Has Tim Geithner…
…suddenly stepped into the Jim Carrey role in the movie “Liar, Liar?” You know, the one where Carrey plays Fletcher Reede, a lawyer whose son makes a wish that his dad will be unable to lie for a day, and … Continue reading →
Category Archives: Finance and economics
Trouble in Wisconsin—and elsewhere
It’s not just the Arab street that’s boiling over. There’s trouble in the streets of—Wisconsin. “Trouble in Wisconsin” sounds like an oxymoron. But it’s just a reflection of similar troubles all around the country, and even the world (see Europe, … Continue reading →
Truth, lies, and videotape
Peggy Noonan puts her finger on why Mitch Daniels and Chris Christie have been able to make recent speeches on fiscal responsibility that were so compelling: Everyone knew they meant it. Everyone knew they’d been living it. She quotes this … Continue reading →
The NY Times pleads for adult supervision
On the topic of the budget fights, the NY Times becomes unintentionally humorous.
Continue reading →Andrew Sullivan, Obama’s budget, and feeling duped
This could be the beginning of wisdom for Andrew Sullivan. Or, depending what you think of Sullivan, the return to wisdom. Or just a temporary return to wisdom. Sullivan’s disillusion with Obama seems to have been generated by the President’s … Continue reading →
Obama’s budget
I’m not sure why the big deal about Obama’s submitted budget. After all, no one expected it to have any substantial deficit-cutting teeth in it. And, with Republicans controlling the House, it’s merely the opening gambit in a chess game. … Continue reading →
Maine wants an exemption from provision of health care law
The state of Maine has requested that it be exempted from that portion of Obamacare, about to go into effect soon, which dictates that “insurers must devote at least 80 percent of the premiums they collect to medical claims or … Continue reading →
Germans say “bring back the mark!”
And one can hardly blame them: “The return of the mark? I can imagine that we could see the rise of a German Tea Party focusing on precisely this issue,” says Thomas Mayer, chief economist at Deutsche Bank, referring to … Continue reading →
Omnibus budget bill: easy come, easy go
It seemed to come out of nowhere, as all these mammoth bills have lately—all two thousand pages of it. For a few days it caused a commotion, but now it has vanished as mysteriously as it came. Or maybe not … Continue reading →
Tax bill stalled
The sticking point at the moment seems to be something to do with tacking on a raise in the estate tax, but you try to figure it out (see also here). It should never have come to this, of course; … Continue reading →
Dowd, Palin the huntress, and protecting wealth
Maureen Dowd seems deeply offended by Sarah Palin’s shooting a moose on the latest episode of her TLC Alaskan show (actually, Dowd seems to be deeply offended by nearly everything Palin does, including drawing breath). You may wonder why I … Continue reading →
Let’s make a deal: taxes and unemployment insurance
We’ve gotten so unused to Congressional deals during the past couple of years (except among the Democrats themselves, to get votes from Blue Dogs) that the prospect of this one seems odd and novel. But the Dems are poised to … Continue reading →