President Bush gave a major policy address on the State Floor of the White House this evening. THE WHITE HOUSE State Floor 9:01 P.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT: Good evening. This is an extraordinary period for America’s economy. Over the past few weeks, many Americans have felt anxiety about their finances and their future. I understand […]
Read moreRose Garden Statement by President Bush on the Economy
19 September 2008 
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Here’s what President Bush said at 10:45 AM today in the Rose Garden. This is really important. Good morning. I thank Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, and SEC Chairman Chris Cox for joining me today. This is a pivotal moment for America’s economy. Problems that originated in the credit markets — […]
Read moreStatement by Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson
19 September 2008 Comments Off
The President will speak at 10:45 AM. I’ll send his remarks soon after he has spoken. Here’s what Secretary Paulson said shortly after 10 AM this morning. Last night, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, SEC Chairman Chris Cox and I had a lengthy and productive working session with Congressional leaders. We began a substantive discussion […]
Read moreMore oil supply
15 August 2008 Comments Off
In May of 2007, I wrote Why are gas prices high, and what can we do about it? At the time, the national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $3.22. The national average price is now 59 cents higher, at $3.81 per gallon. That’s down 30 cents from a high of […]
Read moreA "second stimulus?"
7 August 2008 Comments Off
We are frequently asked whether there should be a “second stimulus” bill. Unfortunately, what is being considered on Capitol Hill is a very different animal from what we did earlier this year. 10-second macroeconomic review GDP = Consumption + Investment + Government spending + Exports – Imports = C + I + G + X […]
Read moreUSA Today op-ed: Keep taxes low
9 June 2008 1 Comment
USA Today editorializes today against making the tax cuts permanent, and includes an opposing view from me. I’ll include both here. I’ve learned that he who writes the opposing view is at a disadvantage, in that they get to see what I wrote, but not the reverse. I thought I had anticipated their attacks, but […]
Read moreThe wrong way to address climate change
3 June 2008 Comments Off
The Senate is now debating a climate change bill, typically referred to as the “Lieberman-Warner” bill, referring to Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Sen. John Warner (R-VA). Technically, we think they’ll end up considering a slightly different version of that bill, offered by the Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Sen. Barbara […]
Read moreDefense earmarks
29 May 2008 Comments Off
Each year Congress considers the “defense authorization bill.” This bill gives the U.S. military its legal authorities. The House passed this bill last Thursday. One provision in the bill would attempt to limit the President’s ability to ignore certain earmarks in the report language that accompanied the bill. This is an important moment in the […]
Read moreA messy end to a bad farm bill
28 May 2008 1 Comment
Now let’s look at last week’s farm bill procedural snafu. Last Wednesday we thought the farm bill veto would be straightforward: Congress passes the farm bill conference report and sends it to the President. There are several steps in this process. The bill is passed by both Houses. That’s the “engrossed bill.” This engrossed bill […]
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President Bush vetoed the farm bill
28 May 2008 Comments Off
I wrote the following last Wednesday evening, in anticipation of a straightforward farm bill veto. Little did I know the procedural snafu that would arise. I have since edited it and written a follow-up. I will send the follow-up email soon. The first, written last Wednesday and included below, explains what we thought would happen. […]
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