Columns
Coming Lobbyist Brawl May (Really) Fix Our Taxes: Jonathan Alter
Lobbyists, of all people, may soon inadvertently bring us what lobbyists have long fought against - - a flatter, simpler tax code that offers fewer gifts for special interests. As a bonus, it would also help bring down the deficit.
Postrel: Obama Glamour Can’t Fix Charisma Deficit
One thing is clear in the aftermath of the debt-limit debate: U.S. President Barack Obama has lost his glamour. The alluring icon of hope and change has become just another pol, derided by his supporters as well as his opponents. As one headline succinctly put it: “Obama succumbs to the ways of Washington.”
News Corp. Board Offers Trash In, Trash Out: Susan Antilla
A thriving, sex-and-gossip newspaper has been shuttered, big shots in media, politics and law enforcement have resigned, and arrests have been made. It has resulted in a lot of headlines, but considering how old the real news is, I wonder what all the fuss is about.
Decade of Stimulus Yields Nothing but Debt: Caroline Baum
When George W. Bush took up residence in the White House in January 2001, total U.S. debt stood at $5.95 trillion. Last week it was $14.3 trillion, with $2.4 trillion more freshly authorized by Congress.
Balanced-Budget Amendment Fails Fiscal Test: Stephen L. Carter
At a Washington event in the early 1990s, I happened to find myself seated beside an official fairly high in the White House of George H.W. Bush. We got to chatting, and he waxed poetic about a constitutional amendment requiring the federal government to balance its annual budget.
The New Physics of Gridlock in a Polarized Capital: Ezra Klein
Here’s the general theory of legislative failure: Political polarization leads to congressional gridlock, and congressional gridlock leads to legislative inaction. If Congress can’t get its act together, then the worst that happens is nothing gets done.
Groupon’s Strikeouts Reveal an Unspoken Truth: Jonathan Weil
About five miles south of Groupon Inc.’s headquarters, at U.S. Cellular Field, there’s a veteran baseball player for the Chicago White Sox named Adam Dunn who is having a remarkable season. All he needs is a little help putting his numbers in the best possible light.
Glimpsing a Democratic Venezuela After Chavez: Enrique Krauze
Every Latin American country has fostered, to some degree, a “Cult of the Hero,” but only Venezuela has raised its founding father, Simon Bolivar, to the extreme of deification.
Obama, Boehner Look Smaller After Their Big Debt Deal: Margaret Carlson
The credit rating on U.S. bonds may survive the debt-ceiling fiasco, but the president and speaker of the House, the two most powerful figures in American government, have already been downgraded.
Generational Balance, Not Budget Balance: Laurence Kotlikoff
Debt crises make great drama. The big shots attend meetings, look terribly worried, then stomp out, accusing each other of bad faith. Finally, at the witching hour, they reach agreement and tell us all is fine, for now.
To Exit Afghanistan, We Should Say We’ll Stay: Meghan O’Sullivan
Even last week’s swearing in of Ryan Crocker -- one of the most talented U.S. diplomats -- as ambassador to Kabul seems unable to stanch the perception that U.S. efforts in Afghanistan are waning. Most Americans take solace in the notion that, in President Barack Obama’s words, “the tide of wars is receding,” regardless of whether the administration can tie its disengagement to success.
Here’s a Tax That Can End Pain at Pump: Bradley, Ridge, Walker
The U.S.’s national transportation program is broke. We borrow about $12 billion from the Treasury annually for the Highway Trust Fund. But our real annual transportation deficit is more than $100 billion when you include interest, deferred maintenance and other spending.
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