Tag Archives: fiscal policy

Study: Balanced Budget Amendment Equals Great Economic Damage

What would happen if a balanced budget amendment (BBA) was passed and implemented? The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities quotes estimates from  a Macroeconomic Advisers analysis: If the 2012 budget were balanced through spending cuts, those cuts would total … Continue reading

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Awarding Winning Nobel Economists Warn Against Austerity

In a letter addressed to President Obama, Speaker Boehner, Minority Leader Pelosi, Majority Leader Reid, and Minority Leader McConnell a number of Nobel winning economists had a number of things to say but their last point summarizes a point I have posted about … Continue reading

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Goldman-Sachs Issues Austerity Warning

“Sequestration, spending caps, and reduced war spending will together reduce real federal consumption and gross investment by 11% over the next two years, ” according to Alec Phillips, an economist at Goldman Sachs. “That’s a very big drop in a … Continue reading

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Twenty Thoughts on the Fiscal Cliff

Some random thoughts on the “fiscal cliff”: 1. Something is wrong when the top 1% owns 42% of the wealth. No group is that smart, works that hard or has taken that much risk to enjoy 42% of American wealth. … Continue reading

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Austerity Economics Failed Europe: Europe Back into a Recession

It’s official but not surprising — Europe has entered into a recession: The Business Cycle Dating Committee of the Centre for Economic Policy Research (the European counterpart of the U.S. NBER) last week issued a declaration that Europe entered a … Continue reading

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The Economic Effect of Letting Bush Tax Breaks for the Wealthy Expire

One of the most contentious issues facing the nation is developing a plan to avoid going over the fiscal cliff. Obama desires to let all of the Bush tax cuts expire except for those who make more than $250,000 a … Continue reading

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Without “Fiscal Cliff” Cuts, Domestic Spending is Already Projected to Decrease

The so-called “fiscal cliff,” actually more of a slope than a cliff, is receiving a great deal of political and economic attention now that the election is over. Here’s some context for the discussion that hasn’t received appropriate discussion. The … Continue reading

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Austerity vs Stimulus: Great Britain vs. the U.S.

A real world experiment has been running since the onset of the recession. The U.S. decided to utilize a Keynesian stimulus program while Great Britain adopted the Tories’ austerity program. Which country is doing better? According to research conducted by … Continue reading

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Short Quiz on the President, Congress and Discretionary Spending Cuts

True or False: Congress and the President have cut $1.5 trillion in discretionary spending over the next decade. Answer: True. According to Jared Bernstein, “When writing about a balanced approach to fiscal policy, one that involves both spending cuts and new … Continue reading

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Goldman Sachs: Letting Payroll Tax Cut Expire Will Shave 0.6 Percentage Points from GDP Growth

Business Insider reports that Goldman Sachs warns against letting the payroll tax cut expire: ” We are surprised that neither party has seriously challenged the case for near-term fiscal retrenchment. In particular, the expiration of the $126bn payroll tax cut … Continue reading

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