Showing posts with label The Fiscal Times. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Fiscal Times. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

The Fiscal Times: Mark Thoma- How Keynes Would Handle an Abnormally Slow Recovery



Source:The Fiscal Times

I'm all in favor of trying to boost economic and job growth when the economy is weak with something like a new national infrastructure plan, a National Infrastructure Bank. But when you have a national debt as high as your Gross National Product, I mean 17 trillion dollars is one figure. I bet most Americans have a hard time getting their fingers around the total size of the American economy as well as national debt, and when it is that high it blows their minds. Your credit card bill is due and to keep what you need to pay back from getting even further out of hand you at least have to start paying some of that back to keep your credit from being ruined altogether.

We have a financial deficit, an infrastructure deficit, an energy deficit, a manufacturing deficit, and a tax deficit. Our corporate tax system is not competitive with a lot of the developed world. When your economy is just barely over the water, that is the perfect time to fix all of those things. But do it in a fiscally responsible way so you don't make your current financial situation any worse than it is or it has to be and, yes, interest rates are low right now but artificially low because of the Federal Reserve decisions, not because of any real strength in the economy.  So:

1. Let's encourage more corporate and other business-related investment in the United States, including manufacturing and energy.

2. Let's start rebuilding this country with a National Infrastructure Bank.

3. Let's encourage more manufacturing in America and stop encouraging companies to send jobs overseas.

4. Let's create a plan to move America toward energy independence by producing America's energy across the board, at least in the short term.

5. And let's have real tax reform so we can lower taxes on the middle class, which would also boost economic growth as well.

But let's pay for all of these policies instead of adding to our national credit card.


Thursday, January 16, 2014

The Fiscal Times: Eric Pianin: Get Ready For One-Party Rule if GOP Wins The Senate


Source:The Fiscal Times

I blogged last night that best ways to fix Washington as far as the national political scene goes, is first by fixing Congress. And that starts in the upper chamber the U.S. Senate. The U.S. House of Representatives has a lot of issues as well that contributes to the over partisanship as well. But the Senate is supposed to be that Congressional chamber where both parties are supposed to work together. At the very least get along after both sides get their say and can offer their ideas and plans to address whatever the issues are in the country. And currently the Senate is not like that.

Keep in mind here I’m a proud loyal partisan when it comes to ideas and philosophy Liberal Democrat. And my party is in charge in the Senate and I hope it remains that way in the next Congress as well. So I believe I have some credibility when I talk about too much partisanship in the Senate. Because it is in my party’s best short-term interest to keep things as they are and even advance them. And turn the Senate into the House as far as rules are set up until Senate Republicans win back the Senate.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is one of the last people to be talking about too much Senate partisanship. Since he became Minority Leader back in 2007 has utilized every rule known to man, or least people who report on the Senate, to obstruct Senate Democrats and President Obama. And when he was Assistant Majority Leader from 2003-07, he and then Leader Bill Frist used every rule they could find to prevent Senate Democrats the minority party back then from offering amendments and alternatives to bills. And from even being involved in committee hearings. And Congressional conferences between the House and Senate.

But Minority Leader McConnell is right when he says that the Senate has become too much like the House. And it needs to be better and more like the old Senate. Where both sides can offer their own bills and amendments to the issues that the Senate Leader decides the Senate should focus on. The problem that the Minority Leader and why he has a credibility gap on this issue, is that he’s been a big part of the problem. And a big reason why Leader Reid has moved to more majority rule in the Senate. Since Mitch McConnell became Minority Leader back in 2007.


John F. Kennedy Liberal Democrat

John F. Kennedy Liberal Democrat
Source: U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy in 1960