A Spurned Offer on Corporate Taxes
The rejection of President Obama's proposal to trade a corporate tax cut — a goal Republicans have long sought — for a small jobs package shows Washington's dysfunction, an economist writes.
View ArticleInequality and Opportunity
Two proposals by President Obama, expanded early-childhood education and vocational training, could have promise if well aimed, but need to go beyond partisan talking points, an economist writes.
View ArticleThe Economics of a Higher Wage Floor
Arguments that raising the minimum wage will force layoffs and automation, or that the earned-income tax credit alone is enough to help low-wage workers, do not pass muster, an economist writes.
View ArticleMoving Forward on Housing Reform
Some of President Obama's proposals for reshaping home finance hold promise, an economist writes, but the challenge will be to promote lending without indulging irresponsible borrowers.
View ArticleObama’s Backup Plan on Colleges
President Obama’s first choice is for college performance data to help determine federal aid. The alternative is to publish the data and let parents and students use it to decide where to enroll.
View ArticleFiscal Collisions Ahead
In the debate over the budget and the debt ceiling, it is important to avoid immediate fiscal retrenchment and economic catastrophe, but also to address the budget imbalance over time, an economist...
View ArticleDealing With Drafting Errors in the Health Care Law
Two unintended consequences of the Affordable Care Act, affecting coverage for Congressional staff members and millions of moderate-income families, show the difficulty of remedying legislative flaws...
View ArticleWhen the Treasury Runs Out of Cash
Republicans have given voice to differing views of the looming debt ceiling standoff, and neither one helps solve the problem, an economist writes.
View ArticleThe Hurdles to Success for the Affordable Care Act
The goals of the health-care law are laudable, but it is hobbled by unrealistic claims about its financing and heedlessness about its potential economic effects, an economist writes.
View ArticleThe Midterm Grade for HealthCare.gov
It's extraordinary how the rollout of HealthCare.gov was bungled and how little control over it the president seemed to have, an economist writes.
View ArticleThe Single-Payer Alternative
A single-payer system of health insurance would be more consumer-friendly, as well as more cost-effective than the Affordable Care Act, an economist writes.
View ArticleBeware the New Normal
Although the most recent economic data show some improvement, post-recession growth remains far below what it should be, and political action is needed to provide a better foundation, an economist writes.
View ArticleThe Budget Deficit as Seen From 2009
Data continue to show clearly that federal budget deficits stem largely from the policies of George W. Bush rather than any initiatives by Barack Obama, an economist writes.
View ArticleRoom for Small Deals on Tax Policy
Absent a grand bargain, there may still be an opening for bipartisan accord on tax-code changes and early childhood education, an economist writes.
View ArticleThe Bank Rescue, Five Years Later
The Treasury's plan early in the Obama administration to put the nation's banks back on stable footing has proved to be a success, an outcome that seemed improbable in the early going, an economist...
View ArticleObama’s Calculations on the Deficit and Debt
The White House budget proposal points to smaller deficits fueled by increased taxes and reduced spending, along with the presumption of solid economic growth.
View ArticleAnother Way to Do the Math for Social Security Reform
Whether Social Security's financial future is secured by increasing taxes or by slowing benefit growth, the net impact will be the same, with high earners bearing the largest burden, an economist writes.
View ArticleA Bad Jobs Report Turns Out to Have Been Wrong
The jobs report for last March was a big disappointment, one that spurred talk of a new recession. Now we learn that report was simply wrong, that March was actually a very good month and that jobs...
View ArticleObama Likes Some Sin Taxes More Than Others
President Obama’s budget continues the Democratic preference for cigarette taxes over alcohol or soda taxes – even though alcohol and soda consumption may cost society more money than smoking.
View ArticleA Budget Focus on Inequality
The Obama budget proposal includes several proposals to tackle inequality and wage stagnation.
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