Deficit Commission

It is possible that there is going to be a “deficit commission” to look for ways to reduce our country’s budget deficits. I have some questions for them to ask to help get things started in the right direction: more »

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Conservatives are using the economic crisis to push through their favorite tricks. The latest trick is a commission to cut the budget and cut the debt without the inconvenience of the democratic process. It’s a strange distraction from the real problem. Jobs.

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Today, Senators Gregg and Conrad had a colloquy on the floor of the Senate arguing for the Pete Peterson Foundation's pet project, the Bipartisan Committee To Destroy Social Security and Medicare So Wealthy People Don't Ever Have To Pay Higher Taxes (aka "Our Favorite Idea That's Been Lying Around".) And quite an exchange of scary rhetoric it was.

The timing of this is being driven by events, to be sure. But the events that drive it aren't the debt projections, which are highly reflective of a moribund economy and will thus change dramatically if the government enacts policies that expand growth and lead to full employment. No, what's driving this initiative is the mass confusion around the bad economy and the financial system catastrophe, which provides the perfect moment to push a little "economic shock therapy" on the American people.

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House of Representatives staffers who take the District's subway system to work are now confronted with a host of scary images as they exit the station: A forlorn Uncle Sam panhandling to pay off a $12 trillion debt; a stopwatch with the message that it would take 31,000 years for that stopwatch to tick off one trillion seconds, a poster with 16 digits symbolizing the debt, down to the penny, stre more »

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On a conference call today with economists who blog and folks who blog on the economy, Speaker Pelosi sought to bridge the gap between progressive proponents of public investment to create jobs, and right-leaning Democrats touting austerity for immediate deficit reduction, by saying: "We will never have deficit reduction without job creation." more »

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Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke recognized today that America’s trade deficit played a central role in the global economic crisis. Then after he recognized the problem, he went on to solve a different one. more »

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