Public education seems to never die out from the political economic discourse, as it never should. Investing in the education of new generations has been rightly revered as the best method for ensuring a prosperous society. But the question remains, who should invest in it and to what level? Influential political economist Adam Smith’s work … Continue reading
Tag Archives: Fiscal policy
Bluffing in the House: Reforming the Budget Process
On June 15, the House Budget Committee gathered to discuss the need for fiscal goals to “drive discipline and accountability”, in the words of Chairman Tom Price. The hearing comes at a time of a skyrocketing Public Debt of $19 trillion, a sluggish economic recovery and another recession looming around the corner. The U.S. has sustained … Continue reading
Monsanto: The Latest to Flee from the Harmful U.S. Corporate Tax Rate
There is no question that Monsanto has a controversial reputation. It is the country’s leading producer of genetically modified seeds, and consequently the largest target for anti-GMO activists. Now, critics are balking at Monsanto for entirely unrelated reasons: the Missouri-based firm recently announced its plan to buyout a Swiss chemical manufacturer and make the joint … Continue reading
Economy / Environment / Fiscal policy / Tax / Taxes
Exchanging Trash for Treasure
The Michigan state government recently stumbled across a startling statistic. Over the past decade its revenue streams were $8-10 million below what it expected. The cause? Residents of nearby states have been smuggling millions of bottles and cans into Michigan, taking advantage of its nation-leading 10-cent bottle refund. Michigan is one of 10 states nationwide … Continue reading
The Debt Ceiling: Good Politics, Not Policy
As of this past week, our federal government has managed to clear the hurdle of fully funding the Department of Homeland Security. Unfortunately, this is only one of the many vitally important budget issues on the horizon, including Medicare payments to doctors, funding for the Highway Trust Fund and our crumbling infrastructure, and the prospect … Continue reading
Debt / Economy / Fiscal policy / Politics
A Federal Balanced Budget: Not a Cure-All, but Definitely Not a Bad Idea
To all the people who believe that a constitutional requirement forcing Congress to pass a balanced budget every year will make the federal debt (and yes, there is a difference between a debt and a deficit: deficit being how much money we have to borrow per year, debt being how much money we have borrowed … Continue reading
Aging / America / Debt / Economy / Labor Force / Social Security
Retirement Age and the Social Security Dilemma
Ever since the members of the U.S Business Roundtable presented their plan to gradually raise the retirement age to seventy last year, the political and economic realm has been on fire with both support and recrimination. This fervor has only intensified after a recently released report by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) which stated that, holding … Continue reading
The Affordable Care Act Aims High for Fiscal Irresponsibility
In budgetary terms, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is anything but affordable. Though well-intentioned, it expands a poorly designed program and adds significant spending during a time of slow economic growth. This attempt to improve and expand health coverage to uninsured Americans is unduly expensive. In an already strained fiscal climate where the federal budget has reached … Continue reading
If the Senate passes a bill to end the big-bank subsidy and nobody notices, does it matter?
Last Friday, among the flurry of amendments that the Senate passed before it adjourned for a two-week recess, the Brown-Vitter amendment, which pledged to end funding advantages to banks with more than $500 billion in assets, passed in a 99-0 vote. Great, right? Senator Vitter, one of the co-authors of the amendment, stated afterwards, “This … Continue reading
America / Economy / Fiscal policy / Taxes
Rep. Ross Seeks the Start of Tax Reforms and to Bridge the Bipartisan Gap
Congressman Dennis Ross (R-FL) is making efforts to relieve bipartisan stress and initiate action on reducing the nation’s debt. Earlier this week he submitted two bills that would reduce government spending, the BOLD Act and the ZERO Act. The BOLD Act seeks to reform how the government handles money by reducing the White House’s and … Continue reading
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