: financial stability. In his speeches, lectures and testimony, Bernanke has steadily … Continue reading
Category Archives: Economy
Economic Daily Outlook
FRIDAY, APRIL 20, 2012 ECONOMICS: House passes 20 percent small biz tax cut http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0412/75362.html House Republicans sent a clear, election-year message that they’re going to make sure taxes are cut — stiff resistance from congressional Democrats and the White House be damned. With a 235-173 vote Thursday, the House passed a 20 percent tax … Continue reading
Economy / Fiscal policy / Politics / Tax
Avoiding the end-of-year “fiscal cliff”
By Will Portman The U.S. needs deficit reduction, but there’s such thing as too much of a good thing — or, in the case of the end-of-year “fiscal cliff” the country is approaching, implementing too much of a good thing much too quickly. In the absence of congressional action, a slew of tax increases and spending … Continue reading
Economic Daily Outlook
THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2012 ECONOMICS Budget Fight Heats Up http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303513404577352232858786436.html The White House, firing the latest salvo in this year’s budget battle, threatened to block any new spending bills until House Republicans reverse the spending cuts they approved in recent weeks. The House budget resolution approved in March reduces non-defense discretionary spending for the … Continue reading
Economic Daily Outlook
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2012 ECONOMICS: Senate Budget Panel to Take Up Deficit Plan http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/18/us/politics/senate-budget-panel-to-take-up-deficit-plan.html The chairman of the Senate Budget Committee said on Tuesday that he would introduce the blueprint of President Obama’s bipartisan deficit reduction panel to his committee as the starting point for negotiations over a long-term debt plan. But the committee … Continue reading
Economic Daily Outlook
TUESDAY, APRIL 17, 2012 ECONOMICS: ‘Buffett Rule’ Tax Plan Fails in a Senate Test Vote http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304299304577348221678464912.html The Senate on Monday blocked the so-called Buffett Rule, a measure designed to ensure that high earners pay at least 30% in federal income tax, on a near-party-line vote highlighting the split over a key element of President … Continue reading
Economic Daily Outlook
MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2012 ECONOMICS: GOP and Dem lawmakers race hand in hand toward a fiscal cliff http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/domestic-taxes/221557-racing-hand-in-hand-toward-a-fiscal-cliff Republicans and Democrats are hurtling toward a fiscal cliff, and neither side wants to take the plunge. In less than nine months, Bush-era tax rates are scheduled to expire, hiking rates for the middle class as … Continue reading
Economic Daily Outlook
FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 2012 ECONOMICS: US House panels turn budget axe to automatic cuts http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/12/usa-budget-cuts-idUSL2E8FCNZ020120412 Republicans in six House of Representatives committees next week will dust off their past proposals for reducing the deficit as they try to replace some of the automatic spending cuts set to take place in January. Under a directive … Continue reading
Swiss-tested, Keynes-approved: Switzerland’s debt brake as a model for the U.S.
By Will Portman Critics of a balanced budget amendment (BBA), such as the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), argue that a BBA would “mandate perverse actions in the face of recessions” and thus “aggravate recessions.” And they’ve got a point — at least about a BBA that would mandate that the budget be balanced … Continue reading
Buffett Rule: #FAIL
“So we have a consensus. Nobody likes the Buffett Rule,” said Howard Gleckman, resident fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center and moderator of a forum today on whether the rich should pay higher taxes. The event’s expert panelists may not have agreed on what our tax code should look like, but they did agree … Continue reading
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