Topic: Fiscal Policy

“From Pleasant Deficit Spending to Unpleasant Sovereign Debt Crises” – White

– May 5, 2011

“Economists have long disagreed seriously about the costs and benefits of government budget deficits and debt. Following the Second World War, a clash between Keynesian and―orthodox fiscal policy views arose. The debate waned as fiscal Keynesianism won …

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“Targeting Inflation at 2% Is Too Low” – DeLong

– May 4, 2011

“First, the question is not whether the Federal Reserve should raise its target inflation rate above 2% per year. The question is whether the Federal Reserve should raise its target inflation rate to 2% per year. On Wednesday afternoon, the Federal Res …

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“Federal Reserve’s Politicization Is Dangerous”

– May 2, 2011

“It might help getting our minds around what is so wrong in America today by thinking about the local police force. It’s not hard to understand that the job of the police is to protect lives and property. Suppose we decided to broaden their mandate. Su …

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“Debt Limit Standoff: 10 Things to Watch” – The Hill

– April 27, 2011

“Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill are strategizing for what is expected to be a bruising debate on raising the nation’s debt limit and reining in government spending. The Obama administration has set an early-July deadline for lifting the $14. …

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“Debt-Ceiling Strategies” – NRO

– April 26, 2011

“The conventional wisdom in Washington — on the left and among many on the right — is that the debt ceiling must be raised in order to avoid defaulting on the national debt, a potentially catastrophic scenario, the thought of which has business and fin …

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“Monetary Reform: The Key to Spending Restraint” – WSJ

– April 26, 2011

“No man in America is a match for House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan on the federal budget. No congressman in my lifetime has been more determined to cut government spending. No one is better informed for the task he has set himself. Nor has any …

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Deficit Spending on the Backs of the Poor

– April 25, 2011

Rejecting any serious cuts to government spending, President Obama stated recently, “Nothing is easier than solving a problem on the backs of people who are poor, for people who are powerless and don’t have lobbyists or don’t have clout.” Exactly. In t …

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“Why a Lack of Transparency in the Administration’s Budget II Is a Problem” – Taylor

– April 21, 2011

“A transparent budget proposal—such as the Administration’s first 2012 Budget presented by President Obama on February 14 or the House Budget presented by Paul Ryan on April 6—contains year-by-year tables showing the proposed path for government outlay …

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Why Washington only cut $38 billion: A Public Choice perspective

– April 20, 2011

“Why did politicians cut a trivial amount of money in the recent budget agreement? Prof. Ben Powell explains why politicians don’t cut spending, as a general rule. Using public choice economics, or the economics of politics, he shows how the political …

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Me, Obama, Standard and Poor’s and Popcorn

– April 19, 2011

For the past few months I have been really disturbed about this nation’s fiscal challenges. With a $14 trillion structural deficit, and a $1.6 trillion deficit for this fiscal year alone, I think people should be concerned—I mean really concerned. So w …

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“Welfare and Inflation Create Endless Spiral” – Henry Hazlitt

– April 7, 2011

“As to where the money is coming from, Humphrey announced, “We can pay for it out of a growing, expanding economy. And it is actuarially sound.” It is depressing to record that three days later, on Sept. 28, Richard Nixon also proposed that Social Secu …

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Was There a Saving Glut or a Credit Expansion Glut?

– April 7, 2011

The Greenspan-Bernanke explanation on the cause of the financial bubble rests on the theory of the saving glut. According to this explanation, the problem was not that the Fed mismanaged the monetary policy, but that a saving glut that took place outsi …

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