Author Archives: stevej

Were the Bush Tax Cuts Good for Growth? – NYTimes.com. No, they weren’t.

The GAO has released its fall 2010 update for the Federal Government’s long-term fiscal outlook.  The bottom line is that we must come up with a real plan, and soon, to deal with the ever-growing cost of Medicare, Medicaid, and … Continue reading →

Unserious People – NYTimes.com. The co-chairs of the deficit commission have produced a report that, if followed, will turn us into a third-world country.  It seems to be a very poorly-thought-out set of recommendations.  That commission, as Brad DeLong notes, … Continue reading →

Paul Krugman on the Strange Death of Expansionary Fiscal Policy – Grasping Reality with Both Hands. A plurality of voters want to see a new economic stimulus bill–called a stimulus–to create jobs. Even 18% of Republicans and 32% of independents … Continue reading →

Saving Social Security: The Diamond-Orszag Plan – Brookings Institution.

From Jeff Madrick at TripleCrisis: …The deficit hawks have also largely won in the U.S.  The announcement last week that GDP grew at an annual rate of 2 percent only brings the point home: the U.S. needs a serious fiscal … Continue reading →

An amazing video. Watch full-screen with HD on.  Pause at first to let the video buffer get far enough ahead to enable it to play smoothly. TimeScapes: Rapture from Tom Lowe @ Timescapes on Vimeo.

World Statistics in real time. Did WWII really get us out of the Great Depression?

Here’s what will happen if Bush’s tax cuts are extended (from Ezra Klein ):