I cover three topics in this post: what important players won in this deal, the core concepts and tradeoffs within the deal, and what the different strategies might be this Fall under this bill if (when?) it becomes law.
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Tag Archives: understanding
Understanding the Budget Control Act
1 August 2011 
1 Comment
I cover three topics in this post: how taxes are treated in the Joint Committee, how the spending cut trigger works, and the intentional imbalance of triggered spending cuts.
Read more Quick summary of the Budget Control Act
1 August 2011 7 Comments
This is the first of three posts on the bill agreed to by the President and the bipartisan bicameral leaders of Congress (Speaker Boehner, and Leaders Reid, McConnell, and Pelosi). The bill is called the Budget Control Act of 2011.
Read more Understanding vetoes, veto threats & SAPs
28 July 2011 Comments Off
This background post is a companion to one on the current situation: Senior advisors veto threat on the Boehner bill.
Read more Understanding the Gang of Six plan
20 July 2011 Comments Off
Press coverage of the Gang’s plan has been substantively weak. Most of it covers only the Gang’s top line substantive message and the political back-and-forth surrounding it. I’m going to try to supplement that by putting some meat on the bone.
Read more Understanding Cut, Cap, and Balance
18 July 2011 Comments Off
Sometime this week the House of Representatives will consider Rep. Jason Chaffetz’ H.R. 2560, the “Cut, Cap & Balance Act.” I recommend supporting this bill even with its significant imperfections. I place enormous value on the creation of an enforceable cap on total government spending.
Read more Understanding the McConnell debt limit proposal
14 July 2011 1 Comment
In exchange for a significant increase in Presidential authority, the President would take most of the political heat for the debt limit increase, and he would be required to propose difficult spending cuts of an equal or greater amount.
Read more Understanding the S&P report
19 April 2011 Comments Off
Maybe the S&P report will scare the President’s team into treating the long-term problem seriously rather than using it as a campaign weapon. I’m not holding my breath.
Read more Understanding the President’s new budget proposal
13 April 2011 1 Comment
Today the President proposed a negotiating process; deficit and debt targets; a new budget process trigger mechanism; and new spending cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, other entitlements, and defense.
Read more What is the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR)?
7 March 2011 Comments Off
Based on public information, I think it’s hard to justify an SPR release now. If a lot more supply goes offline (in Libya or elsewhere), and if the Saudis lack the spare capacity to offset that additional loss, then the President will have a tough call to make.
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