Fiscal Policy on Huffington Post

Laurence J. Kotlikoff: The Clash of Generations

2012-05-25T15:50:16Z

As we sit back and blithely watch Greece's death by debt, it's easy to assume it can never happen here. It can, and it will.

Read more: Yuan, Inflation, Dollar, Debt, Generation, Fiscal Policy, Currency, Dollar Inflation, Politics News

Jared Bernstein: Looking Over the Cliff

2012-05-23T12:13:42Z

Let's talk about the fiscal cliff -- you know, the one everyone's all wound up about? Well, the Congressional Budget Office just released their analysis of its potential impact on the economy and it ain't pretty. Add up all the stuff that's scheduled to turn into fiscal pumpkins at midnight on December 31, and you could get a serious impact on the economy. Unemployment would reverse course and start rising if that fiscal scenario remained in place -- but that's a big, important "if." All of the estimates assume we go off the cliff and don't climb back. But if, as Gail Collins imagines it, there's a bungee jump instead of a cliff dive, we can avoid the worst of this. One hopes that Congress can hammer the kind of compromise that has eluded them thus far -- the one that adds tax revenues to any agreement -- before the end of the year, or early next.

Read more: Taxes, Unemployment, Income Inequality, Cbo Report, Economy, Fiscal Crisis, Economic Growth, Inequality, Fiscal Policy, Fiscal Responsibility, Politics News

Roger Hickey: Show Peter Peterson We Reject His Elite Austerity Consensus

2012-05-13T11:24:50Z

This meeting will not issue a rallying cry for bold growth policies to put America to work. And we should try to make sure that Democrats do not buy into what the organizers are selling -- because the voters certainly won't.

Read more: Federal Budget Deficit, Simpson-Bowles, Jobs, Pete Peterson, Bernie Sanders, Economic Growth, Campaign for America's Future, Austerity, Fiscal Policy, Politics News

Michael Farr: Economic Ambiguity

2012-05-03T12:13:40Z

We continue to believe that investors are underestimating the risks inherent to the bond market at this stage in the game. Bond investors are not being compensated for the risks they are assuming when they are not even able to earn the expected rate of inflation.

Read more: U.S. Treasuries, Economy, Bonds, Monetary Policy, Federal Reserve, Dividends, Collateralized Debt Obligations, Consumer Spending, Fiscal Policy, European Debt Crisis, Portfolio, US Stocks, Unemployment, Inflation, Mortgage Rates, Economic Recovery, Economic Growth, Treasury Yields, FInancial Markets, Business News

Laurence J. Kotlikoff: Under-Thirty Eyes Only

2012-04-30T17:56:44Z

If you're 30 or older, stop reading. This isn't for you. This is for America's sacrificial lambs -- our children.

Read more: Generational Theft, Fiscal Child Abuse, 2012 Presidential Election, The Purple Plans, Fiscal Policy, Americans Elect, Politics News

José Viñals: Global Financial Stability: What's Still to Be Done?

2012-04-23T18:52:13Z

The quest for lasting financial stability is still fraught with risks. The latest Global Financial Stability Report has two key messages: policy actions have brought gains to global financial stability since our September report; but current policy efforts are not enough to achieve lasting stability.

Read more: Competitiveness, Gfsr, Government Bonds, g20, European Central Bank, Fiscal Policy, Greece, FInancial Markets, Assets, Banks, Financial Crisis, Imf, Europe, Eurozone Debt Crisis, Eurozone Debt, Business News

Michelle Chen: Participatory Budgeting Lets Citizens Experiment With Economic Democracy

2012-04-16T10:44:23Z

Who'd have thought that voting to add trash cans on the street or renovate public housing could be a democratic milestone?

Read more: Civic Participation, Participatory Democracy, Brazil, Urban Planning, Budget, State and Local Government, Community, Community Organizing, Local Government, New York, New York City, Fiscal Policy, Porto Alegre, Politics News

Summers: 'Extraordinary Steps' By Policymakers Responsible For Recovery

2012-03-26T07:00:00Z

(Lawrence Summers is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.) By Lawrence H. Summers CAMBRIDGE, Ma., M...

