09/30/19 Filed in:
Political SystemWhat do the just-launched impeachment process and the long-time fiscal problem have in common? They both reflect a failure to confront bad behavior, which we may have cause to regret. Read More...Tags: President Donald Trump, Mueller probe, Whistleblower complaint, joe Biden, President Zelensky, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, George Soros, Rep. Adam Schiff, roman republic, Ciceo, spending caps, continuing resolution, appropriation bills, National emergency, border wall funding, Sen. Patrick Leahy, carbon taxes, Social Security, Medicare, Social Security 2100 Act
08/19/19 Filed in:
Budget Here’s a blueprint for balancing the budget, incorporating proposals from a variety of sources. Hang in there, fiscal hawks, we still have a chance to avert disaster. Read More...Tags: Congressional Budget Office, Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019, Republcan Study Committee, Office of Management and Budget, Citizens Against Goverment Waste, tax credits, tax collections, federal grants, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid
06/17/19 Filed in:
Spending | Budget As though it wasn’t hard enough to assess competing government programs on a benefit/cost basis, comparisons are further complicated by using varying funding strategies. Read More...Tags: ethanol blending mandate, President Donald Trump, benefit/cost ratio, strategic importance, job training programs, disability awards, Social Security payments to dead people, Medicare, low balling costs, targeted spending cuts, log rolling, filibuster rule, trust fund, Social Security, regulatory mandates, renewable energy , student loan mess, Alice Rivlin
03/18/19 Filed in:
Spending | Budget The president’s budget proposal doesn’t go far enough, but it will represent a big step in the right direction – if Congress is paying attention. Read More...Tags: President Donald Trump, SAFE letters, Office of Management and Budget, Budget Proposal 2020, defense spending, nondefense spending, mandatory programs, Interest expense, budget caps, Overseas Contingency Fund, Medicare, Congressional Budget Office, budget deficits, Russell Vought, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, "modern economic theory", This time is different
02/18/19 Filed in:
Spending | Budget | Taxes SAFE suggestions: Abolish debt limit, prune spending, don't expand entitlements, don't raise taxes, expect 2020 presidential candidates to support balancing the budget.
Read More...Tags: Rep. Paul Ryan, President Barack Obama, Congressional Budget Office, Social Security, healthcare programs, Interest expense, Green New Deal, Medicare for all, President Donald Trump, Office of Management and Budget, Joint Select Committe re budget process, Balanced Budget Amendment, Sen. Mike Lee, Sen. Chuck Grassley, debt limit, Steven Mnuchin, Citizens Against Government Waste, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security 2100 Act , Ivankacare, tariffs, carbon tax, business tax breaks, Budget Reconciliation Act, Rep. Kevin Brady
10/29/18 Filed in:
HealthcareRepublicans have demolished Democratic arguments for doubling down on GovCare, and the administration is working on (but hasn’t clearly explained) some worthwhile improvements. Read More...Tags: Kaiser Family Foundation, Karl Rove, President Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz. , Rep. Beto O'Rourke, socialist takeover of healthcare, Medicare for all, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Milton Friedman, preexisting condittions, Tax Cut and Jobs Act, Supreme Court, individal mandate eliminated, high drug prices, International free rider situation, Alex Azar, "right to try", opioid epidemic, Veteran's Administration, VA healthcare services, Medicare, Medicaid, Gov. Larry Hogan
08/13/18 Filed in:
Social Security | EnergyIf some people get handouts, others must pay. Social welfare programs are the biggest cost in government; ethanol is a costly substitute for oil; fuel cells are unsuitable for commercial scale power generation. Read More...Tags: Frederic Bastiat, National Retiree Legislative Network, Social Security, Medicare, 75-year deficit liability, biofuel manddate, speical interests, corn farmers, ethanol producers, fracking boom, US oil production, Renewable Fuel Standard, Renewal Identification Numbers, Philadelphia Energy Solutions, Sen. Ted Cruz, Sen. Chuck Grassley et al, Colin O'Mara, President Donald Trump, Bloom Energy, Delamarva Power, Public Service Commission, QFCP tariff, binary choice, combined cycle natural gas, Rick Jensen, John Nichols, Lindsay Leveen
06/11/18 Filed in:
