The more I listen to Congressional Opposition chief John Boehner as of late, the more I wish he could find the dignity and common ground for big objectives that Israel's Opposition Party Leader, Kadima Party chief Tzipi Livni, has just demonstrated in a knock-the-ball-out-of-the-park letter to the executive director of the self-described pro-Israel, pro-peace group, J Street...

Forbes had a piece Monday by Alex Brill and Amy Roden of the American Enterprise Institute about the potential for stimulus programs to expand the debt.

Brill and Roden argue that the savings from health care reform will not do much to reduce the debt because many of the stimulus funds will be extended. The health care bill’s projected $18 billion savings over ten years is dwarfed by the $140 billion a year they estimate Congress will spend making parts of the stimulus bill permanent. The article points out:...

We'll have much more on yesterday's Bernard Schwartz Economic Growth Symposium, "The Jobs Deficit," in the days to come (in the meantime, photos and video of the panels and Jared Bernstein's keynote address are available here). But one idea that was much-discussed at the symposium, and has been getting a lot of play recently in the national media, is Timothy Bartik's proposal for a job creation tax credit...

Recently, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on the results of the Economic Stimulus Payments, or tax rebates, of early 2008.

Those who were eligible for the full tax rebates (individuals earning under $75,000 and married couples earning under $150,000) received...

In a speech on global imbalances, Fed Chairman Bernanke again warned about the need to put the U.S. on a sustainable fiscal path, saying:   "The United States must increase its national saving rate.  Although we should deploy, as best we can, tools to increase private saving, the most effective way to accomplish this goal is by establishing a sustainable fiscal trajectory, anchored by a clear commitment to substantially reduce federal deficits over time."    This is very similar to the advice CRFB has been recommending...

The economic relationship between China and the United States is the defining issue of our day. While debates over health care are vital to American society, and while challenges ranging from Iran to Afghanistan to North Korea are real, nothing will determine the arc of the coming decades - or will shape domestic life and prosperity in the United States - more than the emergence of China as a global economic superpower unrivalled except by America...

This week, Senator Bayh (D-IN) and nine other Democratic senators sent a letter to Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) expressing concern over the size of the U.S. debt. In the letter, the senators argue that:

"The bigger our deficits, the fewer resources we have to provide critical investments in energy, education and health care and tax relief for small businesses and middle-class families...We believe Congress needs to adopt a special process to deal with our nation’s long-term fiscal imbalances. We do not believe that action on these important issues will occur under the regular order in Congress.”...

I've been in Amman, Jordan for less than a day -- and the swirl of conflicting emotions here from nearly anyone I have spoken to about the United States is important to note. Most think Barack Obama is an "honest, fair man" and deserves the Nobel, which surprised me -- but then the same people express huge doubts in what is unfolding with Israel and Palestine...

Today, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced that, in light of the deflation experienced over the past year, there will be no COLA for Social Security benefits in 2010. This will mark the first year without a COLA since automatic indexing began in 1975.

Given that prices have gone down, we find this lack of COLA to be entirely appropriate, and put out a press release today urging politicians not to enact an ad-hoc COLA. As CRFB President Maya MacGuineas explained...

In a recent op-ed, Henry Aaron and Belle Sawhill argued that a value added tax (VAT) – a tax on consumption imposed piece-wise in various stages of production – could help to “bend the revenue curve.” The two argue that health care reform cannot do enough to control the long-term debt, explaining that “Medicare will require increased revenue as the baby boomers retire, even if the program's structure is materially changed,” and that “revenue generated under current tax laws cannot pay for the government services -- health care and everything else."...