National Journal

Maya MacGuineas in National Journal | "McCain and Obama on the Economy"

Communications — Sat, 31 May 2008 11:54:00 -0400

New America in the News:

. . . Although sharp contrasts are evident in the policies and philosophies of McCain and Obama on the economy, Maya MacGuineas, president of the bipartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, sees one fundamental similarity: To a surprising extent, especially when compared with other recent presidential campaigns, “what we’re hearing from both candidates, at this point, seems so out of touch with the reality” of looming budget problems.

Surprising, because both candidates early on seemed quite aware of the budget reality, said MacGuineas, a McCain staffer in his 2000 presidential campaign who has had contact with both camps. Polls showed that the lack of spending restraint hurt Republican candidates in 2006 and helped Democrats lay claim to being the party of fiscal responsibility. McCain’s history seemed to make him the ideal candidate to reverse the GOP’s recent turn toward tax cuts without spending cuts, MacGuineas said. And after meeting with Obama early in the campaign, she said, “I got the idea that he really understood the budget challenges” and saw political opportunity in drawing a sharp distinction with Bush’s approach.

And yet, “you wouldn’t know it from the agendas [the two] are putting out,” MacGuineas said. Both candidates are pledging to continue most of the Bush tax cuts, while proposing costly new initiatives—in McCain’s case, the elimination of the alternative minimum tax, a cut in corporate income taxes, and the acceleration of depreciation for new investments in capital goods; for Obama, in addition to his tax cuts, a huge new commitment to universal health care. . .

The full article (subcription only).

Doug Rediker in National Journal | New Moves on Wealth Funds

Communications — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 13:46:00 -0400

New America in the News:

New Moves on Wealth Funds (National Journal, subscription only)

. . . Some analysts suggest that the likely ineffectual nature of the forthcoming IMF code of conduct and the reluctance of the Bush administration to take a tougher line reflect the impotence of the United States -- the world's largest debtor nation -- in regulating sovereign wealth funds.

"The leverage is not with us," said Doug Rediker, co-director of the New America Foundation's Global Strategic Finance Initiative. "What happens if the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority says it won't change its ways? What are we going to do? Tell them to keep their money?" . . .

Maya MacGuineas in National Journal | "Congress - An Undead Budget?"

Communications — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 14:34:00 -0500

New America in the News:
Full article (subscription only)

. . . "The president won," said Maya MacGuineas, director of the fiscal policy program at the New America Foundation, a nonpartisan think tank. . .

CRFB in National Journal | 'Phony Budget Tells All'

Communications — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 12:51:00 -0500

New America in the News:

Phony Budget Tells All (National Journal, subscription only)

According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, ongoing indexation of the AMT would add nearly three-quarters of a trillion dollars to the projected deficit over the next 10 years. ...