Reconciliation: How the Democrats Can Run the Table
Congressional Democrats will take office in January with the broadest mandate since the post-Watergate midterms in 1974—twice the popular-vote margin the Contract-with-America Republicans won in 1994. The work begins with dismantling most of what Donald Trump and his corrupt, incompetent administration have done over the past two years. Much of what Trump wrought came through his One Big Beautiful (sic)… Continue reading
The LIBOR Mess Could Be the Biggest Financial Fraud in…
If our financial policies were based on recent experience, the debate over government regulation versus self-regulation by Wall Street would be settled. Yet, the refrain that the big banks know best remains the default position of most American conservatives and many policymakers. This childlike faith will be tested by the new scandal swirling around some of the most basic interest…Continue reading
A New Economic Challenge Facing Europe and the United States
I spent much of last week in Geneva, Switzerland. Even in that city of global institutions, in the European country most untouched by the continents sovereign debt crisis, most conversations found their way to hand-wringing over Europes economic decline. As the Eurozone governments struggle to save their common currency, it is increasingly clear that the misguided austerity policies of many…Continue reading
How Much Credit Can Obama Claim on the Economy?
Presidents regularly get the credit or blame for developments beyond their control. Sometimes, they also get no credit or blame for the decisions they do take. Barack Obama fits both molds. A fresh example of the second pattern is the Presidents surprising semi-breakthrough on European debt, at this weeks G20 meeting in Los Cabos, Mexico. For months, President Obama and…Continue reading
An Economic Program for the Fall Campaign and the Next…
With the presidential election turning on the economy, the debate has focused on whats right or wrong with the current recovery, and whos responsible. They agree that growth is too slow and deficits are too high; and unsurprisingly, President Obama blames the GOP for both while Mr. Romney blames the President. The Presidents arguments are stronger, especially given Romneys risible…Continue reading
A Primer on the Eurozone Crisis and How It Could…
The economic viability of the Eurozone continues to slowly leech away. The latest iteration of the crisis originated again in Athens. Last week, voters there chose parties on the left and right that agreed on one thing: No more austerity, including measures already agreed to in exchange for another bailout this summer from the European Union (EU) and the International…Continue reading
A New Way to Boost Job Creation and Help Save…
U.S. growth slowed sharply in the spring of both 2010 and 2011; but it looks like this year, the economy may have shaken off its good-weather jinx. New home sales are up and foreclosures are down. Housing prices are still falling, but at a progressively slower rate which may signal that home prices are bottoming out. Businesses added only 130,000…Continue reading
Is the United States Really Facing Economic Decline?
A growing chorus of pundits and politicians, along with a few policy intellectuals, are pressing a new debate over whether the United States is in economic decline. The question is usually posed as a yes-or-no proposition, but the economic facts tell a more complicated story. The United States is experiencing an economic transition; and while that transition may actually make…Continue reading
The Costs of Overturning the Presidents Health Care Reforms
Partisan politics and constitutional principles received equal billing in this weeks showdown over health care at the Supreme Court. Much of the commentary tried to interpret the questions, gestures and tone of the Justices, in hopes of divining which party and vision of government will likely prevail. Such divinations are notoriously unreliable in such controversial cases. But whatever the Justices…Continue reading