There is always a lot of rhetoric on Tax Day. Later I will comment on some of today’s rhetoric. In this post I will instead focus on some basic facts that are not earth-shattering, but provide some important historic context for the current tax and spending debate. Let’s start by looking at just the total […]
Read moreNew York Times to Senator Reid on health care: Speak loudly and carry a little twig
14 April 2009 
4 Comments
Critical policy fights sometimes happen long before a bill comes up for a vote. Legislative process and strategy intersect early to determine the balance of power for a future vote on policy. Health care legislation is several months away from a floor vote, but the tactical maneuvering has already begun. Fair warning: we’re going to […]
Read moreFour unpleasant options for TARP funding
13 April 2009 7 Comments
Despite Secretary Geithner’s statement to the contrary, I still think the Administration is running out of room within the $700 B Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). In my last four posts on TARP funding (1 2 3 4), I have stuck to what I think I can demonstrate analytically. I am now going to shift […]
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By focusing only on covering the uninsured, are we solving the wrong problem?
11 April 2009 17 Comments
The traditional Beltway logic on health care reform goes like this: The problem is that 46 million Americans lack health insurance. (I addressed why this number is incorrect and misleading last Thursday.) Government should provide health insurance to those 46 million people, or at least pay for it. Let’s expand a taxpayer-subsidized health insurance program […]
Read moreHello world!
11 April 2009 1 Comment
Howdy! This is a test post for migrating my main policy blog to WordPress.com.
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How many uninsured people need additional help from taxpayers?
9 April 2009 144 Comments
When discussing health insurance we frequently hear that there are “46 million uninsured” in America. This figure is from a monthly survey of about 50,000 households done by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau. This Current Population Survey (CPS) then uses statistical techniques to paint a picture of the entire U.S. population. […]
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Does the President's budget cut the deficit in half?
8 April 2009 3 Comments
Budget Director Peter Orszag wrote on his blog yesterday that he thinks “Debt held by the public net of financial assets is the most meaningful measure of current federal debt.” I wrote earlier today why I think Director Orszag’s new metric is misleading and dangerous. Now, however, I’m going to take his argument and apply […]
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Let's not hide $1.4 trillion of IOU's
8 April 2009 5 Comments
Yesterday on his blog the President’s Budget Director, Peter Orszag, asks himself and then answers the question, “How much does the federal government owe?” This sounds like a technical question of concern only to “those of us wearing the green eyeshades,” but the Director’s suggested answer has dangerous ramifications, and could mislead, or at least […]
Read moreThe President's strong free trade language in Strasbourg
6 April 2009 4 Comments
I would like to compliment and thank President Obama for saying this in Strasbourg, France last Friday: As we take these steps, we also affirm that we must not erect new barriers to commerce; that trade wars have no victors. We can’t give up on open markets, even as we work to ensure that trade […]
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Can we ever know how many jobs the Obama Administration has saved?
6 April 2009 21 Comments
Almost two months ago, President Obama set a specific employment goal for his Administration: I think my initial measure of success is creating or saving 4 million jobs. It is clear that this “create or save” phrase is now a standard and important part of the Administration’s economic message. Greg Mankiw quickly identified both the […]
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