SpendingRe the JSC’s review of the budget process, no one has zeroed in on the primary problem: The Senate filibuster rule is being used to slow down the process for partisan advantage. Read More...Tags: Joint Select Committe re budget process, Martha Coven, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Bill Hoagland, Don Wolfensberger, Emily Holubowich, Matt Owens, Maya MacGuineas, Jim Capretta, Bill Dauster, Joe White, smootihing budget process, government shutdowns, debt limit, Rep. Steve Womack , Rep. Nita Lowey, biennial budgeting, budget resolutions, budget proposals, Senate filibuster rule, reconciliation process, Social Security, Medicare, demographic trends, fiscal house of cards, discretionary spending, mandatory spending, US Comptroller General, Gene Dodaro, Major Savings and Reforms, CAGW's Prime Cuts, Mick Mulvaney, Tom Schatz, Michael Tanner
03/05/18 Filed in:
SpendingThe GOP tax cut may have been a reasonable bet, but trillion-dollar deficits are sure to backfire. Read More...Tags: fiscal meltdown, economic gamble, Federal Reserve, streamlining regulations, cut taxes, Child Tax Credit, Wind Production Tax Credit, protectionist trade policies, tariffs, Sen. Orrin Hatch, Sen. Pat Toomey, Sen. Mike Lee, Joshua Bolten, Larry Kudlow, Lord Maynard Keynes, deficit experiment, productivity miracle, inflation, GOP tax cut, Bipartisan Budget Act, Global financial crisis of 2008-2009, inflation spike in 1966, Paul Volcker, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Senate filibuster rule, Social Security, Medicare, House Speaker Paul Ryan, paid family leave, Ivanka Trump, Sen. Marco Rubio, President Donald Trump
02/12/18 Filed in:
SpendingThe more one examines last week's bipartisan, bicameral budget deal, which raised government spending levels across the board, the uglier it looks. Read More...Tags: Bipartisan Budget Act, DACA , President Donald Trump, border wall , dreamers, Diversity Visa Lottery, chain migration, Sen Chuck Schumer, Sen Mitch McConnell, deficits, debt ceiling, House Speaker Paul Ryan, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Sen. John Thune, Sen. Chris Coons, budget caps, CHIP, community health[care] centers, tea party, President's budget proposal, defense spending, debt limit, tax preferences, fuel cell investment tax credit, Medicare, Independent Payment Advisory Board, donut hole, Joint Select Committe re budget process, "Super Committee" in 2011
12/04/17 Filed in:
Energy | Political SystemFacts matter and illogical opinions will be destroyed by reality, but a lot of damage can result in the meantime. The best time to stop bad ideas is at the beginning. Read More...Tags: Francis Bacon, Social Security , Medicare, capitalism, global warming, Spirit of 1776, Dan Kerrick, renewable energy , offshore wind power, combined cycle natural gas, onshore wind power, solar power, Governor John Carney, John Nichols, David Stevenson, Tom Noyes, Geoffrey Pohanka, silent majority, US Wind, Deipwater Wind, Bloom Energy, Delamarva Power
08/21/17 Filed in:
SpendingUnlike the official House budget, the Republican Study Committee version would cut spending aggressively. Read More...Tags: President's budget proposal, defense spending, entitlement programs, Social Security , Medicare, Medicaid, GovCare, economic growth rate, Congressional Budget Office, House Budget Committee, Affordable Care Act, revenue neutral tax plan, macroneconomic adjustment, budget reconciliation process, Rep. Kevin Brady, SAFE budget, Republican Study Committee, House Freedom Caucus
06/05/17 Filed in:
SpendingThe proposed spending cuts seem generally constructive, but critics will make every effort to derail them. Read More...Tags: Longfellow, Office of Management and Budget, Congressional Budget Office, budget projection period, Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, Social Security disability , SNAP, Medicaid, Legal Services Corporation, defense spending, BRAC process, Concord Coalition, Robert Bixby, revenue neutral tax plan, repeal and replace GovCare, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, two-penny plan, Medicare, Social Security , parental leave entitlement
House GOP agenda falls short of its advance billing as a collection of “bold conservative proposals.” Read More...Tags: House Republicans, Speaker Paul Ryan, Welfare system, Leviathan on the right, Beginning of a conversation, Lake Wobegon, National security, External and homeland threats, Radical Islamic terrorism, Nato obligations, Iranian nuclear deal, Smarter regulation, "Sue and settle", REINS Act, power of the purse, filibustering appropriation bills, Afffordable Care Act, healthcare insurance , Cadillac tax, Medicare, Medicaid, tax reform plan, territorial system, border adjustments, Tax Foundation, Earned Income Tax Credit, static scoring, dynamic scoring