The debate over the economy swung into high gear today as both presidential candidates gave speeches on the topic. That's as it should be: let this critical debate begin.

What's not okay is that one candidate -- John McCain -- and his team are making up damaging stuff that directly...

In decades of tracking such sentiments, I've never seen people so pessimistic about the economy. And remember, we haven't even had a quarter of contracting GDP yet.

Of course, rising gas prices, the deteriorating job market, and paychecks that are barely making it past gas and groceries are the...

You may not have noticed some interesting Republican flips that occurred in the DC-policy world in recent weeks.

In both cases, top conservatives, most notably President Bush and candidate John McCain, appear to have changed their minds on legislation designed to help folks who have been hurt by recent...

Here's a problem: we have been over-consuming and under-investing. And here's part of the solution: a major, smart, strategic program to revitalize the nation's infrastructure.

I know, "infrastructure" sounds really unexciting, not nearly as cool as a Mars probe or as obviously essential as health care reform. But investing in...

The good news: it's the beginning of the end. The general campaign is underway, and we're finally slouching towards November. Not the home stretch yet, but one can harbor a glimmer of hope that this longest campaign season ever will eventually end.

The bad news: the debate is already off...

Memo to: The New President

Date: 1/21/2009

From: A Fan

Dear President Obama,

Congratulations! It's was a tough fight, but you did it. Your message of hope, change, and putting this country right with the rest of the world won the day. Some very deep Bush fatigue re: the war...

This November, we, the electorate, have the opportunity to choose between two very different paths regarding the war, the economy, and the quality of government. The problem is we've been so distracted by non-substantive debates regarding lapel pins, the Clinton/Obama saga, etc., that, at least regarding the economy and related...

American presidential campaigns are always fraught with all kinds of nonsense, but this year's takes the cake. It's got to be the longest on record. And I don't know about you, but I still haven't recovered from that debacle of a debate in Philadelphia, where mindless moderators switched back and...

Candidate John McCain gave a truly innovative speech last week that suffered from one fatal flaw. The innovation: cast your speech as a fantasy, looking back from the end of your first term so you can tout all your great accomplishments without the distraction of pesky fact-checkers. The fatal...

I hold in my hand one of the most important pieces of paper in America: Table T08-0071, an analysis of candidate John McCain's tax plan.

OK, it's not really in my hand because I'm typing, but I'm looking at it carefully, and you should too. It is a table...

We were afraid this shoe might drop, and drop it did last month, with a thud, right in the middle of the US job market, which lost 4,000 jobs last month, the first such loss in four years.

A central question surrounding today's jobs report was whether it would...

In case you were too busy clipping coupons for Rice Krispies, your Sunday circular contained a uniquely balanced and insightful look at the economy.

Parade magazine's annual How Did You Do? article came out Sunday, and as is often the case with this survey piece, it...

While the business pages are freaking out over the possibility that the subprime mortgage debacle will bring down the macro-economy, there have been three unfortunate developments on the wage front. These might not get the attention they deserve, so here's a brief tour through the recent rocky waters of the...

Alan Greenspan may be all kinds of wonderful, but his idea for reducing the scourge of wage inequality may strike some as counterintuitive: he wants us to raise the number of highly skilled immigrants in order to reduce the earnings of skilled workers already here. In other words, his solution...