I want to propose a four-part test for measuring any particular bill on health care cost control. short run long run Federal deficit 1 2 Government health care spending X 3 Private health care spending X 4 In each case, I will define the test so that “yes” is a good outcome: Test 1: The […]
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Tag Archives: entitlement
Will the stimulus come too late?
3 June 2009 
38 Comments
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 […]
Read more Parsing the President’s health care reform letter
3 June 2009 11 Comments
The White House has released a letter from the President to the two Senate Chairmen who are working on (different) versions of health care reform: Senator Kennedy (D-MA), Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. The letter is dated yesterday and […]
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 America’s long-run fiscal problem is spending growth, not taxes
16 April 2009 18 Comments
Yesterday I wrote about the history of tax increases since World War II, and about the battle over the total level of taxation. Now I want to turn to spending. I am a low-tax guy. I have worked on tax issues for 12 of my 15 years in Washington, helping elected officials lower taxes and […]
Read moreCNN interview today
3 April 2009 1 Comment
Heidi Collins of CNN interviewed former Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich and me this morning around 10:30 AM on CNN Newsroom. To my surprise, Secretary Reich and I agreed on a lot. We both came out strong against protectionism, and complimented the G-20 leaders for making a strong statement about this. We’ll see if the […]
Read more Health spending fallacy
27 March 2009 17 Comments
There are two problems driving future deficits: rising health care costs, and the aging of the population. To fix our long-term deficit problem, we need to address both factors, and spending trends in all three programs.
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 more Debt and the real threat
7 February 2008 Comments Off
Monday the President proposed his budget for Fiscal Year 2009. This is the first “e-Budget” – it was transmitted electronically as an official document to the Congress, and was digitally signed by the Executive Clerk. At a press conference Monday, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND) said: But let me emphasize to you what […]
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