Read more: Video, Great Recession, Reuters, Larry Summers Recovery, Business News, Larry Summers Obama, Larry Summers, Monetary Policy, Economic Recovery, Recession, Fiscal Policy, Business News

Simon Johnson: Fiscal Affairs : Ron Paul's Budget Proposals Are Fiscally Irresponsible

2012-02-29T13:36:50Z

But why does Mr. Paul -- an iconoclast of the right and a person who sees himself as a "fiscal conservative" -- feels comfortable putting forward proposals that would likely boost our national debt by a significant amount?

Read more: Fiscal Affairs, Ron Paul, Fiscal Policy, Business News

Jonathan Masters: A Defense Budget at the Crossroads

2012-02-08T19:34:35Z

The Pentagon's new strategic guidance and the budget projections it informs suggest the United States has reached "an inflection point" along its fiscal/military trajectory -- a time to pare back spending.

Read more: Pentagon, Navy, Defense Budget, Fiscal Policy, Defense Spending, Department of Defense, Pentagon Spending, Pentagon Budget, Politics News

Laurence J. Kotlikoff: The Purple Tax Plan

2012-02-07T11:06:31Z

The Purple Tax Plan is a simple, transparent, efficient, and progressive tax system. It will help the economy save, grow, produce jobs, and deliver higher wages.

Read more: Taxes, Deficit, Federal Budget Deficit, Fiscal Crisis, Government Spending, Taxation, Fiscal Policy, Fiscal Responsibility, Politics News

Laurence J. Kotlikoff: Why I'm Running for President

2012-02-02T18:41:52Z

We need fundamental structural reforms of our fiscal and financial institutions to preclude such draconian measures and protect our children from an economic future we would not seek for ourselves.

Read more: Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Energy, Taxes, Social Security, Economics, Foreign Affairs, Iran, Iran Nuclear Weapons, Foreign Policy, Fiscal Responsibility, Fiscal Policy, Carbon Tax, National Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Israel, Healthcare, Kotlikoff for President, Politics News

Haley: Unions Are 'Not Needed, Not Wanted, And Not Welcome'

2012-02-01T16:58:59Z

NEW YORK — Glimmers of economic optimism. Deep concerns about jobs and health care costs. These are among the recurring themes as governors acro...

Read more: Video, Pat Quinn, Martin O'Malley, Deval Patrick, Terry Branstad, States Fiscal, Economic Crisis, Scott Walker, Governors, Nikki Haley, Jack Markell, Fiscal Policy, Politics News

Benedict Clements: It's the Years, Not the Mileage: IMF Analysis of Pension Reforms in Advanced Economies

2012-02-01T16:23:39Z

Advanced countries face difficult choices as they undertake fiscal adjustment. While pension reforms will certainly need to be part of the picture, we must keep in mind the vital role pensions play in reducing old-age poverty.

Read more: Taxes, Retirees, Government Debt, Gdp, Government Deficit, Indiana Jones, Retirement, Pension Reform, Pensions, Imf, Economic Growth, Advanced Economies, Demographics, Healthcare, Fiscal Policy, Business News

Carlo Cottarelli: Fiscal Adjustment: Too Much of a Good Thing?

2012-02-01T11:45:00Z

Nearly all advanced economies plan to reduce their deficits this year. But if growth slows more than expected, some may feel inclined to preserve their short-term plans through additional tightening, even if hurts growth more.

Read more: Imf Europe, European Debt Crisis, Eurozone Market Volatility, Eurozone Crisis, Euro Debt Crisis, Eurozone-Fiscal-Crisis, Fiscal Policy, France Downgrade, Eurozone Recovery, Standard and Poor's, Business News

Olivier Blanchard: Driving the Global Economy with the Brakes On

2012-01-24T16:54:06Z

With the right set of measures, the worst can definitely be avoided, and the recovery can be put back on track. These measures can be taken, need to be taken, and need to be taken urgently.

