I began this blog at the end of March after the stimulus bill had become law. I had been struck by how much the stimulus debate had focused on whether the bill was efficient. (It clearly was not.) There was much less discussion of whether the stimulus would be effective, and of the timing of […]
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Tag Archives: appropriations
Will the Administration fund CSI: New Haven and Tattoo removal in L.A.?
24 April 2009 
3 Comments
President Obama may not realize that the people who work for him are required to ignore hundreds (thousands?) of Congressional earmarks. The President has the ability to stop them from doing so. I hope that he will not. Thanks go to former OMB General Counsel Jeff Rosen for pointing this out. An Executive Order is […]
Read moreBaseline games
21 April 2009 6 Comments
Suppose I bought an iPhone yesterday for $500. Suppose I argue that I will save $2000 this week, because I intend to refraining from buying an additional iPhone today, nor will I buy one this Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday. Suppose I plan to buy a new flat screen TV tomorrow for $1500. Can I claim […]
Read more The danger of autopilot entitlement spending
21 April 2009 4 Comments
Each year Congress enacts 12 annual appropriations (spending) bills. Those bills are the subject of vigorous and legitimate fights about spending priorities. Included in these annual appropriations bills are spending for defense, veterans, military construction, highways, housing, education (except student loans), foreign aid and the foreign service, the FBI, CIA, and Department of Justice, most […]
Read more Parsing the President: no "climate change"?
27 March 2009 13 Comments
I was stunned by the President’s language when asked about his cap-and-trade proposal.
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 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 moreEarmark reform (State of the Union follow-up)
29 January 2008 Comments Off
Here’s what the President said last night in the State of the Union about earmarks: The people’s trust in their government is undermined by congressional earmarks — special interest projects that are often snuck in at the last minute, without discussion or debate. Last year, I asked you to voluntarily cut the number and cost […]
Read moreEconomic highlights of the State of the Union address
28 January 2008 Comments Off
The President delivers his State of the Union address this evening, beginning just after 9 PM. We typically release “fact sheets” along with the address. Since the big document is 36 pages long, we also have versions of the different component fact sheets on whitehouse.gov. Here are the economic ones: Economy Budget Free trade Energy […]
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