How do we ‘pay’ for Hurricane Sandy?
As the costs of this once-in-a-generation storm mount for America’s east coast, there will invariably be cries that the country is bankrupt, and will therefore be unable to ‘pay’ the cost...
View ArticleThe congressional budget office is not to be taken seriously
In the course of all of the political wrangling surrounding the dreaded “fiscal cliff”, one organisation always seems to avoid serious scrutiny: the Congressional Budget Office. The CBO is said to be...
View ArticleThe stupidity of the ‘grand bargain’
It is now taken as a given that whether we go over the fiscal cliff or not, there will be a fiscal retrenchment of some sort. Tactically some Democrats are arguing to let the country go “over the...
View ArticleObama should invoke the 14th amendment
Another year, another debt crisis. After the last debt ceiling crisis (which led to this preposterous “fiscal cliff” outcome with which we are dealing today), a number of constitutional legal scholars...
View ArticleQE represents tightening, not monetary ease
Consider this nugget from Stone & McCarthy (Princeton)- “-According to our estimates the Fed will earn nearly $90 bln in calendar year 2012. Of this amount about $87.5 bln will be repatriated to...
View ArticleDoes John Roberts understand the concept of ‘separation of powers’?
In theory, the US Constitution provides for 3 separate but equal branches of government. Someone should try explaining that to US Chief Justice John Roberts, who had the temerity to use his year end...
View ArticleTime for the platinum coin?
I’ve previously suggested that President Obama should try to end the stand-off over the debt ceiling dispute by invoking the 14th Amendment, Of course, if Obama he plays that card he will put this...
View ArticleThe US employment data – good news, but fiscal restrictions loom
The latest employment data is good on all fronts, but does come with a big caveat: we have $85bn of more fiscal restriction coming into the mix, which risks slowing down the private sector job...
View ArticleIs the US Economy slowing down?
In spite of significant fiscal restriction introduced earlier this year via the payroll tax hike and more latterly, the sequester, the US economy has continued to show signs of recovery. After seeing...
View ArticleYes Virginia, fiscal restriction does matter
The fiscal austerians have been having a brief moment in the sun, given that until Friday, the US economy seemed impervious to the tax increases and spending cuts that had been introduced in the...
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