Read more: India, Weo, Credit, Trade, Christine Lagarde, Banks, European Union, Gfsr, United States, Spain, Italy, Imf, World Economic Outlook, China, Fiscal Policy, Business News

Marcelo Giugale: Blessed by Nature, Cursed by Politics

2012-01-12T11:01:17Z

The evidence is as strong as it is puzzling: countries that have a lot of natural resources -- things like oil, gas and minerals -- tend to be poorer than those that don't.

Read more: Social Justice, Commodities, Gas, Sovereign Wealth Funds, Norway, Natural Resources, Budget, Rule of Law, Africa, Oil, Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Alaska, Minerals, Fiscal Policy, World News

Jane White: Why the Republican Candidates Are "Econitwits" When It Comes to Our Economic Malaise

2011-12-05T18:37:44Z

The most important deficiency among Democrats and Republicans alike is the lack of awareness of the "inconvenient economic truth" that the time-honored remedies to our woes -- whether they are tax cuts or government stimulus packages -- are irrelevant in this global economy.

Read more: Outsourcing, 2012 Election, China, Unemployment, Economic Policy, Jobs, Great Recession, Recession, Fiscal Policy, Manufacturing Jobs, Business News

Hugo Cory: It's the Currency, Stupid

2011-11-28T11:47:17Z

Imagining money is a good and healthy thing. It stimulates productivity, feeds dreams and gives man a sense of purpose. But there's a difference between imagining money and imaginary money, which is what we have today.

Read more: Currency, Monetary Policy, Great Recession, Economic Recession, Recession, Fiat Money, Economy, Fiscal Policy, Business News

Balanced Budget Amendment Fails In House Vote

2011-11-18T14:29:00Z

WASHINGTON -- The latest Republican push for a balanced budget amendment that would force massive spending cuts to the country's social safety net die...

Read more: Balanced Budget, Super Congress, House of Representatives, Video, House Balanced Budget Vote, Super Committee, Budget, Balanced Budget Amendment, Fiscal Policy, Fiscal Responsibility, Politics News

Warren Buffett: 'My Class Has Won' And 'It's Been A Rout'

2011-11-15T14:55:46Z

There are reasons for optimism inside the U.S. economy, according to Warren Buffett. Just not for everyone.

The billionaire investor, cited as the ...

Read more: Berkshire Hathaway, Video, Unemployment, Ibm, Business Wire, Bank of America, Warren Buffett, Monetary Policy, Capitalism, Housing Crisis, Fiscal Policy, Business News

Michael Farr: Fiscal Irony

2011-11-11T17:20:23Z

In the U.S., the action in the bond market is difficult to explain. Yields have fallen dramatically this year despite several developments that normally would cause bond investors to flee and yields to soar.

Read more: Bond Market, Debt, Housing Market, Fiscal Crisis, European Crisis, European Union, Italy, Wall Street Journal, Recession, European Central Bank, Fiscal Policy, Fiscal Responsibility, Euro, European Debt Crisis, Gdp, Inflation, Europe, Piigs, Business News

Frank A. Weil: Economics Without Tears?!

2011-11-08T17:29:03Z

Economics is now more real and important than ever, but simultaneously it also seems to be more opaque than ever.

Read more: Economics, Barack Obama, Monetary Policy, Economic Policy, Understanding Economics, Fiscal Policy, Business News

Marcelo Giugale: The World's Newest Nations

2011-11-03T16:04:29Z

Say that your province or region suddenly becomes an independent country -- with recognition from the United Nations and all. After the celebrations end, and the celebrities leave, the real decision-making begins.

Read more: Infrastructure, Commodities, New Nations, Money, Inflation, Reconstruction, United Nations, Globalization, Jobs, Public Services, Fiscal Policy, South Sudan Independence, South Sudan, World News

Ellen Siminoff: Why Students Should Care About the Nobel Prize in Economics

2011-10-19T13:50:59Z

Christopher Sims and Thomas Sargent won the Nobel Prize in Economics for research on measurement in macroeconomics. While some intellects might not follow The Dismal Science this year, this research has particular relevance for students today.

Read more: Monetary Policy, Nobel Prize, Economics, Fiscal Policy, Macroeconomics, College News