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    Senate Budget Tax Plan: Slowing Opportunity for Americans to Grow Income

    Senator Patty Murray’s (D–WA) budget tax plan directly calls for $975 billion in new tax increases over the next decade. Indeed, the Senate budget is only a framework document, but it clearly lays out who should pay the higher taxes. The Democratic majority wants higher taxes by “eliminating loopholes and … More

    The RSC Budget: A First Look

    The Republican Study Committee (RSC) has proposed a budget that balances in just four years while holding tax revenue at near its historical average. It advances more aggressive entitlement reforms than the House Budget Committee plan, including Social Security, and features deeper spending cuts. Nevertheless, the plan also suffers weaknesses, … More

    Morning Bell: A Stark Choice for America’s Budget

    For the first time in four years, the U.S. Congress is engaged in a full-throated budget debate. Take a moment for at least a quiet “Hurrah!” The federal government has at last embarked on its most basic responsibility. This was the price exacted by House Republicans from Senate Democrats for … More

    Retirement: Delaying It Brings Many Benefits

    Too many healthy seniors retire early at a loss to their wealth and to society. Meanwhile, Social Security is in dire need of reform. Delaying the age of retirement for those able to continue working means a big income boost for seniors, less strain on Social Security, and more economic … More

    Pope Francis I and Latin America

    Yesterday, in Rome, the world watched as white smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel and the new pope was named. Many watched this most recent papal conclave with great intrigue after Pope Benedict XVI became the first pope to abdicate in nearly 600 years. Now with the selection of Argentine … More

    Senate Democrats Want Unnecessary $1.5 Trillion Tax Increase

    It has been nearly four years since the last time the Senate passed a budget. In that time, it hasn’t as much as proposed a budget. That at long last changed yesterday when Senate Budget chairwoman Patty Murray (D–WA) released a budget plan for next year. Now that the Democrats … More

    Morning Bell: 6 Things the Next U.S. Budget Should Do

    It’s time for Congress to make a real budget—and not just any budget. It’s been four years since the U.S. had a real budget. While the House of Representatives has passed budgets, the Senate has stopped each one. Instead, the Senate under Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has done short-term, … More

    Attention, Reporters: A Trade Deficit Is Not Bad

    The latest trade deficit figures are out, and, as always, most reports fail to accurately explain what these numbers mean. Consider the following widely reported statement: A narrower trade gap boosts growth because it means U.S. companies are earning more from overseas sales while U.S. consumers and businesses are spending … More

    Debt Drag: Krugman, Konczal Miss the Point

    On their respective blogs, economists Mike Konczal and Paul Krugman criticize the widely cited finding that a nation’s debt above 90 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) slows economic growth. They presume that the limitations of one study by Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff mean that its warning can … More

    Morning Bell: Obama’s Sequester Smokescreen

    Suppose you desperately needed to lose weight but had a Big Mac with fries and a Coke staring you in the face. You could take your need to diet seriously and say, “No thanks, I’ll have a salad.” Or you could decide to reduce the Big Mac meal by 2 … More